Q: I live in an older concrete block home. But the face of the blocks on the front of the house are slump block in an orange color that’s supposed to give the house an adobe-style look. I don’t like the color, but if I should paint those blocks a different color, would that process be reversible if someone wanted to get rid of it later?
A: If you paint those blocks a different color, you’re going to be turning what’s basically a maintenance-free product into something that requires heavy maintenance. You could not easily remove the paint later on if you don’t like it. Just to get the paint on the blocks, you’d have to put some fill on the surface before you paint and then you’d have to apply a couple of layers of paint over that. It would be a very expensive job. A better process that might make more sense would be to put a different colored plaster over the blocks instead; that would make them look even more like adobe. Then the blocks would be more maintenance free.
For more do-it-yourself tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com. An Arizona home building and remodeling industry expert for 25 years, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio program, heard locally from 8-11 a.m. on KNST-AM (790) in Tucson and KGVY-AM (1080) and -FM (100.7) in Green Valley. Call
888-767-4348.
