Sealing an internal brick wall

[anonymous-user]

I have an old brick and stone cow trough as part of a low wall in my kitchen. This is what it looked like before the conversion but gives you an idea of what needs doing.



Much of the brick under the arches is very crumbly and could benefit from some form of stabilising/sealing and I wondered is there a spray on sealer type product that I could use?

So far I'm finding products, such as PVA or specific wall sealers that need to be applied with a brush or roller and I'm concerned that I may lose more brick than I have left going that route

If I need to apply with a brush then I guess I'll need to give the bricks a really good brush and hoover to remove all the loose stuff and then go from there.

If a brush-on is my only option, can anyone recommend the best stuff to use?

Thanks!

[anonymous-user]

Thanks both.

I actually think it's just a few mm of crumbling surface that's the issue and that underneath that it should be more stable. Someone over the last 140 years or so also has overpainted areas with a black substance and much of the crumbling seems to be that as much as the bricks themselves. Luckily the loose stuff is on the underside of the trough which is not that visible, even with the LED lighting that's down there, so I'm hopeful that if I follow your suggestions, to brush it back to a stable base and then paint a sealer, I should be OK.

At least I now know that there is no magic product that will hold the loose stuff in place

I've done some re-pointing on the other exposed full brick walls in the living room with a proper lime mortar so I'm not unaccustomed to doing that but this is a different kettle of fish!

Thanks again!