I’m about to remove plaster and browncoat from brick, to create an exposed brick wall. I wonder if there’s a special technique or chemical for this,or should I just blast away with hammer and chisel.I’ll use muriatic acid later for cleanup.Thanks.
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Few people understand it. Nobody agrees what it is, how to learn about it, or who's responsible for it. It has never been more important
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
Have you tried an area yet. Only place I've done this was a 1920's storefront. Three waps with a hammer, and a 2x3' chunck would fall off to bare brick. Couple of hours, and it was done and cleaned up. Guess that was my lucky day.
I'll try that.It's a late 1800's house and the brickwork is a little wavy and uneven, which means a clean shot to take off a huge chunk may not be possible.So, it's probably bit by bit.
I did similar to you. Worked best if I hit at a 45 degree angle. Could often loosen a big chunk with the right pattern of hits. Wide-blade (4" or so) chisel would also cut in between the plaster and the brick. Then brush, sweep, or muriatic acid as appropriate. Some bricks were real soft and I lost the face off a couple, but easy enough to replace. Lost more when repointing than when cleaning the plaster.
I would look at renting a pneumatic needle scaler. Here's a picture, just to give you an idea. You can also get them in a pistol grip configuration.
http://www.mytoolstore.com/ir/ir125.html
Thanks, I'll look into it.
I am looking at a similar project on a 105 yr old bldg. Am very interested in your experience/results. What did you do and how did it work?
Thanks
Rick
I haven't used the scaler yet.I was going to simply keep the walls very wet,and hand -scrape them :this might be best as silicosis (plaster dust) is a new major health concern at OSHA.
I'm about to talk myself out of it. I know it will be faster to furr out and I'm mixed about the value/desirability of the exposed brick. My bricks are very soft and the consensus of opinions is that I will degrade/deface/destroy during plaster removal and that there will be continual/residual brick dust. Hope you update as you progress.
Rick
I had soft bricks, too, but used a silicone sealer over them (if I remember from 20 years ago) and didn't have a dust problem. I personally liked the brick look and found it worth the effort. It was being done a lot in that inner-city historic area where I lived.
Doesn't that sealer prohibit forever the future application of plaster? I was told that it did.
Rick
Dunno. Wasn't my intent to ever re-plaster. I had the place for 20-some years and liked the walls that way. If a subsequent owner ever didn't like the brick, they'd likely furr and sheetrock, be/c that's how _most_ people handled rehab there.