DIYers: Do I need to treat an internal brick feature wall?

I'm getting the loft floored and made into a "computer room". We're a terraced house so there is a brick built gable wall at both ends of the room.

I quite fancy leaving this as a feature, rather than just plastering over it, as I think it will look quite smart. Especially as one end has the big inverted-Y where the chimney breasts meet up.

So….

• What's the best way to clean up the bricks? (This house is around 100 years old so the bricks are a little bit manky)

• Once I get rid of the grime, should I treat them with something to preserve them and prevent them producing further dust? If so what?

• Or is all that a nightmare and I'd be better off just getting some masonry paint on them?

I assume that you're getting building regs approval?

Given plaster/wallpaper/emulsion is porous it would seem off to me that any treatment would be needed.

May not be in line with regs though for insulation etc.

Are you intending to fix anything to these walls or otherwise change them? Are you, for example strengthening the joists?
If so, I'd take a quick look at Party Walls before doing anything.

I assume that you're getting building regs approval?

You dont need it for boarding a loft out ?

You can get an acid based brick cleaner product. You need to seal the brickwork in some way and you probably will need to repoint it. It won't save you much time and labour over plastering

It won't make any significant difference to insulation values as plaster is not an insulator.

Brush off as much loose dust as you can with a stiff bristled brush, and then 'paint' the wall with a dilute mix of PVA glue and water.

1 part PVA to 5 parts water.

brings the colours out lovely does that.

I assume that you're getting building regs approval?

Nope. Don't need it apparently. It's just a ladder-access boarded loft for storage and "occasional use".

Given plaster/wallpaper/emulsion is porous it would seem off to me that any treatment would be needed.

I'm more thinking to prevent the bricks shedding any further dust etc – sort of like "varnishing" them.

You can get an acid based brick cleaner product. You need to seal the brickwork in some way and you probably will need to repoint it. It won't save you much time and labour over plastering

Yeah it'll be worse, cos the plastering would be done by the builder but I'll be the one scrubbing bricks if I want to keep them. But I think they'll look nice and "speak to the character of the building" as Kevin McCloud would say 😉

Don't intend to re-point them as I'm looking for a bit of rustic character rather than a perfect wall. I just don't want it so rustic that bits of it fall off down the back of my PC.

That sounds like the job ahwiles. Is the result sticky/tacky or does the PVA dry hard?

dries a bit like sort-of-shiny varnish, holding all the dust in place.

if you ever want to paint / plaster / whatever the walls, you'll have to do this anyway.

Cool – that sounds like the job. Thanks.

Hi, we brushed down our wall, then hoovered it and painted with a gloss treatment. Some people prefer a matt look, however here's a pic.

The (non-working) fireplace in my lounge is bare brick. Cleaned up with a wire brush in an anglegrinder (very messy). Hoovered (lots and lots and lots) then sprayed it with a few coats of dilute polyurethane varnish (as advised on a couple of DIY forums) – used one of those pump up garden sprayer things. Seems to have worked a treat.

Hi, we brushed down our wall, then hoovered it and painted with a gloss treatment.

Nice. What was the treatment?

The (non-working) fireplace in my lounge is bare brick.

Yeah ours too, that's where I got the idea. But ours is a working fireplace so it is untreated.

Why would anyone want to paint masonry inside of their house all shiny varnish? or do you all work for Ronseal?

Why would anyone want to paint masonry inside of their house all shiny varnish? or do you all work for Ronseal?

Old bare bricks: look nice, but crumbly and dusty.

Me: Asthmatic and not a big fan of dusty.

I don't want shiny, just "bonded".

Hi, I think that it was a gloss polyurethane varnish sealant, but can't remember which make it was.

>Why would anyone want to paint masonry inside of their house all shiny varnish? or do you all work for Ronseal?<

LOL – agreed. You can purchase proprietary products that will seal it without leaving a gloss finish. Thomsons iirc

Me: Asthmatic and not a big fan of dusty.

Then don't spend much time up there. I had an office in an uninsulated floored loft for 2 years and each winter I had a cough which I couldn't shift. It'll be roasting in the summer too.

Our wall is gloss, because it's quite a dark room, and is used as a child's playroom, so the gloss is easy to clean.

You can purchase proprietary products that will seal it without leaving a gloss finish. Thomsons iirc

Sounds good, but Thompsons WaterSeal is only recommended for exterior use.

Then don't spend much time up there. I had an office in an uninsulated floored loft for 2 years and each winter I had a cough which I couldn't shift.

There will be insulation added below the flooring, between the roof rafters and behind the drop walls so hopefully it won't be too cold.

It'll be roasting in the summer too.

I'm getting two Velux windows fitted to deal with that.

I'm getting two Velux windows fitted to deal with that.

You'll need a building warrant or an approved fitter for those.

You'll need a building warrant or an approved fitter for those.

Approved fitter. Local loft company are doing the main conversion (carpentry, electrics, plastering and windows). I'm doing the decor (and Cat6 networking).

double boil linseed oil, from most building suppliers 😀

the big plus with linseed oil = it smells gorgeous

Linseed for brick? Really? Interesting.

I was going to use linseed (or Osmo TopOil) on the exposed rafters.

We used TopOil on the kitchen worktops and we were very pleased with it.