Brick and Stone Fireplace Limewashing in Tacoma, WA

Tacoma Limewash Painting gives brick, stone and plaster fireplaces a hand-brushed lime finish in Tacoma, Washington. Because lime absorbs into masonry rather than coating over it, a limewashed surround can mute dated orange brick or busy stone while the mortar joints and texture stay visible.

Soot and smoke residue prevent absorption, so cleaning comes first; the hearth and mantel then need masking, and a color sample is best judged against the room. Fireplace limewashing is available in Tacoma and in University Place, Fircrest, Ruston, Fife, Lakewood, Gig Harbor and Puyallup.

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Living room brick fireplace limewashed in chalky warm white

Fireplace limewash options

Brick fireplaces

Unpainted brick takes lime readily, which is why brick surrounds are the classic candidate. A first and perhaps second coat pale the brick and soften strong reds while the joints stay readable. How heavily each coat is applied sets how much original brick color remains.

Stone and rock fireplaces

River rock, stacked stone and fieldstone absorb limewash into their faces, so the colors grow more consistent while each stone’s shape and shadow remain. Polished, very dense or sealed stone can shed the lime; a few drops of water on it will show whether it soaks in.

Painted brick fireplaces

Old paint closes the brick’s pores. After loose paint is cleared, a primer and limewash system designed for painted surfaces can go over it. The result resembles limewashed masonry more than paint, though bare brick would show more variation.

Plaster and drywall surrounds

Drywall and plaster surrounds are not absorbent in the same way as masonry, so they take the primer system the product specifies, after which limewash gives a quiet, plaster-like finish. Hand-finished corners and edges keep the surround looking like a single solid mass.

Full chimney breasts and built-ins

Lime laid wet into wet across one surface leaves no seam. Running the finish up the whole chimney breast to the ceiling, or across the built-ins beside it, turns the fireplace into a feature wall and avoids a hard line where brick meets plaster above.

Dining room enveloped in warm mushroom limewash

Heat, soot and the firebox

Limewash is a mineral coating for the parts of a fireplace on show: the surround, the chimney breast and the hearth’s front face. Nothing goes inside the firebox. Grease, soot and smoke staining must be cleaned off first, since they block absorption and can bleed through.

The bricks closest to the opening take the brunt of heat and soot, so an occasional refresh there may be needed to keep the tone even. Follow the limewash maker’s guidance on use near the opening for both gas inserts and wood-burning fireplaces.

Mantels, hearths and color

Wood mantels need masking, or removing temporarily, so their edges stay clean against the new finish. The upright face of a raised hearth may be limewashed to match. Its top surface, if people sit or place things there, should either get a protective treatment approved by the maker or be left as bare stone or brick. In most living rooms warm whites, soft greiges and pale clays work well, and holding sample boards against the room shows how a color sits with floors and furniture.

Request a fireplace limewash quote

Send the material, any paint history, the address and a surround photo.

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