The Best Simple Way To German Schmear Brick

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When it comes to transforming your exterior, nothing will quite give the same powerful effect as a new coat of paint, lime wash or German schmear. As I have mentioned before, our home is a brick ranch from the late 1970s. Like many brick ranch homes, ours is situated in a neighborhood of primarily brick ranches. Upon moving into our neighborhood, I began trying to give directions for friends and family to find our house. I could not just say, “find the orange brick ranch under three oak trees”, as those directions also applied to the majority of houses around us. Upon seeing this, Charlie and I decided that we wanted to paint, lime wash or German schmear the brick to give the house a fresh update and help it stand out from the surrounding homes. Having researched each option, we landed upon German schmear and have been thrilled not only with the way that it turned out, but also how it has aged. Despite undergoing this process about 3 years ago, I wanted to write up our experience and everything we learned for the simple way to German schmear brick. If you have any interest in German smear or are looking for a way to transform your exterior for minimal cost and upkeep, I hope this article encourages you to take the leap.

What is the difference between German schmear, Lime Wash & Painting?

While German schmear, lime wash and painting your exterior will all transform your look, they are very different methods in terms of materials, cost, and maintenance. Regarding materials, German schmear consists of a mortar mixture, while lime wash is a paint that includes powdered limestone to age the brick / stone (or sometimes instead of a paint, is just lime and water) and paint is used for traditional opaque colors.

During application, lime wash is applied and then washed off to provide an antique look that will continue to harden over time, while the mortar mix for German schmear is a one-step process that hardens soon after being applied.

Typically, lime wash will penetrate the brick to provide an aged look without adding much texture but allowing the brick to breath. Similarly, paint provides breathability for the brick with the right exterior product, but it creates a cohesive coating that adheres to the surface of the brick with a fairly smooth texture. Finally, German schmear coats the brick and adheres to the surface with strong texture, but provides lower brick breathability for the areas that are completely covered.

Is German smear permanent?

Unlike lime wash or paint that must be power washed and refreshed with a new coat every 5 to 7 years, German schmear is a permanent solution. While it cannot be applied to brick that already has been painted, German schmear will bond with clean brick to provide texture and an old world look of heavy mortar joints.

I would recommend though, that if you do not already have landscaping around your house, to landscape as soon as possible to prevent dirt stains. We unfortunately did not landscape soon enough, so the base of a couple portions of the house have been stained with red clay. Other than that, the staining has not been a major problem, and likely, some gentle power washing would remove any dirt marks.

Is it cheaper to German schmear or paint your house?

While I do love the look of a painted brick house, both the German schmear and lime wash techniques are significantly cheaper, especially if you are undertaking a DIY solution. The pricing below is estimated with us doing the labor as we were up for the challenge, however if the projects are contracted out, you can expect a much higher price.

If you are willing to undertake the project yourself, the average cost for painting a brick house is $1500-$3000 depending on the size and coverage of the paint you are using. Most exterior paints require at least two coats for the first application, but some may need three. Similarly, you will assume additional cost for repainting the house every 5 to 7 years. In contrast, our German schmear project was about $150 – $200 including the mortar, buckets, grout bags, putty knife, and drill mixer attachment. Certainly, the project was time consuming and labor intensive, but if you have a partner and a ladder to assist you in the process, the final results are worth the effort.

Is German schmear bad for brick?

Despite German schmear being a permanent option, it can actually be good for the brick, especially if the brick is older and needs greater structural stability. While the permanence and process of German schmear may seem daunting, it was encouraged for our home. Due to being an older home, our brick had several hairline cracks through the brick from the foundation settling over time. After having an inspector look at it, he recommended getting mortar to dab in the cracks, a process called pointing. Once we mentioned that we were planning on doing a mortar smear, he said that was the perfect solution. As we were schmearing, we made sure to apply it thoroughly to the cracked areas, but overall the mortar has provided additional structural stability to the brick.  

Whether you are looking to just change the look of the brick or actually help hold the brick together, a mortar smear can be an attractive way to revive both interior or exterior brick.

Do you need to seal German schmear?

As the mortar smear is very similar to the mortar holding the brick stacks together, there is no need to seal the German schmear. Perhaps if your bricks were in really bad condition, you might have to treat them first, but we have not had any problems with our unsealed German schmear.

How To German Schmear – The Simple Way

Materials:

• White Thinset Mortar
• 5 Gallon Bucket
• Cement Mixing Drill Attachment
• Metal Putty Knife / Trowel – 6 inch or 3 inch
• Grout Bag
• Ladder(s) – of various heights

Steps:

If you watch many videos or tutorials on German schmear, most will demonstrate slathering the wall in your mortar mix and then using a large sponge to wipe off certain bricks you want exposed. We found that this led to a bit of a messy look, as the sponge did not easily remove the mortar mixture from the bricks and a hazy residue remained. While we tried to cover up most of the area where we tested the sponge method, you still can see a few bricks in the picture below that have a hazy film. Seeing this, we tried a different method that gave us a simple, and fairly mess free, application technique.

Step 1:

First, using your cement mixing drill attachment, mix your thinset mortar and water within a 5-gallon bucket slowly until the mixture is about the texture of peanut butter. As you mix, you may need to add a little more water or more mortar to bring it to the right consistency. Be sure to thoroughly mix the bottom of the bucket as well to ensure that you have a consistent texture throughout.

Step 2:

Following finishing your mix, fill a large grout bag with the mixture, much like you would an icing bag if you were preparing to decorate / pipe a cake.

Step 3:

Using your grout bag, trace the existing mortar lines of the brick. Trace the horizontal lines first and then trace the vertical. Be careful to only trace about a 3×3 to 4×4 foot section at a time to prevent the material from drying before you can finish it.

Step 4:

Once your brick lines have been traced, use your metal putty knives or trowels to smear the mortar. First smear in the horizontal direction, then vertical before finally making both small and large “X” like motions to provide even distribution throughout the area.

This technique allows the bricks to show through easily, but also give a consistent application of the mortar mix, without continuing to wash a messy sponge.

Step 5:

Once you finish your section, proceed to the next portion of brick. Finish your bucket and then repeat the steps above!

For us, it took a couple of weekends to complete the entire house, as we had other things going on, but a house the size of ours could be completed in a few days of constant progress.

Before

After

Final Thoughts

We have been SO pleased with the total transformation of our house and were very thankful to find this super simple and inexpensive method to completely change the look. Even though we have done several projects to our exterior, including landscaping, a walkway and a new door (check out that transformation HERE!), I believe the addition of the German schmear was one of the most crucial. While it certainly took a bit of work upfront, the schmear has held up nicely and helped to provide much more integrity to the brick and any small cracks. Have you tried a German schmear project, or are you hoping to? If so, I would love to know in the comment section below!

Happy schmearing!

Chloe

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