The notion of colouring each individual brick seems like overkill to me. Have you seen what the finished product looks like? How often would you need to redo it? If it were me -- I wouldn't go there.

I'm also not keen on painting over brick, although I have seen quite a few houses where this has been done, and the look is rather attractive, especially when done in an an earthtone like adobe or some other neutral hue -- and the paint isn't shiny. Naturally, you paint the brick and the mortar.

I do, however, like the whitewash/limewash look. Especially after it's weathered for a while. Hints of the underlying brick colour peeking through give it a comfortable old-world look that I find attractive. It's also easy to do. You just roll or brush it on. Any stray drips or spatters are easily wiped away with a damp cloth. Unless your house is overly large, it's accomplished in a weekend. I've also seen these types of washes tinted grey, which is also attractive.

Just my two cents.

James

NO YOU ARE NOT CRAZY.. although I have been told the same thing for the same reason.. But those orange bricks kill me too!!!! I will spend a year hand staining them myself if I have to. I stumbled across this site while looking for a "how-to" stain my own home that has those God forbidden orange bricks. Have you received any good tips? I am not going to pay someone else to do it..so any good "do-it-yourself" ideas or advise would be great. I'd really like to change my orange to grey in varying shades...too ambitious?

DId you ever find a technique to change the orange to varying shades of gray???? This is what I'm wanting as well. My house is split level, white siding, gray roof, black shutters and door, then this horrible orange shades of bricks!!! Please help! Thanks..

UGH ORANGE BRICK - My NEMESIS! I have been searching for a year to fix this. Bought numerous books too on Masonry and no luck. I tried muric acid (DO NOT DO) and it made my house beautiful for a day ... then ORANGE BRICK EVERYWHERE!

Was told to do Muric Acid again and reseal, but then forums advised against it (brick needs to breathe in order to last). Same reason to not paint it. It will seal the pores and cause the brick to eventually fail.

So, now looking at staining or white washing. I think I will try the whitewash as there is a way to get rid of it if I don't like it. Plus it is cost effective. 50lb bag of lime with 10 pounds of table salt. Also can add hues to it to change color... so we will try this.

I am planning to try it in next few weeks. If anyone has any tips or advice, PLEASE let me know asap as any help for this amateur is needed.

@lweber22 - I have the same problem - ORANGE BRCK. how did the whitewash turn out?

I have the same orange brick exterior that I want to get rid of. Anyone tried anything effective yet? Please update your experiences I am also looking for a do-it-yourself solution

I too have those ugly orange bricks on my house. One promising product I've come across is a company called DyeBrick http://www.dyebrick.com/index.html. They are based in the UK but have free shipping to the U.S. I'm going to try a sample pot first and see where it goes. They have several different colors of stain, and one I intend to try is something called Brick Age, which darkens the brick, which I"m hoping will lessen the orange color. It's the only option I've found so far, so I guess it's worth a try.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dyebrick

http://www.brickimaging.com/stayntech%C2%AE

Hey Docbotanus! This is a super old post, I hope you figured your situation out! I only have a yellow/pink brick, so it is not AS urgent to dye as an orange ;)

Why not just order the dye from NawKaw and do it yourself, are you still having reservations? I too think the do-it-yourself youtube videos make it sound SUPER reasonable to do...just take your time (rushing or half-assing will lead to drips and mistakes), and go in varying patterns as suggested in the video. You can do one round around the house in patterns with one color mix, then make a bit darker or lighter and do a second round, then third, to vary the color variety.

Pete Sloane's advice seems spot on, dye is permanent, I would not think otherwise, so definitely a process to consider (VS REPLACEMENT!!! Oye, that is worse, and WAY more expensive). The product will cost you, what, $400? and the time is just experience and fulfilling completing a project, which is very rewarding.

I say go for it, I am eager to embark on the same dream! My hubs thinks I am nuts, too, spouses can be so encouraging, lol.

Same question here....Did anyone stain their brick? Results?

Got Dyebrick last week. I’m afraid this will be a huge mess. Too much texture

you are brilliant