The apartment I moved into earlier this summer had the most amazing exposed brick walls. In fact, these walls were the reason why we chose this apartment. Once we moved in we realized just how horrible they were. We only lived in this apartment for 3 months — all thanks to the exposed brick walls.
Maybe it was the amazingly old apartment building or the lack of detailed construction, but these walls were ruining our life. They would crumble when we touched them and had giant cracks and gaping holes. In the middle of summer they emitted heat. However, the worst part was the centipedes. We had about 4-5 centipedes per night. They would range from .5" to 4" in length. The centipedes supposedly loved the moisture from the brick walls and thrived inside the cracks. At night they would parade around my apartment running faster than I could get them. We spent so much money trying to seal up the cracks and nothing seemed to work. Finally we gave up and broke our lease.
Everyone seems to want exposed brick walls. But our experience had us see a whole new light! What has your experience been like with them?
Image: Meg Lewis
Small Cool Lessons: Discovering Small Space Design Ideas That Really Work
Marisa and Peter's Playfully Eclectic Home
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Z2 iPod Dock and Wi...
10 Low-Budget Pantry Items Everyone Should Have
Summer Recipe: Gluten-Free & Vegan Strawberry Shortcake
That really sux, sorry to hear about that.
No sympathy.
I love the look and I would never have thought about all those problems. Old buildings, you never know.
Impossible to hang anything with ease-and without air conditioning they function like a brick oven in hot weather!
Impossible to live with in winter here in Canada since theres no insulation. It would be drafty, and cost a fortune in heating.
Pretty, but not practical here.
"no sympathy"? wow
I would expect that the exposed brick would be treated with a sealant/finish that would minimize or eliminate those problems. Seems like your apartment owner just didn't do the correct maintenance.
I live in a loft apartment converted from warehouse space. Instead of brick, I have very rough-textured poured concrete walls. It has a lot of the same ambiance as brick, but fewer problems.
wild. i lived in a loft with an exterior brick wall and had none of those problems. we did have some dust from the bricks and mortar, but no moisture or temperature problems. maybe the thickness of the walls are a major factor?
We live in Buffalo NY we exposed birick on 3 walls in our lower floor. It hasen"t been a problem with heating or bugs. It needs to be sealed with a sealer also depends on the thickness of the walls for your heat gain or loss. As for the bugs it looks like you were not on ground level. It sounds like a building problem not from the little exposed brick you had.
I had the exact same problems with an exposed brick wall. It was a shared wall so it wasn't as cold as what you describe, but it was hot in the summer and the bugs were out of control!
I never have had bugs like those centipedes before or after I lived there. They are like big hairy undulating worms and I hated them.
I guess they're harmless, but pretty gross.
Sounds like a building maintenance problem.
Part of the reason bricks weren't exposed historically is that bricks are not a great "living with" surface. They shed dust and crumble and let all kinds of nasties through. I always find it kind of funny that we romanticize exposed brick, when it is just not a very living friendly surface.
Oh, submitted too soon.
Insects do generally indicate moisture problems. In some ways, you may have been lucky the brick was exposed and you were aware of the problem.
If the brick had been covered with plaster or drywall, you'd still have moisture and insect problems, which means you'd also likely have mold/mildew issues. You just would not have known as quickly that your building was not maintained.
Brick walls should be sealed and repointed (loose, deteriorated mortar scraped out and replaced) regularly (depends on climate, type of brick, etc...in my area, repointing should be done every 50 years or so).
Bricks can also fail. Common causes are freeze/thaw cycles. The brick absorbs too much moisture and the absorbed water freezes. Water expands as it freezes, causing cracking or flaking in the brick. Cracks in the brick allow more water to be absorbed, so the cycle repeats itself until the brick fails.
Brick is a great low maintenance building material (which I say from inside my 100+ year old brick row house), but it does have to be maintained. Over the four years we've had this place, we've had the whole thing repointed (probably the first time it was done since the build). It cost a heck of a lot more than painting a house this size, but I'm set for exterior maintenance for a while.
Our office building has a lot of exposed brick walls, and it's definitely seasonally cold/hot...and we have those creepy little jumping spiders living in ours instead of centipedes (which is only slightly better...or worse, honestly I'm not sure). They look awesome, but are pretty much a pain.
Our office building has a lot of exposed brick walls, and it's definitely seasonally cold/hot...and we have those creepy little jumping spiders living in ours instead of centipedes (which is only slightly better...or worse, honestly I'm not sure). They look awesome, but are pretty much a pain.
I feel you. We have a condo in DC with the same issue. Our living/dining room is wrapped inside this awesome exposed brick turret. It is cool, but it need to be re-pointed. The mortar just seeps out and house centipedes love it. However, we own and we know it needs the work, we just have to save a few grand to get it fixed. Argh.
