Thank you - very helpful. We are leaning towards a whitewashed brick if we can get it past the ARB :) I am struggling with the stone part though. Our original plan was to do shingle with stone and copper gutters and cedar shake roof but they want a more european style, which is a little beyond my comfort level.

We are considering mortar washed brick if the whitewashed doesn't fly (although you should have heard my sales pitch - after all you whitewash with Old-World European Lime Wash!

Thanks for starting a new thread!

Our brick is mortar washed. It's actually a purple-red brick. Looked like a Tudor in the back, that looked horrid with the stone, but it was the texture I wanted and they had plenty of it (no wait).

The exterior door and window ledges/edges (whatever they're called) and interior of the arches (back) are Old Cahaba brick. You can see a small stack on the far right side of scaffolding. Gorgeous stuff...but it was too expensive to mortar wash over if I didn't like it once up.

Have you looked at Jack Arnold's (our architect) website and gallery? There are more photos in the Press section. He was our architect. Does a lot of cedar shake roofs but we opted not to due to upkeep. Also check out Bobby McAlpine of McAlpine Tankersley:

http://www.mcalpinetankersley.com/

and Dungan Nequette

http://www.dungan-nequette.com/

Both of those are close to me (in Alabama). McAlpine has a book coming out in April you can pre-order, if interested.

Here is a link that might be useful: Jack Arnold

If they actually said "European style," you could ask them for a definition. I have lived in Belgium and England and traveled throughout the area -there is no European style. Styles vary if you travel as little as 50 miles. It can depend on the supplies found in the area. We lived in East Anglia in England, and there is no natural stone there while other parts of the country have lots of natural stone.

They actually used Jack Arnold as an example . . . not very close to the cedar shingle I wanted :) I lived in Birmingham for several years so I am familiar with both the Alabama firms you mentioned . . . lived in Homewood and love many of the old tudors but that is a style which is difficult to do well new IMHO.

Thankfully there are a couple of Jack Arnold houses I can point to with the limed brick, or the steep slope roof instead of the mansard, or the single light panel french doors, all of which I love so hopefully I can find some middle ground that makes everyone happy.

And yes they did say European, but what they have up there already is a true hodge podge which is what I trying to avoid - would like to be consistent with whatever style we end up going with. We have a very talented architect so we are in good hands there, thankfully.

lol No, he doesn't do cedar shingle siding, but thought good for European examples. I was born and raised in Birmingham. Live a tad south/southeast now and shop Homewood's antique/bedding stores. I grew up in an English Tudor. Always a favorite, but not what I wanted.

I'm not found of mansard roofs either. Hopefully, they'll compromise.

I am having trouble searching on Gardenweb (it is simply not working) so I could not research mortar wash or limewash before making this comment...I have no idea what mortar wash is, would love a definition. I know what limewash is - a thinned out paint treatment, right? Limewash houses I have seen look like the house is glazed with paint.

I am finding this thread to be very interesting as I am building a French style home, but really really don't want to do real stucco. I just don't like how it ages - I know it is classic - and I do like the uniform appearance of masonry stucco. But I don't like the cracks, and don't like the sooty and sometimes slimy look of aged stucco. Maybe it is all about the exposure and maintenance (pressure washing).

Everyone who sees the sketch of our house asks if it is going to be stucco, but I want brick. Bottom line. I went into this thinking about painted brick, which my architect is fine with - he says it will make the house more of a revival style. But, he has also mentioned a limewash too. In general, I don't like a lot of pattern, contrast, or variation, so I feel as if I need to educate myself.

I am off to Jack's website to look at examples. By the way, I did an email interview with Jack for my blog - this thread is inspiring me to go ahead and finish it so I can post. I love Jack's work, and his blog is so interesting - have you seen it?

Yes, I have seen his blog. I wish he would post on it more often.

Mortar wash, according to the note brickmason left us:

2 parts sand to 1 part mortar. Mix well. Dries quickly.

They wet brick with large mason's brush first, then applied mortar wash. Working one section at a time until complete. No stopping in the middle. Be careful not to overlap - will cause overlap marks.

Interesting thread. We are planning on whitewashing as well. I'd love to see whitwash pics athensmomof3.

Below is a red whitewashed brick house. Just voted one of the 20 prettiest houses in Atlanta. It is whitewashed with a fairly light hand although it can be whitewashed to be much more consistent too. I like actually the less consistent whitewash better because it looks like red brick under there and doesn't read as pink.

On the same website under new houses is the Norman house which I am told is a lightly whitewashed brown brick.

Totally different look.

