Damaged red brickwork

[Edward Ian]

My Edwardian terrace house (1905) which I bought last year, had been rendered with a thin, nasty textured stuff (probably in that architectural heyday known as the 70s).
I had it sandblasted off, but because it had bonded onto the bricks, the facing of them is gone with the wind
It has been suggested to re-render the house in lime render as the bricks cannot be restored. I would rather not do this, but a form of extreme tuck pointing (where the face of the brick is rendered brick colour and the pointing in pointing colour) seems to be not something generally offered. There is a London firm that says that it does this, but thought it would take too long.
Any ideas?
And if I do have to re-render it, any thoughts on colour?

 

[Cubist]

Hi Edward/Ian(?)

To be fair to yourself you shouldn't assume the sand-blasting did the damage - or at least most of it - as render was often applied to cover weather or other forms of damage.

Whilst the skills needed for the 'tuck' pointing you describe are not rare it would be a very expensive option and one that perhaps would be prone to further disfiguring damage. Personally I would go with a lime render and there are providers that supply a range of colours that may suit you - but at the end of the day you would still end up with a flat expanse of whatever colour you might select. Check out this link to get an idea of what may be available, https://www.thelimecentre.co.uk/

An alternative you might want to consider is External Brick Effect Tiles. There are many of these about and you may even be able to get hold of some that broadly match the existing colour, texture and face dimensions of the ones that have been damaged. Installation is fairly straight forward and therefore comparatively inexpensive but of course final cost will depend on the total surface area to be covered.

Hope this helps.
Cheers
Cubist

 

[Edward Ian]

Thanks for your quick reply. Actually my name is David - my house is Edward-ian

 

[paulc]

An alternative you might want to consider is External Brick Effect Tiles.

There are also brick slips - Basically, 20mm thick slices of bricks along with matching corner pieces. An alternative, depending on how damaged the existing faces are, is to dress the wall with a coarse carborundum stone.

 

[plasticpigeon]

I don't know what to suggest. I really like exposed brick, and almost all Edwardian terraces, at least the more normal ones would have had exposed brick. Sandblasting is quite a harsh way to remove surface coverings so I'm not surprised the brick faces were damaged. However as Cubist said, maybe they were already damaged before the blasting. I suppose rendering does seem the obvious option, but it can often be a shame to brake up the uniformity of a terrace if the others are brick. One very radical way of doing things would be to remove and rotate all the stretcher bricks as the backs probaby have a good face, but it would be pretty much impossible to do that to the headers. Amazingly I have seen this done to a house near me. It was actually the side wall of a semi where this was done, and I think the bricks were replaced rather than spun but the same process. It would take a big committment, but on the plus side the front of a terrace is largely windows anyway!

 

[plasticpigeon]

An alternative you might want to consider is External Brick Effect Tiles.

There are also brick slips - Basically, 20mm thick slices of bricks along with matching corner pieces. An alternative, depending on how damaged the existing faces are, is to dress the wall with a coarse carborundum stone.

I was wondering if that could be done. The gauged bricks sometimes used above doors and windows were very soft and cut or rubbed to shape on site according to old books I have, and apparently the face gets hard over time. I don't know if that would be the case with normal facing bricks. Edward-Ian, can you put up a photo?

 

[Edward Ian]

Hi, here are some photos

 

[Cubist]

Hi David,

Ouch, is the word that comes to mind on first sight of the photos. The only bright side is that I don't think it was your fault as I suspect that the 70s render you removed was a water repellant, and therefore non-breathable, coating that contributed to much of the damage to the brick faces. In all likelihood, in my opinion, you've saved the house from considerably more deterioration.

Given the area, and the architectural features around which you would need to work, brick tiles/slips, would be a very expensive and difficult way to go. Sadly a new lime render seems to be the least expensive and perhaps best way to go.

Cheers and please keep us posted.

Steve

 

[Edward Ian]

The brick is a really beautiful colour, I an very very loathed to cover it again.
What about a sealant and then repointing?
The new timber sash windows (double glazed) will be installed in 2 weeks

 

[Cubist]

It occurred to me that a sealant could be used after re-pointing but I have no experience of these and did not know if 'breathable products were available. I've done a little digging and there are products available that claim to be capable of protecting the brick without impact on the colour. She also claim to significantly reduce heat loss as well but I'm blessed if I know how the stuff can retain heat but still be breathable. Check out the link below, it might be worth investigation and maybe a test.

https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwim7ILmr63dAhVEsO0KHd--BbUYABAAGgJkZw&sig=AOD64_2jhFGBLR1iDb75u_YeE2YYmmdYNw&q=&ved=2ahUKEwjdhP_lr63dAhVKC8AKHWYtDWYQ0Qx6BAgEEAI&adurl=

 

[stuart45]

Siloxane sealers are said to be breathable, and have been used a lot in the USA for quite a few years.

