DIYbanter - View Single Post - decorating concrete blocks to make them look like bricks?

Stuart Noble

chris French wrote:
In message . com,
writes

Stuart Noble wrote:
Render the blocks and stamp on the brick pattern before it goes off?
I've seen driveways done like this but I don't know how easy it would be
on a vertical surface

Render...and stamp the brick pattern?!
You mean using textured paint? I am not sure what you mean...

No, he means render - a layer of sand and cement spread across the wall
(like plaster indoors) the impress in some way (a stamp made of wood?)
the brick pattern, then paint I guess.

Personally I think you are wasting your time trying to make the concrete
blocks look like brick, they will just end up looking like concrete
blocks trying to look (badly) like bricks. If you don't want to use
bricks then just use blocks, and then paint the block wall a suitable
colour (not brick colour, any colour that fits really)

But I think any attempt to make the concrete look like brick will take
more effort and time than doing it in brick properly in the first place

Personally I think if this is the back wall of the house it's big
mistake not to use brick. Besides spending who knows how many years
looking at the awful attempts you made to try and make them look like
brick ;-) if you ever come to sell the house it's gonna shout 'bodger'
alert to any potential buyer and then they start wondering where else
you might have been 'creative' in the house

I think you're right. However bad your bricklaying, it's got to look
better than tarted up blocks.
I once tried to colour in some mortar where an old flue had been. No
problem getting the joints to look reasonably realistic but the brick
faces were truly awful. I even ground up some brick dust to get the
colour accurate, but matching texture is the difficult bit.