exposing a brick wall in a bathroom

[dragonfly]

Hi All

Well, we are finally tackling the bathroom after 18 months in our 'new' home. The bathroom is in a 120 year old timber framed extension to the 300 year old red brick house. The largest wall in the bathroom is the original external brick wall, which has been painted by previous owners several times (by my estimation) in what appears to be satin emulsion. I have got hold of the requisite stripping stuff from our friends in Sudbury and my ideal plan would be to leave this wall exposed as the brick is so lovely. However I am aware of the problems with damp/condensation etc in bathrooms and would welcome any suggestions as to whether this is a good idea. Is there a brick sealant that will let it breathe? Or should I repaint with a lime-based paint? Or any other useful suggestions. Thanks

 

[Moo]

Let me be the first to leap in with a helpful suggestion (which may be useless, because I'm probably the least knowledgeable person on the forum).
I'd have thought that condensation on bare bricks would be the least of your worries, when you think of the drenching that bare bricks survive on external walls.
I have some bare bricks in my cellar that get a bit damp when we've had heavy rainfall, but they never run with water and soon dry out once the rain stops.

 

[dragonfly]

Thanks Moo - i tend to lack the common sense to think like that....
I'll leave it as it is in all its glory!

 

[FamilyWiggs]

My stock approach seems to be to put linseed oil on anything that doesn't move (well not quite everything).

Not sure bout bricks - but one thing linseed oil does do is bring out the natural colour in things. Has anyone ever tried it on brick?

 

[ian]

Careful with linseed oil onn bricks. I spent ages cleaning paint from, and repointing a soft red brick inglenook. It all looked a bit shiney and bright when I had finished, so gave it a coat of linseed (raw I think, as that was what we had at the time to prime the new windows). It went much darker and murkier than I really wanted. We have grown to ignore it now, but it took a bit of getting used to.

 

[skier-hughes]

I expect linseed oil on brick will be like linseed on wood. Old aged wood will take it in different ways, so the colour of our beams varies from quite light to very dark. Old bricks will vary in porosity, so will vary in colour.

 

[Penners]

I agree with Moo. I really wouldn't worry about it.

If you feel that condensation is a worry in general, in the bathroom, then you need to try and improve ventilation in there. Is there an extractor fan? If so, it might be an idea to have it controlled by a humidistat, so that it comes on whenever the humidity in the room exceeds a pre-set level. If not, then a visit to your local extractor fan emporium might be in order.

Here's an example: http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/xpelair-dx100hp-extractor-555-16380?CAWELAID=205025036