THE BREATHABILITY YOUR HOME NEEDS
Breathable Masonry Paint
Emperor Masonry Paint is highly breathable, so you can breathe easy knowing your home is breathing easy too.
No more compromises
Unlike standard masonry paints, Emperor Masonry Paint penetrates & bonds to the wall. This nano-technology allows our paint to reduce the risk of water entering your home while still allowing water vapour to escape, for complete breathability.
Our paint is super hydrophobic, meaning it causes rain to simply roll off your walls, leaving your home dry & protected from the damaging effects of the weather. Crucially, by not sealing the pores, air and water vapour can easily escape. With an SD breathability value similar to limewash, you can breathe easy knowing your walls are breathing easily too.
No longer must you choose between a paint that performs or breathes – Emperor Masonry Paint gives you the protection you want from a paint with the breathability you need.

A world of benefits
By keeping your home dry, Emperor Masonry Paint and our nano-technology has a wide range of benefits.
Lifetime guarantee – certified to withstand harsh weather conditions for a minimum of 25 years without peeling or flaking, which is why we offer a lifetime guarantee.
Improved energy efficiency – wet walls cause your home to lose heat more quickly. By keeping your walls dry, Emperor helps to reduce heat loss and make your home more energy efficient.
Self-cleaning – dirt is washed away with rainfall and the growth of moss, algae and lichens is deterred.
Helps prevent penetrating damp – by reducing the amount of water that can absorb into your exterior walls, Emperor helps to protect your home from penetrating damp and the range of problems it causes.

Independently tested & certified
We took our paint to a UKAS accredited laboratory to test all aspects of Emperor Paint products, including breathability. The results found that Emperor Paint products did not adversely affect the breathability of the walls they were applied to. The SD value (breathability level) for Emperor Paint products was found to be below 0.03, well below the 0.5 which is often considered breathable by British Standards. This meant that the products passed the BS EN ISO 7783:2011 (water vapour diffusion) Quality Standard.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do we mean by breathable?
Breathability is a term used within the building industry to describe how a substrate allows water molecules and air molecules to pass through it. If a surface has high breathability, this water vapour is able to freely pass through the surface ensuring it stays dry.
How has the breathability of Emperor Paint products been tested?
We took our products to a UKAS accredited laboratory to test all aspects of Emperor Paint products, including water resistance, durability, heat retention and breathability. To determine breathability of Emperor Paint products samples coated with each of our products were compared against untreated samples.
The results found that Emperor Paint products did not adversely affect the water vapour resistance of the substrates they were applied to. The SD value (breathability level) for Emperor Paint products was found to be below 0.03, well below the 0.5 which is often considered breathable by British Standards. This meant that the products passed the BS EN ISO 7783:2011 (water vapour diffusion) Quality Standard.
Are standard masonry paints breathable?
Unfortunately there is a large amount of misinformation when it comes to the breathability of masonry paints. The reality is standard masonry paints have poor breathability. This is because they are acrylic-based formulations, which do not allow surfaces to naturally breathe like they would do if they weren’t painted.
Even some paints that refer to themselves and breathable or microporous do not have enough breathability to prevent problems. Emperor Masonry Paint is highly breathable with an SD value of 0.03, meaning it is as breathable as limewash and does not adversely impact masonry’s ability to naturally breathe.
Are masonry sealers breathable?
A masonry product that you may encounter are masonry sealers or brick sealers. These do as the name would suggest and seal the surface from the outside, preventing water entering the masonry but also preventing moisture escaping at the same time. This is because they often create a film on the surface of the masonry.
Emperor Masonry Creme absorbs into masonry and chemically bonds to the material instead of creating a film. This means it does not seal the pores of the masonry in any way and allows the masonry to breathe naturally. Emperor Masonry Creme has an SD value of 0.01, meaning like Emperor Masonry Paint it does not adversely impact the breathability of masonry surfaces.
Should you use a highly breathable paint on older properties?
Breathability is crucial for properties of any age, whether a listed building or a new-build house. The reason why breathability is mentioned as particularly important for older properties is that these structures generally have more moisture-related problems and the damage that can be caused from the build-up of moisture could be more significant. This said, for the long-term health of any masonry it is important to use a highly breathable product that will not trap moisture and allow your home to naturally breathe.
Should I remove previous paint before applying Emperor Masonry Paint?
You do not need to remove any previous paint from a surface before applying Emperor Masonry Paint. While this previous paint is likely to have lower breathability, by applying Emperor Masorny Paint on to the previous paint, you help prevent moisture entering the wall and thus reduce the level of moisture that needs to escape.
Any moisture within the property will eventually breathe out of the wall, the process will just be slower than if you applied Emperor Masonry Paint to an unpainted wall.
Information you may find helpful
Our dedicated team are on hand to help you no matter what the problem is.
You can get in touch with us by emailing [email protected], calling 01254 936121 or by chatting to us on Whatsapp.