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German Smear information

Posted on 1/22/20 at 1:22 pm
Posted by tigahbruh
Louisiana
Member since Jun 2014
2858 posts
Posted on 1/22/20 at 1:22 pm
I have a red brick house. Considering doing a German smear on the exterior. First of all, are there certain types of brick that this works on? I have a 1960 house with regular old red brick (not traditional New Orleans "soft" red aka "lake bricks").

I've run across several DIY articles. This is the exterior of my house. Feel like I should leave it to the professionals. Or is it really that easy?

How much does this usually cost? 1 story house 1900 sf.

Are there any issues/negatives involved?


Posted by lnomm34
Louisiana
Member since Oct 2009
12609 posts
Posted on 1/22/20 at 2:03 pm to
We did the fireplace inside of our house. It kicked my arse. I was sore for frickin days from mixing the mortar by hand and applying the mortar to the bricks. I can't imagine an entire house. . . .

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Posted by Cracker
in a box
Member since Nov 2009
17703 posts
Posted on 1/22/20 at 2:16 pm to
What is the diff between this and line washed?
Posted by tigahbruh
Louisiana
Member since Jun 2014
2858 posts
Posted on 1/22/20 at 2:49 pm to
German smear uses mortar, which is the mixture of cement and sand. Of course, they also need some water when they want to use the mortar in German smear technique.

Limewash uses lime + water. Whitewash uses white latex paint as the base material.

In limewashing and whitewashing you need to use the paint on the surface so that the paint can penetrate into it creating a thin layer of color you can call as patina.

In German-smearing the mortar does not penetrate into the surface. It covers the surface while at the same time creating a new texture on it.
(Cut and pasted from a google searched site)
Posted by GCTigahs
Member since Oct 2014
2035 posts
Posted on 1/22/20 at 6:05 pm to
We limewashed our house last yr and it was very easy and inexpensive. We bought the product from Home Depot.
Posted by GeorgiaTide
Georgia
Member since Aug 2012
673 posts
Posted on 1/22/20 at 6:35 pm to
I just did our fireplace a few weekends back. Bonus pic of pup included.



I used white tile grout unmixed from Home Depot. Mixed in a bucket using a corded electric drill with a paint mixer bit. I’d imagine making your own mix out of brick mortar and coloring using paint would be more economical for the whole house. Would just need to be careful to have the same ratios of paint, water, and mortar when mixing the different batches.

ETA: I thought it wasn’t very challenging and I’m not super handy.
This post was edited on 1/22/20 at 6:52 pm
Posted by BG333
Louisiana
Member since Mar 2019
35 posts
Posted on 1/22/20 at 9:24 pm to
Pics look great. I’ve been thinking about doing on this my back patio. Pros/cons on German smear or limewashing??
Posted by HoldenOversoul
South Carolina
Member since Oct 2012
508 posts
Posted on 1/22/20 at 9:34 pm to
Based on the little I know about German Smear, it seems as if it would be more durable and also more expensive to apply.

My grandmother's house was limewashed when I was growing up. Limewashing isn't the most durable treatment. It can even come off on your clothes if you rub up against the wall. I think my grandma was reapplying every ten years or so, but that is probably mostly down to what stage of its life cycle you prefer aesthetically.
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