Seal exterior of brick house?

[starrin]

I have a 50+ year old brick ranch house in coastal VA. During the N'oreaster of a week or so ago, we had steady 30+ mph winds with (in our case) 10.9" of rain. Ten days later, we can still see the dry/wet line on the windward side brick caused by the overhang of the eaves. Have never had that happen before, and we have gone through lots of hurricanes. So, the question arises in my mind, is there some reason I want (or not want) to seal the exterior brick once it dries out. What's an apprpreate sealer, if you believe in sealing? TIA starrin

[hallerb]

hows tha masonary joints? might be time to repoint

[ransley]

You need tuckpointing and caulk where wood meets brick, not a sealer of silicone base, it will make future motar repairs-tuckpointing near impossible, unless things are ground clean.

[sligoNoSPAMjoe]

You can put a wanter repellent on but don't try to seal the birck, it can cause serious damage to the brick, it needs to be able to breath.

[tmurpha1hi]

Coat the brick with Thompsons water seal when they have dried. Bricks do not breath. Those nor'easters are like a three day powerwash.

[Roemax]

thompson water seal is junk ,mineral spirits and wax>>

Buy a product with siloxane in it. Hydrozo comes to mind ,have used it for over 20 years,excellent product. Talk to brick makers or commercial concrete product suppliers. don't buy from the big box stores , go to the people who actually know what they are doing a good sealer will come will a guarantee

Coat the brick with Thompsons water seal when they have dried. Bricks do not breath. Those nor'easters are like a three day powerwash.

[sligoNoSPAMjoe]

I guess we will disagree on this one. I have seen the results of "sealing" brick. Keep in mind there are many kinds of brick and many people call adding a water repleent coating sealing when it is not.

[starrin]

They all look to be in great shape.

[DanG]

There are professional masonry sealing products. These are not available at the box stores - go to a commercial supply house. Good brand names include, but not limited to: Prososco W.R. Grace Dayton Superior

The products will be silanes or siloxanes, absolutely clear.

[Paul Oman]

hello - we stock a sealer (might for concrete but likely to work on you bricks too - but certainly test first) - that soaks into the material and clogs up the pore spaces thus waterproofing the material internally while leaving nothing on the surface to weather, wear, peel etc. Doesn't seal cracks etc. just cement that water sort of oozes thru.. Common for damp musty basements, parking garages where you don't want the water to get to the rebar and don't want to paint the cement parking garage... No commercial stuff on this board so email me for more info [e-mail] - product has its own web site. paul