My architect also has a whitewashed brick tudor on his website - the tudor with the red roof towards the end of the list. It is whitewash over brown brick. Much more consistent looking. They also used some sort of brick technique to give some of the brick on the gables a very old world cobbled look (I am sure it has a name!)

http://www.wtbaker.com/private_residences.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Whitewashed brick house

Now that I can search on gardenweb again, I am pleased to see how many useful threads there are on home exteriors. I looked back at a house in Baton Rouge, designed by A. Hays Town, that has always been one of my favorites. One of the architects who apprenticed to A. Hays Town reads my blog, and emailed me about the house - when I looked up the email, he said the house was one of the first times that A. Hays Town had used a mortar wash technique. They used old bricks on this house, they were even old when the house was built. I thought that was interesting, because my architect said that if I am going to paint my brick, I don't need to worry too much about them being hand made or old.

I think it is beautiful. It has a slightly different finish than Allison's house, but that probably depends on the unique look that each person was trying to achieve.

I found some old threads from '07 where people were asking about Pastelcote. I guess this is a dilemma that many have faced before - how to get a certain look when you really want to use brick, but don't want that typical flat brick look? I am not 100% sure what I think of Pastelcote. I recognize this as what my kids' school used on their structure, so maybe it is because I see it so much on the school that I can't imagine having it on my home.

Athensmomof3, those homes looks like one next door to me before we moved. It had been painted for years and became flakey. They did an addition and to make them match, they painted the addition and the original structure, then sandblasted.

thingsthatinspire, the Old Cahaba we used on the thresholds and arched columns in the back are not handmade, but tumbled. They have a lot of texture and looks like old bricks. The brick we use on the house (don't recall the name) I selected because it had the texture I wanted, even though it was a color I would not have left "as is." It was a purple/red. It was not handmade either.

I'll see if I have a photo of Ole Cahaba (Henry Brick Co) up close. It is gorgeous and would make a beautiful "old" looking home w/o being sandblasted, mortar washed or whitewashed.

Here's the best shot I have in Photobucket. I think you will be able to see the tumbled texture of the brick. If anyone wants a close up, I can take in the next day or so:

Here is the company website photo. imo, it looks nothing like our brick lol but you can kind of see the texture:

{{gwi:1403969}}

Allison, what are going to do with the brick? I'm confused. LOL! We're doing a pretty heavy white wash. Here's the picture I'm going ot show our painters:

I'm trying to avoid the dreaded pink whitewash look as well. I'm hoping to have the white wash really thick and opaque in parts and in other parts hardly visible. I think the pink comes when you do an even light whitewash on red brick. We choose a brick with a mix of red and brown. My builder also kept saying the brick color doesn't really matter when we will cover it up anyway.

I met with my architect today and he had several samples of great looking brick which he has used in the past in the gray/brown range. They were very pretty and I have always shied away from that as I guess I have just seen not the best looking brown brick! In fact, a house which he designed which is around the corner from my parents is apparently one of these bricks with stone. I would have sworn it was all stone (tudor style). We are still on the fence again about the outside but aren't really close to having to decide that . . . I agree about the pastelcote I think . . . need to see it on some houses in person. . . might prefer something that is a little older looking. . .

thingsthatinspire - it sounds like the mortar wash may be exactly what you are looking for since you have always loved that house. . . . and it gives you a more consistent look without using stucco. . . It would also let you have more control over the color as the mortar can be any number of colors :)

decisions!

Sorry to confuse you, pps. I was asked about my stone on another thread (about windows) and had posted pictures of my house. I started this thread to answer her question instead of hijacking the other thread.

Here is the house right after we moved in.

This poor man sanded all day. This is the smaller of our two retaining walls and I wanted a smooth finish:

Pastelcote does not look old at all. One reason we did not use.

Here is a link that might be useful: other thread w/photos

Ahh, I get it. So your brick is mortar washed. It's beautiful!!! I love your brick arches. We're also doing arches on our patio. Here's our inspiration pic-wish we could have a fireplace too, but wasn't in the budget.

{{gwi:1403976}}

If you don't mind sharing- how wide are your arches? What species did you use for your wood posts on the 2nd floor porch? And how big are those posts? 8x8 or 6x6?

Thanks so much. I've decided on 8 x 8 posts with 6 x 6 braces. One more decision done :). Is the cedar in the front stained? or oiled?

You're welcome. I have DH on the phone. He's wavering. lol I'll go measure....

Back: 6x6 post. Header 12x6

Front: 6x8 posts. Header 12x6. Brackets are 6x6.

All of the cedar in/out of the house is rough, but was "cleaned" by going over with a stiff wire brush to knock of dust, dirt, etc, then stained with Minwax Early American - all before installation.

Question about your mortar wash? What happens when it rains? I know brick can hold moisture so are there wet spots on the brick when it has been raining? If so, how long does it take to dry?

Thanks!

Forgot the arches:

We used the same wooden arch forms for the garage, so I'd have to assume they are the same width. Garage arched openings are 112" wide at the ground. If you want to know how deep the arches downstairs are, I'll have to measure.

