Need advice on stripping paint off brick building

[Kelly Burns]

I've come across a local building I may potentially buy to do a convert it to my garage/living quarters.

Before I go to deep into this, one of the biggest factors (not a deal breaker, but still a major consideration) is the exterior. Its a old brick and mortar building that has been painted, god only know how many time or when, possibly when they make really good paint. There is even flaking all over the building but not very bad and not down to original brick.

Here is a link to a thread of a similar discussion where they talk about using a hot water pressure washer, that I posted this same question in, any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Stuart in MN]

You need to be careful with old brick buildings, a pressure washer can etch the bricks and blow out mortar. Also, depending on the style of brick (if they are smooth or have a lot of texture) it will be difficult to get the paint out of all the nooks and crannies.

 

[Kelly Burns]

Good points! The brick is smooth, and I don't see any areas that the mortar is missing, I know that doesn't mean the mortar will withstand the pressure washer. The structure seems solid. I don't know if this establishes a build period or not, but the front wall extends past the rood line and capped with those "tiles" that are a little Spanish looking, so I don't know how good the mortar was back then.

 

[rsanter]

Sandblast
Soda blast
Dry ice blast

Becaus of issues mentioned above, a lot of people just repaint to make it look like brick again and leave it at that

Bob

 

[Zeke]

Read up on the EPA site about lead paint. That having been noted, there are products made especially for cleaning and or stripping brick and stone. I think I'd walk away given the liabilities today involving old paint.

I quit the contracting business because of the EPA.

Edit: Just to be accurate. the EPA RRP rule currently does not cover many industrial and commercial buildings. That may change come this July. Anyway you look at it, there is bound to be mitigation sooner or later on commercial buildings. I'm always suspect of retroactive rulings and won't touch anything painted before 1978.

 

[Kelly Burns]

Here is the building. I did resize it, so you could see the detail better.

I hear ya Zeke! However before I walk away, if things worked out, I would paint the exterior of it.

 

[kbs2244]

I would plan on re-painting it.
And having it done by a pro.
You are talking a lot of messy, labor intensive, preparation work.

Your wall top tiles are still used today.
They are to keep water out of the inside of the wall.
A "wall roof" for want of a better term.

 

[Firebird 1]

Regardless of the rrp rule, and as of now it does not cover commercial, I would still be careful of stripping and make sure it is done correctly. Lead paint will last in soil conditions for many years. I would see if there is a dustless blaster in your area. This can be stripped and repainted and made into a nice building just needs a bit of work.

 

[pablo94sc]

That's a cool looking building. I'd repaint it and hang some reproduction old signs on the exterior... And a no commercial services sign so people don't ask to use your pooper. Lol

 

[Mike Behrens]

I saw some brick walls restored to their original beauty by a company that uses dry ice to "sand blast" it. A side effect of using dry ice is much less mess to clean up as well.

 

[ryan77]

cool building indeed!

 

[Kelly Burns]

OK, here is update.

I have spoke to a couple of contractors and the assessor's office. I know now, who owns the building, and as luck would have it, he is a friend of my buddy's dad. And I know some of the financial information about it. And that information was good! If it works out, there will be a scrapping and wire brush party because it'll be painted. The area is under a lot of renovations and there are some grants out there for this type of remodel, so that helps as well.

Here are a couple of paint ideas and what the building looked like on Friday.

 

[Stuart in MN]

One thing to consider is those bricks won't necessarily be all nice and clean when you get all the paint off...

I remember a Bob Vila Home Again TV episode many years ago where he spent a lot of time and money for stripping the paint off an old brick house. They discovered there were different color bricks, and mortar smeared all over the place, and it looked so bad they ended up painting it again.

 

[Kelly Burns]

There are spots that the paint isn't sticking well, but as tenants have come and gone with different businesses, so has the paint. Its really not to bad.

 

[Trey T]

I would use a pressure washer with surface cleaner to remove the paint. I would imaging 2500-3000psi @ 3gpm machine will work. A hot water would work better and allow lower psi to minimize washing away the mortar.

Regardless, I would pressure wash it with soap if I recoat it with paint.

 

[Randy in Maine]

I would have it tested first to see if it even has lead paint on it. If it does you just have to manage the project correctly so that you do blow lead paint all over the neighborhood or harm the guy doing the work.

