Glossary
Brick & brick-wash terms
The words masons and product labels use — explained in plain English.
B
- Breathability
- A finish's ability to let water vapor pass through it so moisture in the wall can escape.
C
- Calcium hydroxide
- Slaked or hydrated lime — the main ingredient of limewash.
- Carbonation
- The process by which lime absorbs CO₂ from the air and hardens back into calcium carbonate (limestone).
- Corner pop
- A cracked or displaced section of brick at a building corner, usually from foundation movement.
D
- DecoWash
- Brick Restoration, Inc.'s name for its decorative wash service.
E
- Efflorescence
- White, powdery salt deposits on masonry left behind as moisture evaporates.
G
- German smear (schmear)
- A mortar wash smeared over brick and partly removed so brick shows through, giving a rustic textured look.
K
- Knock-back
- Removing some wet mortar from brick faces during a German smear to expose the brick.
L
- Limewash
- A traditional finish of slaked lime, water, and pigment that soaks into masonry and cures into a matte mineral finish.
- Lintel
- The steel or stone beam over a window or door that supports the brick above it.
M
- Mineral (silicate) paint
- Paint with a potassium silicate binder that chemically bonds with masonry and remains breathable.
- Mortar
- The mix of cement, lime, sand, and water that bonds brick together — and the base of German smear and slurry.
- Mortar wash
- Any decorative finish made from thinned mortar, including German smear and slurry.
P
- Portland cement
- The common cement binder in modern mortar.
S
- Sample panel
- A small test area of the finish on your actual wall, approved before the full job.
- Slurry
- A full-coverage mortar wash that produces a stucco-like look while the brick shape reads through.
- Spalling
- Flaking, peeling, or crumbling of a brick's face, usually from trapped moisture and freeze or salt damage.
W
- Water repellent (breathable sealer)
- A clear treatment that helps masonry shed liquid water while still letting vapor escape.
- Whitewash
- A thinned, semi-transparent coating applied to brick for a brighter, softened look.
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