Black damp proofing paint for round the bottom of house brickwork.

BaconandEggs

Hi all,

There is black paint around the brickwork to the bottom of our house. It's about 2 courses high.

It looks like it could do with repainting.

I was wondering:

How essential is this layer of paint?
What type of paint is it?
Any tips for painting this area?

BaconandEggs

ormus

all depends.
it could be purely decorative paint.
or some part of a damp treatment. you used to see a lot of that. bitumen type paint.
i was never too sure how effective it actually was.
but best to stick to what youve got. trying to clean it all off will be a nightmare.

BaconandEggs

ormus wrote: »

all depends.
it could be purely decorative paint.
or some part of a damp treatment. you used to see a lot of that. bitumen type paint.
i was never too sure how effective it actually was.
but best to stick to what youve got. trying to clean it all off will be a nightmare.

Thank you.

When you say stick to what we've got - do you think we should just leave it and let it weather away (eventually) or repaint with similar paint.

I agree that it looks like a bitumen based product and would be a nightmare to remove!

ormus

yes, i meant repaint it with a similar type of paint.

nickj_2

you can use bedec barn paint , this can be painted straight over old bitumen , it will stay looking good for much longer http://www.bedec.co.uk/

Barneysmom

Get the bitumen if you can and do it again with that. I got ours done in the summer and it looks really beautiful.

DaftyDuck

I'm no expert, but have had that on a few old houses. It really seems to act as a splash protector for the lowest porous brick levels. If you've got it, it'd be difficult to remove, and I've always just wire-brished it down, and repainted with standard bitumen paint from a DIY shed. I'd never add the paint where it wasn't already present - I suspect it might do more to trap moisture in the brickwork, rather than help keep it out.
If you use a ratty old brush, you can work it in well, and chuck the brush when done. Alternatively, if you need to split the work, wrap the brush (leave it well tarred) in polythene to keep the air out. Better done in the warm, as bitumen is like... tar in this weather, solid and useless.

BaconandEggs

Thanks everyone. I'll get some bitumen-based stuff in the summer.

Sounds like it will be easier to apply then, with a lower risk of trapping moisture.

I'll wait for a warm dry spell.

ormus

or you can heat the tin up, with a gas ring or an open fire. outdoors.
with care of course.

Barneysmom

Get one of those cheapo kneeling pads too, we've got little pebbles edging the house and they hurt your knees

DaftyDuck

Sunlight is pretty good for heating the tin up... especially if you use a bit of the black paint on the tin. Problem is, if the wall is cold, it sticks rather than paints, and the brush ends up like a spatula. Heating it up on a naked flame can be fun... bit too extreme for me. Stay slightly drunk until Spring, then I'd do it in the warm, with the birds singing.