 

[Big Bad Dad]

Read up on the EPA site about lead paint. That having been noted, there are products made especially for cleaning and or stripping brick and stone. I think I'd walk away given the liabilities today involving old paint.

I quit the contracting business because of the EPA.

Edit: Just to be accurate. the EPA RRP rule currently does not cover many industrial and commercial buildings. That may change come this July. Anyway you look at it, there is bound to be mitigation sooner or later on commercial buildings. I'm always suspect of retroactive rulings and won't touch anything painted before 1978.

Wise and true words! There are already many laws in place dealing with lead paint, and it is quickly becoming the new "asbestos"!

 

[Lippyp]

Wasn't lead mostly in Gloss paints rather than latex? I'd try a pressure washer first, then wire brushes/scrapers. The quickest way is to sandblast it. Loads of buildings over here get sandblasted, up where we used to live it is often done to clean the old black soot discolouration from the days of the industrial revolution from stone houses. Done well by someone that knows what they are doing the dangers to the building are few, you might need to re-point it if the mortar is particularly soft. It would need scaffolding and to be sheeted up though to contain the dust etc. We had our house in France sandblasted when we had it repointed and the difference was amazing.

 

[Kelly Burns]

Can I take a sample to have it tested?

 

[Xtreme mobile blasting]

Give me a call. I live in Evansville. I own a dustless blasting machine. I think I could help. My name is Jason. Call me 812-499-9345. Thanks. Good luck with your project!

 

[Kelly Burns]

Great! I'll call you tomorrow afternoon. Thanks.

 

[Trey T]

Can I take a sample to have it tested?

http://www2.epa.gov/lead/lead-test-kits

 

[willymakeit]

Pressure washers can be bad for brick and mortar. Old brick and mortar were soft by nature. Fired or not brick is clay based and will absorb moisture. There is a reason for weep holes and flashing with bricks. Modern brick is hard but will take on moisture. Between moisture and the salts in brick this starts the white stains you see called efflorescence. Usually but not always corrected with sealers and cleaning.
Water penetrating the face or from behind is the most common cause of issues with brick.
I deal with these items a lot on building envelope's.

 

[Kelly Burns]

Give me a call. I live in Evansville. I own a dustless blasting machine. I think I could help. My name is Jason. Call me 812-499-9345. Thanks. Good luck with your project!

Sorry I got ******* at work, I'll call you today.

 

[Kevin54]

I read through the replies, and no one mentioned (that I could see) that some of the bricks need to be painted to preserve them. A lot of older brick buildings had a soft brick, and the paint protected the bricks from eroding away over the years. I know that at some time, you have seen an old one room schoolhouse, or an old building, where the bricks were eroding away, yet the mortar was still good and starting to protrude past the face of the bricks. If those building would have had good paint over them through the years, it would have prevented this. A hard brick did not need paint to protect them.

and the Dustless Blasting......if it's the same one that they show on the car shows, I was talking to a guy at a swap meet that has a business of doing this, and he told me they use ground glass to do the stripping. It sounds like that may be the way to go.

Whatever you do, make sure you keep us updated on the procedure of stripping it, and a few pics also.

Xtreme Mobile......Welcome to Garage Journal. If you would, could you explain some of the process(es) you use for stripping paint for us members? And now that you found GJ, hope you hang around for a while.

 

[Xtreme mobile blasting]

I use the same machine as what's one my classic car. The machine works great for all kinds of paint removal. From car to decks to houses. The process used recycled glass with water. So you have the benefit of water to keep the dust down and the action of a pressure washer with the added benefit of the glass beads. Which helps break the paint loose.

 

[Xtreme mobile blasting]

Thanks for letting me join the group! I've been looking around here awhile know. I just happened to see a guy who needed help and thought I could give him a option. Thanks again

 

[Kelly Burns]

I will Kevin54. I told Jason yesterday on the phone, the next step is to finish and mail a formal letter to current owner and see if he will let the building go.

 

[Big Bad Dad]

So how does the dustless blasting deal with lead paint dust? It is the lead paint chips and dust getting into the soil around old houses and buildings that cause a lot of the problems and federal law is now addressing it. There is a procedure to abate it legally, and you might get in some trouble if they catch you just blasting old paint off of a building.
Just curious....
And of course, if you had it tested and the results are negative, my question does not matter.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Any updates on this did you buy it?