Why it's worth leaving exposed brick on the wall

The myth about dust and the reality of the wallet

Many tenement owners are afraid that bare brick produces dust and stains tenants' clothes. This is an old fear that costs you about PLN 420-580 per month in lost rent. The truth is that a decent impregnant for PLN 87 solves this problem for at least 6 years. Last year on Mostowa street, we left an exposed wall from 1892 in a 47-meter premise. The cleaning cost was PLN 1,450. The effect was that a new cafe signed a contract in 4 days, accepting a rate PLN 14 higher per meter than neighbors with gypsum-plastered walls.

The brick doesn't lie – it shows the age of the building and builds trust with the customer who walks in from the street. If you run a design office or a law firm, such a wall says for you that you value solid foundations. We look for a second bottom in every property and we see that tenants from the creative industry are looking for precisely such details. Instead of spending PLN 6,200 on new plaster and painting in the entire premises, it's better to spend that money on professional sandblasting of one representative section of the wall.

At Monetra, we calculated that the investment in exposing brick pays off after an average of 7 months of rental. This is math you can't cheat. Bare walls mean lower renovation costs when changing tenants, because you don't have to patch holes in gypsum and repaint everything from scratch after every picture or shelf. Just vacuum the wall once every six months, which takes about 12 minutes using a regular soft-bristled attachment.

Brick raises the rent rate by PLN 14 per meter in 4 days from posting the ad.

Brick & Velour aesthetic attracts IT

The style combining raw clay with soft materials is currently the standard for technology companies in Toruń. We now have 14 active clients looking exclusively for such spaces. Why? Because a programmer spending 8.5 hours in front of a monitor needs texture and a warm color in the surroundings. Red brick also naturally regulates humidity in the room, which is crucial with old ventilation in tenements. We checked it in an office on Łazienna street – after revealing 12 meters of the wall, working comfort noticeably increased.

Not every brick is suitable for showing. Sometimes under the plaster, we find so-called 'rubble' from the 50s, which looks terrible. Therefore, we always start with an exploration in an inconspicuous place, for example, behind a door. If we see a nice header bond, we go for it. In a tenement on Żeglarska street, we discovered Gothic brick that was so pretty that the tenant decided to rent without negotiating the price. Old walls give new profits if you know how to light them properly.

The combination of brick with dark furniture and 3000K lighting creates a premium atmosphere without spending a fortune on expensive accessories. We have seen premises where owners spent PLN 110,000 on marble, and they still rented worse than those with well-cleaned, historical brick. People feel authenticity. In a city like Toruń, where history is at every step, hiding it under plasterboard is simply a waste of money.

We look for a second bottom under the plaster – sometimes one exploration decides on a profit of PLN 41,000.

Technical aspects of renovation

Mechanical cleaning is the basis. We do not recommend washing with water under pressure inside the premises, because moisture will enter the joints and take 3 weeks to dry. The best method is brushing and gentle low-pressure sandblasting. At Monetra, we use proven crews who know that Toruń brick can be capricious. In one of the projects in Bydgoskie Przedmieście, we had to replace 18 pieces of brick because they were too loose. The cost of one reclaimed piece is about PLN 4-6, so these are not large amounts.

Jointing is the moment when it is easiest to ruin everything. Never use hard cement mortars for old walls. It must be lime so the wall can breathe. Otherwise, in 2 years the brick will start cracking and chipping. This is exactly what we mean by the slogan 'we count every meter'. A poorly chosen joint will save you PLN 150 today, but force a renovation for PLN 8,000 in three seasons. A good joint should be recessed 1-2 mm relative to the brick face, which gives a depth effect.

The last stage is protection. We use matte preparations that do not give a 'wet wall' effect – it looks cheap and unnatural. A good siloxane impregnant protects against fat (important in gastronomy) and allows free wiping of the wall with a damp cloth. In the premises on Franciszkańska street, where a tattoo studio now operates, the wall looks like new after 14 months of intensive use. This is proof that hygiene and history can go hand in hand.

Impact on property valuation

Banks and appraisers in Toruń increasingly appreciate preserved details. During the renovation of the facility at Szeroka 9, resigning from suspended ceilings and plasters in favor of exposing the construction raised the final valuation by PLN 38,000 more than the initial appraisal assumed. This is real capital that you can use for the next development loan. Earn on tenements with a plan – sometimes what seems unfinished is most valuable for the market.

If you plan to sell a tenement within the next 3 years, bare brick in common parts is the cheapest way to make a good first impression. A staircase with a fragment of exposed wall suggests that the building is structurally well-maintained. We have seen this in the example of 43 tenements that have passed through our hands. Investors from Warsaw or Gdańsk are looking for precisely this 'spirit of Gothic' in Toruń, and not a developer standard that they can have at home.

Remember that every square meter of historical wall is your insurance policy in case of a market stagnation. Even when other offices stand empty, those with atmosphere always find a tenant within a maximum of 11 business days. These are hard data from our summaries for Q3 2024. At Monetra, we don't fluff – we show the texture of the wall and the numbers on the account.