Guess we were posting at the same time again!

When it rains, the mortar wash gets wet all over, just like the stone. It darkens it some, but honestly, I don't even notice it. It's not splotchy. Sometimes, just below the back veranda stays wet longer than the brick, but there's steel and concrete there. But all in all, the house dries as fast as any house after it stops raining. It doesn't stay wet for days, iow.

Thank you again allison for taking the time to answer my questions. Our arches will be 8 1/2-9 feet. A little bit smaller but hopefully will still look nice. Ours will not be as thick- probably 12"-yours look like 18-24". Is your lower level patio stained concrete? That's what we're doing. Would have love flagstone-but not in the budget.

Can't wait to be done, we're 6-7 months away (hopefully)! Out of curiosity all those here who are doing the "english cottage" house, what did you do in your baths?

Hey Pps7! Obviously my bathrooms are still in the future, but I've got most items planned. I'm going for sort of a 1920s look in all of them. The master will be white 2" porcelain hex on the floor. A tall wainscot in off-white crackle subway. I'm using an antique chest under a tall window flanked by pedestal sinks. Custom recessed medicine cabinets made from vintage gold gesso picture frames. A freestanding "roman" tub in a bay window and a separate shower with an exposed shower set in polished nickel. Oh, and 1920s chandeliers and sconces. The light fixtures are my weakness!

Powder room will have wood floors, white console sink and huge old gold gesso mirror. Antique crystal chandelier and maybe an uncoated brass faucet.

Jack and jill (I know, a lot of people hate them) will be white subway, hex floor, tub/shower combo with arched surround, vanity with arch-framed mirror, undermount sink, and more old light fixtures. I don't yet know what the counter will be.

The back hall bath will be brick floors, white subway wainscot, a console sink with nickel legs and the Restoration Hardware inset nickel medicine cab. The shower in there will also be white subway with an exposed shower set.

Whew! Is that too much information? What are you planning?

Great ideas, nutherokie.

pps7, yes. Both the back verandas are stained concrete.

On the main level, the bathrooms/showers and powder room all have the same travertine as the kitchen, laundry and sunroom. The lower level is completely extra large porcelain travertine tile (with the exception of exercise room due to weight restrictions).

All of our bathrooms have limestone countertops, Toto Drake toilets (ADA height), RH Bistro faucets/shower fixtures (some ORB, some BN - depending on bedroom it attaches) and undermount Kohler (Claxton, I believe) sinks. The MBath has an Ann Sack's Onzen soaking tub w/jets. It's the only tub in the house.

Cabinets are either stained/glazed or painted/glazed. I think I have only 2, maybe 3, different doors. Bath cabinets by Jim Bishop Cabinetry. They now make inset doors. >:(

I ordered a truck load of Hubbardton Forge light fixtures for our home, but most of the baths only have can lighting. I dislike sconces in bathrooms, but did bring two antique sconces for our powder room. Two matching in foyer. The MBath does have a 3 light chandelier in the walk-through section of bathroom (to closet) that matches the 2 chandeliers in our closet.

The powder room has a copper sink sitting in a wall bracket. I think the faucet is Newport Brass.

Don't know if you've seen my kitchen, so I posted link below:

Here is a link that might be useful: my kitchen photos

Allison,

I realize this thread is old, but do you have any idea what mortar color your mason used for the mortar wash? Our mason doesn't know how to get the look I want. We've been experimenting but so far it's not working. I am going to try your recipe tomorrow. Is it regular sand or some other sort of sand that was used?

I think it is buff, but I'll have to look it up for you. The sand is just sand brickmasons usually use - came from the same pile they used when they were mixing mortar for brick install.

*edited to add* I got busy at home and forgot to look up. I won't be back until later today. It may be tomorrow before I can look it up since DGS is spending the night. I'll ask DH in a bit, to see if he remembers.

This post was edited by allison0704 on Fri, Oct 18, 13 at 14:44

Allison--never really looked very closely at your brick. It's really interesting how the appearance changed. Definitely an alternative to painted brick.

Beautiful.

Thank you, Red Lover. We've been in our home seven years now, and there is no change in the mortar wash on the brick house.

Thank you so much, Allison. I'm just now checking back on the thread. We tried a buff color and it came out looking greenish in tone. He also tried an "Almond" color and it came out looking grey. Any more word on the color you used? Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you so much, Allison. I'm just now checking back on the thread. We tried a buff color and it came out looking greenish in tone. He also tried an "Almond" color and it came out looking grey. Any more word on the color you used? Thank you so much for your time.

Sorry, TX. I just asked DH who said it was Colonial Buff. There are various brands of mortar mix. Don't know which one it was, but he's positive that's the name.