Hi Friends! I hope you are enjoying the summer! Thank you for all your comments on our story on how to transform brick with limewashing!! This week we will see other options for brick and your stone! Whether it is inside or out, plasters, slurries, and limewashes can transform and update without major construction.

This is a lovely home right down the street from me! I remember watching it go up and thinking how beautiful it was. Well as time goes by so do the trends, in fashion, foods, design, and yes exterior surfaces. The new homeowners, so excited about their house, were lightening up the interiors and wanted the exteriors to reflect its fresh new feel. I was excited to meet my new neighbors, and help them with their family home!!

She had seen a post about an exterior transformation we had done for another home in the area with similar dark stone. Both clients loved the natural stone so they didn’t want to paint it solid, but wanted it in a totally different tone.

The transformation of this home was just what these clients wanted. My new client loved this home’s new softness, but wanted to go lighter, grayer, and more solid!

As you can see in this picture the stucco had already been lightened, which helped, but still was not enough change for the new owners. They wanted to blend the brick, stucco, and stone so they were different textures but the same colorations. I sent her photos of both slurry and limewash exterior brick and stone treatments we had done so she could understand the differences each treatment would lend to the home’s aesthetics.

Here is a beautiful example of a slurry we did over brick. Although you can’t see each brick’s variation it does have movement and changes as moisture is absorbed and released from the brick. She decided she loved the look for the brick and wanted to do a limewash over the stone so it still had a natural stone feel! We had our marching orders and began the color formulations, which on this home with the huge change in color was challenging.

Slurrying over the brick was the right option. I love how the design of the brick stands out more now and lends such a beautiful architectural element. When they were different shades of dark brick the design was barely noticeable. We use an all-natural lime-based product vs a concrete or mortar slurry. In general, lime is a versatile material that has good adhesion, is durable, breathable, and has a low thermal conductivity which means in cool climates it feels warmer than cement and in warm climates, it stays cooler.

The stone still looks like stone and does not look painted with our limewash treatment which is such a nice textural compliment to the newly slurried brick! Our limewash has no chemical solvents or artificial ingredients. An ancient finish dating back to Roman times, limewash is made from limestone that has been crushed, burned, and mixed with water to make lime putty. The putty is aged, thinned with water, and colored.

Here you can see the combination of all of her newly treated elements-brick, stone, and stucco!! Although over time, lime can decay, because it is more porous than cement, small cracks will happen and can be filled back in by a process called autogenous (or self-healing). Water penetration can dissolve the lime on the wall, filling in the cracks after the water evaporates. Also, as all buildings are subject to movements, lime develops many fine cracks rather than the individual large cracks which occur with a cement mortar or slurry. This allows for old buildings or ones on poor foundations to distort rather than fail completely. LIme is a magical element in building!! It’s why historical buildings have been coated with it for centuries!!

You can see lots of before and after’s in this shot! Stone before to the right and entrance stone is limewashed!! The brick element to the right of the entrance is complete where the second one over and chimney is still the original brown. As the home was taking shape, the homeowners did not care for the carved elements of the old surround or its golden tone. The homeowner called a stone company to see if they could remove the carved elements. They said she would have to replace all of the stone which was not an expense they were willing to incur so she reached out to me for alternative solutions.

My production team was able to remove the carvings for her and repair the stone. Then we mixed a color and applied our process to blend the limestone surround with the newly limewashed stone. What a difference!!!!! This process holds up well in Houston weather and although may need to be touched over time like any exterior paint in Houston, it would be a repair and not a total redo!!

And for the final revel- here is the before. And……………………….

……………the after!!! An entirely different look! Her new lanterns and the front door furthered this home’s new modern feel.

We even limewashed her pots for the finishing touch!

Before:

After!! I can’t tell you how much fun I had working with these so nice homeowners to create their vision for their new home!! It looks as if it has always been this way. We have used many products which are good ones. Wanting a lime slurry product that we could have readily available, tint to any color, with greater durability we have created our own Segreto Slurry!! The best part of my job is the challenge of being better tomorrow than we are today! What surfaces in your home can be transformed rather than replaced to give you the updated look you are wanting?? Til next time. Xo Leslie