Brick restoration company sanding down top layer

[Jianfranco]

Hi all - I need to have non-breathable paint removed from my Victorian terrace and cement mortar removed to be repointed with lime. Honestly trying to find someone that I trust fully understands what’s needed and doesn’t just want to make the house ‘look nice’ is difficult. The only real option seems to be engaging a listed building specialist who will work mostly by hand but you’re looking at 4x the cost of some already very expensive quotes.

Anyway, there’s a restoration company that’s been around for 20 odd years that charges a premium, has nothing but 5 star ratings, was recommended by a neighbour - but one google review in praise of them clearly states they sanded down some bricks (before and after photos below). Every company of this type seems to be at it; from what I understand it ruins the bricks, so my question is, is everyone going to end up having to rebuild the front of their houses in London in 5 years because these restoration specialists are going round sanding bricks? Should I steer clear?

 

[Tigercubrider]

Does the person really mean sanding? As in using an abrasive pad to move forward and back to abrade the finish?

I would have expected either a sand blaster or CO2 blaster to be used.
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[Jianfranco]

You’re right, I think they’re probably referring to sandblasting - even then I’d understood that was a no-no, but now I know what I’m looking for the number of properties I see in the area that have has some element of sanding, sandblasting undertaken on the brick leads me to believe it’s widespread.