I have an (un-sealed) exposed brick wall in my living room, and I adore it. It helps that the brick wall is NOT an exterior wall, so it's not leaking heat/cold. It's not impossible to hang art, either- just depends on your fasteners and anchors. I wouldn't hang a large weight-bearing shelf on the wall, though.
There's been very minimal crumbling/dust; the tenant prior to me very thoughtfully shoved steel wool into the seam between the wood floor and the bottom of the wall, which has probably gone a long way to ensuring a total lack of bugs/rodents.
I sealed and painted over two exposed brick walls in my house this year and am glad I did. At first, I really liked the exposed brick in one of the rooms (the kitchen), but after almost nine years of dealing with brick dust. crumbly mortar and grime, I'm very glad I painted them. Much lower maintenance.
I still have centipedes, though. They must live in the exposed bricks that make up my basement walls. Or in the dirt floor down there. They don't really bother me.
how much does anyone touch their walls? Keep your hands off, stand back and enjoy.
I would have never thought that brick walls could have problems as bad as centipedes! I'm not really into the brick though, aesthetically speaking. I actually painted over our brick fireplace just to have a more streamlined look!
I lived in a 1920's building with exposed brick walls and found it a little overwhelming. I love the look but I wouldn't have exposed bricks in my house again, well, maybe just on one tiny wall.
I didn't have the centipede problem—heebie jeebies! But insolation was weak and there were brick crumbs, but not excessive. What I did like about the bricks—I could put up as many frames I wanted and not worry about the holes.
THink of it the bug are not crawling through your brick and morter. More likely under doors or around uncalked window frames.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_story_of_my_life/5262509256/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_story_of_my_life/5262502296/
I find exposed brick ugly, gloomy, inconvenient, and dated--glad to hear my dislike for the stuff has protected me from centipedes!
I've had two apartments with exposed brick walls, one built in 1820 and one in 1910. Neither one had moisture problems or bugs. No cracks. No heat/cold problems--in fact, the 1820 building had a brick exterior and was the least drafty building I've lived in. The walls weren't sealed, but brick dust wasn't a problem. There are hangers available to hang things on brick walls.
I think the poster just had a bad wall, period.
ooh I had those centipedes in my college dorm room and they STILL make my skin crawl! Way too many feet, and they move WAY too fast, I'm sorry, that's miserable!
Centipedes are poisonous. Millipedes are not. Not sure which one you are referring to, but please be careful.
it sounds like a building maintenance issue/lack of proper brick sealing. I live in an exposed brick apartment, ground floor and have yet to meet any insects at all. That apartment sounds like it needs an inspection.
well, there goes my dream of living in an awesome downtown loft with centipede-free brick walls.
The worst apartment I ever had was a studio in an old Victorian building with exposed bricks. On a windy day, you could feel the wind coming through them, and they effectively radiated cold in the winter. It was horrible. However, my current apartment is a very new building with no bricks at all--and the windows leak air like mad, so the problem isn't restricted to just bricks.
The problem doesn't appear to be exposed brick so much as OLD exposed brick. Let's face it, you'd have equivalent problems with 100 year old plaster or wood.
And if you had 10 or 20 year old exposed brick, you probably wouldn't have problems at all. Other than aesthetically :)
I've lived in an apartment in NYC with exposed brick for two years now and have never seen a centipede, spider, or other creepy crawly creature. We do have mice and roaches, but that has more to do with the NYC part than the brick part.
When we moved in, the brick was crumbly and ugly (we exposed it ourselves-- it had been covered up for 50+ years!), so we stained some mortar red to plug up the bigger holes, and then urethaned over the whole thing to keep them from crumbling. They're pretty, shiny, and I'm going to be really sad to lose them when we move into our new place in a few months! :(
Ditto to Blandwagon. I just moved from a 100-year old building without any exposed brick, and we had millipedes there, too.
[Shivers...]
Wow this post actually made my day. I live in Los Angeles, and I very badly want to live in a brick building. However, a lot of the buildings here in Southern California are earthquake death-traps waiting to happen, and I just can't bring myself to actually rent an apartment in one of the amazing historic brick buildings in my area. Sooo thanks for making my day by discussing brick building problems! :-)
We have an exposed brick chimney in our kitchen - we cleaned and sealed it, and have had no problems with dust, bugs or temperature changes. I love the look, but I don't think I would do a whole wall exposed like that, even minus dust/insect problems, just because you can't insulate (unless it's just a veneer, which I have to say I find tempting) and can't soundproof it effectively either. Both very important in a big cold city! We have some walls we gutted and insulated and some we haven't (it's a 100 year old house and had no insulation at all, except a little in the ceiling) and you REALLY can tell the difference. Unless you are somewhere super temperate and detached, I think that's enough of an argument against the full exposed brick look.
