Fireplace and mantel painting in Naperville, brick to limewash

• Overview
• Options
• Cost
• How it runs
• FAQ

Brick needs different paint than drywall

Brick is porous, dusty and often stained with soot near the opening, so regular wall paint either soaks in unevenly or peels. Masonry primers and breathable finishes are made for it.

Painted brick is hard to undo, so the finish matters. Paint gives full, even color, limewash lets the brick show through and wears softly, and the mantel gets its own enamel.

Fireplace painting price ranges

The table holds published planning ranges for fireplace work, not our quote, so the brick area and the finish you choose set yours.

What moves the price

• Size of the brick face and hearth
• Soot and stains needing heavy cleaning
• Paint, mineral paint or limewash
• Mantel and surround painted too
• Brick that was sealed or painted before

Paint, mineral paint or limewash on brick

All three lighten a fireplace, but they look and age very differently.

Fireplace jobs to try, and ones to leave alone

Small cosmetic fireplace work is reasonable to take on yourself.

Painted brick fireplaces

Painting brick gives the biggest change, from red or orange to white, greige or charcoal in one job. We vacuum the mortar joints, scrub soot with a masonry cleaner and let the brick dry completely. A masonry primer seals the dusty surface, and two finish coats go on with a thick-nap roller and a brush worked into every joint. The inside of the firebox never gets wall paint. If it is coated at all, it gets a high-heat product rated for it, kept separate from the face.

Limewashed brick

Limewash is slaked lime and water, so it soaks into the brick instead of forming a film on top. It dries chalky and lighter than it looks wet, and sections can be misted or wiped while fresh to let more brick show through. It works only on bare, unsealed brick, so previously painted or sealed fireplaces need a mineral paint for a similar look. The effect is softer and older-looking than paint, and it weathers gradually rather than peeling, which suits a traditional room.

Wood mantels and surrounds

Wood mantels collect candle soot, nail holes from holiday decorations and scorch marks along the bottom edge. We clean, fill and sand the wood, then prime with a stain-blocking primer, because heat and soot bleed through ordinary paint. The mantel gets a hard enamel in satin or semi-gloss so it wipes clean. A stained mantel can be refreshed instead, using the same steps as interior wood staining. The trim around the surround is then painted to match the rest of the room.

Fireplaces in Meadow Glens and Indian Hill homes

How a brick fireplace gets its new finish

1. Test the brick. A few drops of water show whether the brick is sealed or bare.
2. Mask and protect. Firebox, hearth, floor and nearby walls taped off and covered.
3. Clean. Soot scrubbed, mortar joints vacuumed, brick left to dry fully.
4. Prime or limewash. Masonry primer before paint, or limewash straight onto bare brick.
5. Finish and mantel. Two coats on the brick, then enamel on the wood mantel.

Masonry paints and limewash for brick

Brick gets Romabio limewash or mineral paint, or a Sherwin-Williams masonry primer and paint; mantels get Benjamin Moore enamel, and any coated firebox Rust-Oleum high-heat paint.

• Sherwin-Williams
• Benjamin Moore
• PPG Paints
• Behr
• Valspar
• Cabot
• Sikkens
• Olympic
• Zinsser
• Kilz
• Romabio
• Ready Seal

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