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!

[Andehh]

If they are that crumbly then painting them will not help stabilise it, surely it will just create a sort of thin facade, that with the slightest nudge will crack & then it will all come off?

I would be tempted to try and find a specialist on old stonework or similar to advise, maybe restoration adviser? It is too nice to risk. My first thought would be remove as much loose stuff as possible with a vaguely stiff brush (going slowly & carefully) until I found something vaguely stable & start off that!

[ILoveMondeo]

Andehh said:

My first thought would be remove as much loose stuff as possible with a vaguely stiff brush (going slowly & carefully) until I found something vaguely stable & start off that!

This is what I did with a ~200 year old brick wall. Worked well, soft brush nothing stiff, brush any big chucks away that are ready to fall, then should just be dusty stuff coming off. Then seal. The sealant wont help with the big bits, but will stop it from going to dust and crumbling like that. I sprayed several coats of sealant, there's plenty of spray-able ones around.

Having said that, this was NOT a particularly valuable or attractive wall, only proceed if you're brave and happy to face the music if it all goes to st, if in doubt find a local "expert"... but then you run the risk of getting some clown that says all the right words and fks it up anyway.

[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!