 

[malcolm]

The covering in the photos looks like masonry paint rather than render. For the benefit of anyone else stumbling on this thread paint stripper with a high temperature pressure washer (DOFF of similar) would have been the way to get it off without damage to the bricks. Sand blasting will always damage bricks leaving this sort of nightmare.

If you can live with the current appearance of the bricks the trick will be to prevent further deterioration. Water won't run off them any more so freezing damage over winter will be your enemy. I wouldn't seal unless you can guarantee the sealer is properly breathable. Otherwise you will trap even more water ready for the winter freeze.

You might be able to reduce the amount of water that gets to the bricks in the first place. There is a huge overhang from the gabled roof above one side of the house which should help a lot. For the other side it might be worth thinking about some properly wide extruded aluminium guttering to shelter the wall from rain. I have that on the rear of my house and it offers a lot of shelter to the windows and walls.

 

[Feltwell]

Yes - difficult to say without sounding insensitive, but I thought that too.

I have to say though, with the damage done I would now definitely render it, with a lime render. Those bricks will always have a bad appearance no matter what you do with them, I think you'll get ongoing problems with any option other than render. A hard decision I realise, and I say this as someone who likes brickwork and dislikes it intensely when a nice brick building is rendered over. But I really do think it's your best option for the appearance and long term health of the building.

 

[plasticpigeon]

I was going to write the same about chemical stripping or dry ice blasting being a more gentle way to remove paint. It is disapointing that the sandblasters carried on despite the damage caused. Did they mention possible damage or did you just see it when it was done? If they didn't warn you of damage I think they were neglegent. I have to admit I am no fan of DOFF either after some rougue tradesperson blasted holes in my sandstone window capping with the high pressure water/steam jet. Thankfully I was in and got them to stop, but I'm certain they would have carried on had i not been there. Unfortunately this kind of thing is not uncommon. How much effort would you be willing to go to to get the bricks back. Everything is possible but it very much depends on how much effort you are happy to go to. As an aside, Althorp house in Northamptonshire looks like it is made of grey/buff brick but in fact the dacade is mathematical tiles covering an earlier red brick facade!!!

 

[Edward Ian]

The render wasn't just paint. It wasn't terribly thick - I think it was a textured render that was subsequently painted.
Currently exploring the idea of either brick slips or cutting out each brick and replacing or reversing.
Handmade bricks cut into slips work out at £1.25 per slip plus VAT. The egg and dart moulded bricks are only £8.50 plus VAT.
Bricklayer coming tomorrow - will keep you posted

 

[plasticpigeon]

You have really nice brickwork, Flemish bond. Unfortunately every other brick is a header, so hard to turn. I suppose even if the stretchers were turned around, 2/3rds of the wall would be back to normal. I applaud your drive and vision. If the outside ends up as nice as the inside it will be superb!

 

[Edward Ian]

Yes, I was thinking about the bond earlier.
Slips would solve the problem, and they really aren't too expensive (as these things go).
My view of these things is that it needs to be done properly - once

 

[Me!]

It wasn't terribly thick - I think it was a textured render that was subsequently painted.

That sounds like it could have been something like Sandtex High Build which appears to be a very, very viscous paint that also contains a grit so that it gives a textured finish like cement render.

 

[Edward Ian]

OK, for those who are still vaguely interested....
I have been in touch with 2 English brick manufacturers both of whom can supply replica bricks or slips (slips about an inch thick)

To reface the façade will be relatively simple until one gets to the first floor windows. Two issues there - the sandstone lintels (or what is left of them) and then the window recess. The lintels need to be remade anyhow (so bringing forward an inch isn't a big deal) but I have been agonising over the window recess.

To put slips on won't work, because of the window (that is the brick will sit in front of the window frame). To render and paint won't match anything. There is a proprietary brick repair mortar https://www.diy.com/departments/u-can-damaged-brick-repair-mortar-5kg-tub/1113397_BQ.prd which may or not be correct, but I am thinking now that I can get the brickmakers to make me some mortar in the same material/colour as the brick and job done...

Windows should have started yesterday - next Wednesday now , will keep you posted

 

[paulc]

There is a proprietary brick repair mortar https://www.diy.com/departments/u-can-damaged-brick-repair-mortar-5kg-tub/1113397_BQ.prd which may or not be correct

An alternative, which is lime based - https://www.twistfix.co.uk/brick-coloured-repair-mortar - An expensive way of buying coloured lime mortar. I dare say someone like Mike Wye could supply a colour matched tub at a much better price.