What are bricks made of?
Bricks are created by using water, clay and shale. The mixture is left to dry naturally, away from direct sunlight. They can also be artificially hardened by burning the bricks by putting them in kilns somewhere between 1000 and 1200.
What is a brick sealer?
Brick sealers are water repellents that are specifically designed to be used on brick surfaces.
Brick sealers are especially formulated to:
- Seal and protect from UV exposure
- Repel water
- Solidify the jointing mortar in between the individual bricks
So what is the best brick sealer?
Bricks are hard and dense yet porous and easily penetrated by water. To maintain the natural bricks look and protect them from water and salt attack, it is important to use a high quality, invisible, impregnating sealer. We recommend a water based silane/siloxane sealer due to low VOC content. (Please note there are currently 16 states in the US that restrict solvent-based sealers.) Silane/Siloxane sealers like Siloxa-Tek 8500 are milky white in liquid form but they dry clear.
Benefits of using a silane/siloxane on bricks:
- You can easily apply with a garden type pump sprayer
- Will penetrate better into the substrate and mortar joints
- Prevents the growth of mold, mildrew and efflorescene
- After sealing water will bead off the surface