Painting cinderblock

[matt151617]

I'm in the process of buying a house; the garage is made out of cinderblock but looks like it needs to be finished. I'll probably paint it; what's the best way, and the best color? The house itself is brick.

http://imgur.com/gallery/agleg1l

 

[OccupantRJ]

I would pressure wash it first, then let it thoroughly dry out. After that, a block sealer to seal out water infiltration. After that, a latex paint of your choice. I also had one that I power nailed vertical strips of pressure treated wood to every 16”, then installed vinyl siding. It came out nice.

 

[The Cobbler]

you would want to start out with a good exterior block sealer as primer coat. it will fill the porosity of the block ( the divets) and make it easier to topcoat.
any colour you want will be OK, just talk to the paint store & tell them what you're doing.
as mentioned, if it was mine I would look at siding of some sort.

 

[AldeanFan]

I painted my block wall garage.
It had been previously painted so I wasn’t painting bare blocks.

It takes lots of paint.
You can get a roller for block, it’s fuzzy like a teddy bear and holds lots of paint to squish in to the blocks.
My 20x20 garage took 5 gallons of white paint.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bretny]

If your going to side it dont bother painting it. You shouldnt get water behind the siding if its installed properly.

 

[yeldogt]

Caution Will Robinson .... IMO .. like it the way it is. Take a closer picture of the block and post.

Do you have high iron content water? Sprinkler system?

Once you paint .. it starts the maintenance -- and what color would you paint?

Any of the basement paints that seal up -- you don't want to use outside.

I think it looks good the way it is.

 

[roscoe2000]

I have painted my garage (both interior and exterior) twice since I have been here. I didn't go with a block sealer or purge coat just painted over the bear block walls. First time was by hand and second time a combo of hand and airless sprayer. Overall I think my best look came out with a thick nap roller by hand. The airless sprayer was great and a lot quicker application of paint but working by myself I had to consider the addition clean up time. With setup and cleanup taking twice as long as application for the exterior. For the interior overspray was just to problematic so hand application won out.

 

[Rbreddin]

I'm surprised that nobody has recommended a block filler.

always prime with an oil based block filling primer (specifically named as block filler), then oil based exterior finish coat.

obviously, if this wall is the exterior wall for a basement, make sure the waterproofing used when the house was built is still intact and effective.

 

[bdamico]

You need to use a primer like Loxon. Then topcoat with latex paint.

 

[66Caprice]

You can use Dry Lock. It comes in latex or oil base and is tintable to a color you like.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Once you paint .. it starts the maintenance -- and what color would you paint?

That's my thought as well...once you paint it, you're doomed to having to repaint it every few years for forever. As it is now it's basically maintenance free.

 

[yeldogt]

My grandparent's back and side yard was enclosed with a 4' wall -- block w/ brick top -- had to be 300' of it -- and gates. I'm an expert on why not to paint block.

 

[The Cobbler]

I'm surprised that nobody has recommended a block filler.

a.......

.... start out with a good exterior block sealer .....

filler,sealer ...

 

[6768rogues]

It is probably cement block or CMU, concrete masonry units. Maybe if it is really old it is cinder block. Anyway, buy a lot of paint because when I have done it I had to go back for more. Then you have to maintain it if the paint wants to flake off.

 

[matt151617]

Valid points... I like zero maintenance. Would it look weird with vinyl? I'm not sure I can justify the cost of doing vinyl.

 

[JDMopar]

My garage is all concrete block walls. It's 2000 sq ft. and has been painted since 2007. It looks just as good right now as it did when we got done painting it. It looks that way because we bought quality paint and took the time to do it right. We (mostly my wife) used 2 coats of block filler, inside and out. We then put 2 coats of exterior latex on the outside...light gray on top and dark gray on bottom. Inside, we did white on top, and light gray on bottom. When I say top and bottom...….bottom means 4' up from the floor, and top is from that point to the ceiling.

 

[Rbreddin]

filler,sealer ...

they're actually VERY different.

we seal all sorts of finished masonry from brick to cmu and none of it is a filler of any sort.

I'm only saying that if you walk into a store and tell someone you want a block sealer, they're not going to give you a block filler.

at least anywhere in the southeast and eastern seaboard

 

[Paperman]

Loxon XP is a great one shot concrete product. Not cheap but most good things are not.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Valid points... I like zero maintenance. Would it look weird with vinyl? I'm not sure I can justify the cost of doing vinyl.

Instead of vinyl, you could tapcon 2x4 on the block and add metal siding. A different color for the wainscoting would dress it up a bit.

Before you attach the metal, you can add some 1.5" foam between the studs. You could pick up anywhere from 5.5 to 7.5 in R-value depending on the foam you use.

Looking in your area on CL shows some listing for some polyiso foam.

 

[B.C.Biker]

Imho the block looks great as it it. The reason it looks unfinished is the boring (to me) white doors and trim. I'd maybe paint the doors with a faux wood type theme. Bronze maybe. Block buildings have always looked solid to me. Suitable for for an estate type property if trimmed out classy. Stone looks better as it ages. Old castles look cooler than brand new castles.
And you'll never have a wall that looks bad for a couple years before it gets the repaint it will need one day.

 

[Handyfarmer]

could consider stucco, or even the stuco top coat, (basically a colored white stucco, it can be sprayed on),

 

[johnnyradiant]

I side with BC - work with what has color on it and leave the bricks. I wouldn't want to add to my never ending todo list.

If you paint it and have access to an airless -rent beg or borrow. Seal the blocks and spray them and while it is still wet back roll with big fuzzy roller. So in sections or with a partner right behind you.