DIY projects

How to clean and protect a brick wall

House-proud homeowner and keen DIYer Art Green has maintained his outdoor area well, but the brick wall along the edge of his deck weathered a lot over the years. This is a common occurrence in our part of the world thanks to the extreme climate – moisture, humidity and long winters can cause a lot of moss and mould to build up on brick walls.

Art decided to attack the grime on his wall, and the good news is that you can significantly refresh yours by following the same process. All you’ll need is a few key items from your local Resene ColorShop – the main one being Resene Aquapel. This waterborne water repellent was developed to improve the water resistance of cementitious surfaces, including concrete blocks, brickwork, plaster and fibre cement, concrete and terracotta. The beauty is that when you apply it according to the instructions, water will bead and run off the Resene Aquapel finished surface, reducing water ingress and resisting dampness. As a result, moss and mould are less likely to take hold in the future. Consider it a gift to your future self!

Follow the steps below to get your brickwork looking good as new.

Safety gear
Resene Moss & Mould Killer
Garden sprayer
Water blaster
Resene Aquapel waterborne water repellent

1

Blitz the green stuff

Dilute Resene Moss & Mould Killer into a garden sprayer – this makes it much easier to apply to your surface. There are different dilution levels depending on your level of mould growth.

Give it a good pump and then thoroughly drench your brick wall and leave for as long as it takes for a full kill, from two to 48 hours.

Art is cleverly using a piece of plywood behind the sprayer, to prevent any excess Resene Moss & Mould Killer from getting into the garden. Be sure to wear eye protection during this step.

2

Rinse

Use a water blaster to remove any residual grime and rinse the wall completely clean. If you don’t have one, you can scrub with Resene Paint Prep and Housewash.

3

Apply Aquapel

Place your Resene drop cloth down to protect the timber of your deck.

Pour Resene Aquapel into a clean garden sprayer. Give it a good pump then apply it all over the wall, using the same piece of protective ply to ensure excess doesn’t go into the garden.

4

Finished!

Your wall now has a durable coating to protect it from any future rain, moisture and mould. Enjoy!

Before

After

The original brick wall was looking mouldy and rather worse for wear after years in the elements. Thanks to a treatment of Resene Moss & Mould Killer and a coating of Resene Aquapel, it’s ready to face the weather for years to come.

Painting your bricks

If you’re a bit bored of your brickwork and want to change up the look of it more significantly, consider using paint. Painting over bricks, either new or old, is relatively straightforward as long as you have your secret weapon: Resene Sureseal pigmented sealer. Resene generally recommends this as a first coat to seal bricks due to their high porosity, and to bind up old, weak and friable pointing. It also serves to hold back potential salt staining on old brickwork.

First treat any moss and mould with Resene Moss & Mould Killer, then wash the brick wall down using either Resene Paint Prep and Housewash or a water blaster at 2000psi. Apply your Resene Sureseal then you can paint with Resene Lumbersider Low Sheen or the popular Resene Lumbersider Matt. Or choose Resene AquaShield for a dead flat, Mediterranean-style finish which has the added benefit of being self-cleaning – every time it rains the dirt is washed off!

Top tip: Resene X-200 is the ideal paint for bricks, even if there are no waterproofing issues, as it fills any small cracks and has a low gloss level.

Garden safety

Another outdoor enhancement Art has made is making his garden pavers safer to walk on. While they provide a practical walkway across the grass, they’re very slippery when wet, which can be a major hazard – especially with three little ones running around. “They’ve taken a number of casualties over the years, I’ve slipped over on them and my kids have slipped over on them,” says Art.

Luckily there’s a quick, easy and affordable way to fix the issue. Art used Resene Non-Skid Deck & Path to spruce up his pavers as well as give them some much-needed texture, so they’re less dangerous to walk on in wet weather.

Follow Art’s step-by-step guide to make your pavers less slippery.