Unpopular opinion: Painting brick chimneys ruins the draft

I've seen more folks painting their exterior brick chimneys. Looks nice at first. But it traps moisture in the brick. Causes spalling and draft issues later. Had to fix one last week that was a total mess.

3 comments

3 Comments

wesley781mo agoProlific Poster

But how bad can it really get? Seen plenty of painted chimneys in older neighborhoods that have looked fine for years. The whole moisture trap thing feels overblown unless you're in a super wet climate. Draft issues probably come from other stuff like a dirty flue or a bad cap, not just some paint.

murray.gray20d ago

Yeah exactly... my neighbor painted his brick chimney like ten years ago and it's still holding up fine. He used that special masonry stuff though, not just regular house paint. I feel like a lot of the horror stories are from people who slap on a cheap coat without cleaning or sealing first. If you do it right, it seems like the risk is pretty low.

avery321mo ago

Actually, modern masonry paints let the brick breathe pretty well now. The real problem is when people use the wrong paint or skip proper cleaning. A good job with the right materials won't mess up your draft.