Replacing external brickwork

[HAM_SANDWICH]

The brickwork on my 1965 detached house is looking tired and is flaking, I think its a cheap brick thats been used.

I'm thinking of having the external skin of bricks replaced. My next door neighbours house has had this done, but he didn't live their when it was replaced so he doesn't know the cost.

Does anyone know the cost of having this done? or if there are any alternatives?

 

[Tozzy]

Does anyone know the cost of having this done?

Sorry m8, haven't got a clue.

or if there are any alternatives?

Why not use brick plates (not 100% sure if the correct name)? These 'plates' stick onto the face of the bricks and make them look more attractive. I'd imagine this would be a cheaper alternative to replacing them all.

 

[JOHNBOY42]

how about getting it rendered as this has 2 effects as it would cover the tired brickwork and also insulates the house better and their is a multi tude of colours you can paint it,but what you want are some brick slips or sometimes called brick facia..it is just stone cladding and does look nice when done,,,,i seen a guy selling these on ebay.

 

[noseall]

i think Tozzy's on about brick slips.

if you have a fairly deep soffit, there is no reason why you couldn't build a new skin around the old. it would mean moving the old windows and doors into their new position and fitting deeper window boards. a bit of reveal plastering, job done.

 

[masona]

I'm wondering if you can get away with just repointing to freshen the wall appearance, I don't know the condition of your bricks though

 

[HAM_SANDWICH]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've been told that render can increase the decay of the underlying brick, is this correct.

I'm assuming by your comments that rebricking is v. expensive.

We have planning permission to extend the house (although it will be a good 5 years before we've saved enough to go ahead). would it be more economic to have the house reskinned then, or is using brick slips / facias still the more economic choice?

 

[noseall]

i wouldn't like to rely on brick slips. there is a good reason why they make bricks 100mm thick.

 

[NS215]

why not just take the old outer skin down to the dpc then rebuild up from there using the original footings. job done properly

 

[joe-90]

Rendering is the only real alternative. It won't make your bricks decay any faster as it is weather that stuffed them in the first instance (frost).

Re-bricking the whole show would run into many thousands of £.

 

[^woody^]

I would be interested to see a picture of the bricks, to establish what the OP defines as "tired and flaking".

Generally bricks are not like paint and do not weather that quick, or to such an extent as they require replacing entirely. Nor are they a fashion item to be replaced when they become tired or dated. 41 years is not a great age for bricks, and even the worse LBC commons have more life than this.

Alternatives could be as simple as a good coating with waterproofer to minimise future spalling and a repoint.

 

[JOHNBOY42]

I am a bit dubious about the rendering causing the brickwork any problem unless there is a serious rising damp problem,but if you have a poor quality of brick I would take off any flakes and rake out loose mortar before getting it fully rendered then coated with a masonary paint,

 

[Tozzy]

why not just take the old outer skin down to the dpc then rebuild up from there using the original footings. job done properly

Wouldn't the whole house fall down doing this? . The thing is, how would you use the arco props when removing the bricks? I've wondered this for quite some time now. Would be good to know. It's a good idea though and would be the perfect opportunity to replace the DPC if it's become worn. Mine just consists of a load of old broken slate. Amazes me how it still w..... ***Don't speak too soon!!!*** hehe.

Anyway, I like this idea of removing the outer skin. The only problem would be moving the windows or wouldn't you need to? I suppose if it's done gradually, you might not need to move them.

I don't think this job would cost the Earth. Bricks are cheap, so is mortar. A job that could be done by you (Hamsandwich). Rendering I think would cost a lot more. Brick slips are very cheap, 1000 slips for £25 I saw on <insert most popular online marketplace here >.

Give the options some good thought . Don't rush into this.

Sounds like a nice and interesting project to do. Better than painting or something. I love the structural side to DIY .

 

[NS215]

why not just take the old outer skin down to the dpc then rebuild up from there using the original footings. job done properly

Wouldn't the whole house fall down doing this? . The thing is, how would you use the arco props when removing the bricks? I've wondered this for quite some time now. Would be good to know.

I don't think this job would cost the Earth. Bricks are cheap, so is mortar. A job that could be done by you (Hamsandwich). Rendering I think would cost a lot more.

just start at the top and take the bricks down one by one no need for acrows or any propping
it would cost alot more to rebuild than render, sand and cement cheap enough no skips to remove all the outer skin
but would last alot longer than rendering and look nicer(imho)
you might need to board up the windows depending on where their fixed to already but not a problem if you do one side at a time

 

[Thermo]

the external skin is not normally the load bearing skin so it shouldnt be a problem. It is however a fiddly and expensive job. A few bricks may be cheap, and so might a few bags of sand and cement. Your not talking about a few bricks though. youve also got to get rid of the ones that you take down. The decent brickie and his labourer to lay them and make a decent job of it wont be. They would need to be pretty bad before considering such drastic action. Any chance of a photo?

 

[JOHNBOY42]

Tozzy.........where are the brick slips at £25 per thousand.......my brick garden shed could do with these