I am so glad to see this post and all of the comments -- especially giftable's take on brick walls! I'm about to embark on a major painting project (living room + 2 hallways), which includes possibly stripping a few layers of paint from the brick fireplace. My building's handyman strongly advised me *not* to expose the brick -- that it would be dusty and crumbly, and I'd regret it... Instead, he suggested I pick a nice color and fuggedaboutit. Ours is a very old building, built in 1895, and the fireplace is on an interior wall, so I think we'll be okay w/drafts. Any other suggestions greatly appreciated!
Too funny. I just blogged about this last night because I've left my brick fireplace au naturel but painted brick is everywhere, tempting me to paint it over. I posted some pics about a couple who tried to unpaint their painted brick house and it was not do-able. It can definitely be a permanent decision in some cases.
As a side note, I have centipedes everywhere and never even on the same floor as the brickwork. They are little jerks that will bother you no matter what.
My bedroom is a decade-later addition to my home and has an exposed brick wall. When we bought the house we loved it and refused to have it painted, but by the time my bf passed away two years later, I was ready to cover it up. The room will be gutted later this month -- new subfloor, insulation and drywall -- and the first surface to be primed and painted will be the brick wall.
I lived in an apartment in Chicago with exposed brick walls. SAME story. I couldn't keep the place clean because of the constant crumbling, the walls were FREEZING in the winter, and UGH! The BUGS! Gross gross gross. I still get the heebie geebies thinking about those suckers! Never again.
No exposed brick in my current house. And none of the problems!
Geez, I lived in Back Bay Boston for years with exposed brick and had none of these issues. The bugs though: never had centipedes or millepedes, but being Back Bay, there were roaches. The bugs might be an affect of living in an old structure, or in close proximity to other buildings?
Ah, I have this same problem now! No centipedes, but I am freezing and can hear the draft coming through the brick wall. I have to turn up the heat a few degrees to compensate for the room that has the exposed brick, the other insulated/drywalled rooms have no problem. I have heard of sealants, but none of them can make up for the crumbling mortar and that bricks are porous/non-insulating material. I was just thinking this week how I want to put bubble wrap over the whole wall just for the winter, ha!
oooh man, house centipedes are terrifying! every apartment i've ever lived in here in toronto has had a problem with those nightmare beasts, and none of them had exposed brick. but, my parent's 115 year old attic has exposed brick- not for aesthetics, it literally has never been covered over- and it leaks air and moisture like a mofo. hot in summer, frigid in winter, and damp to boot. i love the way it looks, but it's like living in a sieve.
It isnt a yes/no - no one, even an exposed brick lover would want those problems, but nice bricks - yes please.
So happy that somebody else hates exposed brick. I haven't even had experiences with bugs; I just don't like the look of them or the texture (visual or actual). If they were painted, then okay.... but not exposed brick. Ugh.
I like the look of the exposed brick, but never had centipedes/milliepedes/what-have-you until I moved into my current, exposed brick, loft apartment. Yes, the radiating cold in winter isn't pleasant, but the worst thing is the centipedes. Ugh! Sometimes my cats kill them, but I wish they'd kill many, many more!
How about, for those who like the look but hate the bugs and heat, installing bricks with a real wall behind it. Would that be excessive? Then you could say you did it and break it in yourself.
The look is great but I always wondered about the bugs...so glad to know that they are definitely worth passing up.
I actually just bought my (first) apartment and am about 90% sold on installing thin brick in the living room. Luckily because I'm just doing one wall and come from a family of contractors, the cost isn't prohibitive. I'm going to go ahead and guess that centipedes won't be a problem with "fake" exposed brick in a newer building. At least, I hope, because all those legs seriously freak me out. I'm mainly just concerned I might regret it aesthetically down the line. There's no easy way back from that kind of work!
A couple solutions to those that asked earlier,
If you are trying to hang something into a brick or concrete wall get a hammerdrill (for concrete and brick) or an impact hammer drill. Go to home depot they'll have thousands of options. Basically, it pounds the drill like a hammer and makes nice clean holes. You may have to get a masonry tip, but its super cheap for the whole setup. One of your neighbors would easily have one too.
