ALL exterior walls in the house exposed brick.

[Cameron Hillebrand]

I am considering rehabbing a 100 year old brick house in St. Louis City as a rental. With the quickpoint tuckpointing gun, tuckpointing is very cheap and easy, most likely easier than hanging and finishing drywall. The biggest problems I can think of with exposed brick walls are cleaning the brick walls during turnover and lack of insulation.

Assuming having all exposed brick walls are way way cheaper than drywall, what problems might I encounter with having exposed brick walls?

[Aaron Schump]

@Cameron Hillebrand 

The exposed brick is not an issue, though you will want to seal them after they have been repointed. If you dont the brick will flake off over time. It's a real mess. We like to use a water-based product, not a polyethylene.The water-based options will allow the brick to "breathe/dry out". 

St. Louis still has great masons, since most of the city buildings are true brick constructions, so no problem with labor. The insulation value is sort of an issue, but it's not really any worse than the plaster you already have in place. The huge thermal mass of the brick is what slows down the heat/cold transfer. If you want better insulation, you will want to remove the plater and fur out with 2x4's to allow for insulation. Rockwool works great in a brick application.