Painting Exposed Brick Wall in NYC Apartment

Can I paint the exposed brick wall in my apartment?

If you are a renter, you shouldn’t be painting anything without prior, written, owner approval. You are financially responsible for returning the color of whatever you paint to the original color at the end of your lease.

Than being said, painting bricks is always a no no. Firstly, it is extremely expensive to remove paint from brick work. So returning it back to its original color will cause a tremendous amount of money and hassle. For those of you still determined to paint the walls, special primer, paint, and sealant has to be used or the brick starts to disintegrate leavening a big, soppy, gravelly, mess.

If you want to paint simply because you have a dust problem (common with exposed brick) contact your landlord. They should have the wall specially sealed which ends the dust and prevents disintegration.

originally posted September 16, 2006