What to do about the brick

I called in to Ask the Builder this morning to ask Tim what we should do to seal up the brick wall in the living room. My primary concerns are about mortar and brick flaking off and dust getting everywhere.

Tim suggested we try a water-based urethane to seal it all up. I got another suggestion (from someone who knows Tim) that we look at a silicone elastomer. We have a little more clean-up to do on the brick, plus some tipping to fill in gaps, and we'll be ready to roll sometime this week.