Additionally, there's a great tip for those that want the look of an exposed brick without the hassle. When working on film sets, and we want an real exposed brick wall (but are set) we buy brick veneers. Its essentially the front 1/3 of the brick and we glue them onto walls and add the mud in between the spaces. You can do this on any wall, and its a lot cheaper than you think. The bricks come in tons of styles and shapes and colors and you can make a real wall and seal it, then enjoy the exposed brick. Just something in case people were considering that.
our entire 3 story loft home is exposed brick walls. i have 2 words for you -- orkin man.
when we first moved in, we would see a few a week. 2 years later, i rarely see one, and when i do -- it's usually itty bitty or already dead.
I lived in a loft in Printers Row Chicago for 15 years. After about 6 or 7 years, I could not stand the 'exposed' brick walls anymore.
They are basically a dust factory. I made a trip to Amsterdam and noticed how much I loved the painted brick everywhere and painted them after I returned home and loved it more then ever!
I felt it went with my mid century design much better as well.
Carl
I had MASSIVE brick walls in my Chicago loft a few years back. When I moved in, they were dark and foreboding. I commited the cardinal sin of painting the brick and was much much happier. I retained all of the texture but no longer had the issues with dust, and darkness.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iconeon/1372696698/
We owned a house with exposed brick walls built in 1880. We never once had a problem with the walls harboring insects or any other creatures. I'm surprised to learn this is a real problem for some homes.
I have exposed brick in my rowhome but it's been sealed with clear poly. Dust & bugs really haven't been an issue (at least not because of the brick).
I understand why people dislike them, but house centipedes aren't bad to have around. I let them be, since they eat bugs that can actually hurt me like brown recluses and black widows.
AT, will you make a post about "fake brick"? I have always wondered about this. I remember my parents installing some kind of brick facing in the fireplace of our last home (it was on the second level, the weight of real bricks wouldn't support it). I love the look of exposed brick, but this post is freaking me out. There's nothing more gross than centipedes...
I'm so glad I caught this post. I am renting a place in Chicago with 3 exposed brick walls. I'm having the centipede issue (not as bad as the OP) but it's so disgusting! They are 2 inches long and super fast, too fast to kill. They are supposedly aggressive and poisonous (not deadly, but a bad reaction). I have seen them come crawling out of the holes in the brick. One night, one crawled down the wall and then... while I was chatting on the phone... across my bed!! I slept on the couch, and since that moment I'm not totally relaxed in bed (the bed is against the brick wall, it's a tiny room. After that happened I've googled centipedes and exposed brick and only found mention. But this confirms my suspicions!
If that's an actual photo there are major efflorescence issues (well, problems) and probably leakage as well with the wall both above and below the window.
The layer of plaster on furring in older Chicago buildings is both for insulation as well as for stopping drafts and moisture. Coating the brick with a moisture resistant film or vapor barrier can exacerbate moisture problems.
Ugh, z-brick. Don't do it. I looked at a place which the nastiest polystyrene bricks in the living room - half of them were falling off too.
Exposed brick in vintage places gives me 1970s era hives.
Lived in an loft for three years with some exposed brick. Didn't have any temperature problems as the walls were about a foot thick, but bugs and dust were a huge nightmare. A brown recluse spider crawled out of a hole in the brick OVER MY BED. Not to mention the endless roaches and beetles. The wood floors were constantly covered in dust and it took a while to figure out where it was coming from. Prefer not to do it again. I can't stand the feeling of those "crumbs" under my feet.
"Unlike its shorter-legged but much larger tropical cousins, S. coleoptrata can live its entire life inside a building, usually the ground levels of homes. They are non-aggressive, and are generally considered harmless to humans. In Japan they are considered a useful species, as they prey on a number of disease-carrying and destructive insects."
I love exposed bricks but based on this posting, I will avoid them. Yuk!!!! Centipedes... They are so gross. Parenthetically, I lived in an older building in Brooklyn (sans brick wall) and dealt with centipedes... I am still skeeved at the memory!!
We live in a 100 year old brick timber loft and if you have the brick tuck pointed properly, you shouldn't have issues. I've seen a few bugs here and there over time we've lived here but nothing more than we ever had in any other Chicago or NYC apartment.
I lived in a brick building in Brooklyn -- brick outside and some exposed brick on the inside as well. Never again... shudder.
We have them in our 111+ year old row home and love them, but they need to be sealed. Very, very little crumbling and they are only on the shared wall, so heat transfer isn't a problem.
I am currently renovating two century old brick buildings in a downtown area in Missouri. The best product we have found for sealant is called Bright Rock. It is a clear sealant for those who would prefer to keep the exposed brick look. It doesn't make the brick "shiny" as the name would suggest. The heat/cool issues really have to do with the repair and composition of the brick, how many courses of brick there are (my walls are three layers of brick deep) and the mortar integrity.
We are about to embark on a similar project and wanted to know if you've had any issues with centipedes and if there are any watch outs that you would advise us on. Many thanks in advance, Sarah