# Brick facing was done horribly - ideas?



## stuart45 (Jun 20, 2009)

Have you got some photos of it?


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## mrs1885 (Jan 2, 2011)

Not any up close that you can see the wavy lines between the bricks. I had some of the side of the house with the different types. I'll have to find it. If I can't get it here tonight I'll do it tomorrow so you can see.


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## jomama45 (Nov 13, 2008)

It sounds like a mix of "clinkers" to me, which were big in the 60's and 70's. The mix of different brick, including different sizes, along with the crazy bed joints was well sought after at one point in history, believe it or not. But maybe it's just a poor brick job?


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## stuart45 (Jun 20, 2009)

There is a method of pointing known as weather struck and cut which can make rough brickwork look straight. It's done with a pointing trowel, 3ft feather edged straight edge and a frenchman( knife with a bent end).


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## mrs1885 (Jan 2, 2011)

Here's a picture of the brick. It's hard to tell from the photo that it's not level, but if you look at the top of the photo and follow the straight line from the picture you can see the brick is lower in the center than it is on the ends.










This is a horrible pic - the sun was right in front of me - but the sides of the garage have massive gaps where the mortar is. Looks terrible.










Shows the different bricks 










And yet another brick type










This moss or whatever it is covers the bottom of the brick in several areas of the house


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## stuart45 (Jun 20, 2009)

I can see what you mean, that is really bad workmanship. Even a re-point in weather struck and cut probably wouldn't improve it enough. Apart from painting I don't think there's a cheap answer. Stucco can cover up rough work. Tile or slate hanging also looks good. Pebbledash also could improve it.


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## mrs1885 (Jan 2, 2011)

I was kind of afraid there'd be no cheap fix, LOL. 

Well, maybe we'll finish the other work in the house and make the yard look really nice and do the siding on the back of the house that they left plain and see what happens. I didn't notice it until we'd been living here a few months. We pulled in the driveway and were sitting in the car looking at the yard and house trying to figure out what we could do to make it look better and my husband thought he was having eye problems. Until he mentioned it I'd never noticed or paid attention to it. Gah! 

Ok, we'll just focus on everything else in the meantime. *sigh* So glad we didn't pay much for this house. It's become the money pit fast!


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## jomama45 (Nov 13, 2008)

All I can say is ...........

You need more than a DIY forum for this issue. Best of luck, I'd recommend ignoring it as long as you can as well.


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## Tscarborough (Mar 31, 2006)

Hey! What's wrong with wavy brick patterns?!










Just kidding, it makes a difference if you do it on purpose.

You have many issues there. First, the brick themselves are fine. It appears that the lower courses were laid a lot earlier than the upper courses and are of a different brick. The algae issue needs to be addressed before you do anything else. You either have sprinklers hitting the wall, bad gutters and a lot of rain, or something. Fix that first. Then clean the walls very well with a product like Jomax. That will make it look about 90% better for about 10 bucks and and some hard labor.

Beyond that, there is no way to rectify the situation that does not involve some money and effort. Painting the brick is never a good idea, but you could whitewash them with a lime wash and that is one option that would disguise the crappy workmanship. 

Another is to stucco the brick, and if done by you would be be relatively cheap (although it could turn out looking and performing just as or more crappy than what you have, depending upon your skill set).

The third and most expensive option is a tear down and redo, which again, if done by you may not improve the situation.

If it were my house, I would do a lime-wash and dream of moving.


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## jomama45 (Nov 13, 2008)

I count at least 5 different brick in there, and of all places to use the reclaimed "pinks", they just had to put them at the base. The bond is also something we like to refer to as "wonder bond". Doing it wrong is one thing, but at least do it wrong consistently. I have no reason to believe that the OP's intuition is wrong here, that's screams DIY if I ever saw one. May have even been a brick salesman moonlighting, who had a good lead on discontinued brick............ :whistling2:


Tscar,

Not bad for your first attempt, can't wait to see what your next project will be........ :laughing:

I lost track last year when you were building the cooker, how has it worked for you? Have you tried anything other than pizza & breads?

And in all honesty, great work, and even better design.


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## Tscarborough (Mar 31, 2006)

Thanks, I have cooked everything in it, from steak to beans to dried vegetables, but 90% of the time it is used for pizza.


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## mrs1885 (Jan 2, 2011)

Tscarborough said:


> Hey! What's wrong with wavy brick patterns?!
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jomama45 said:


> I count at least 5 different brick in there, and of all places to use the reclaimed "pinks", they just had to put them at the base. The bond is also something we like to refer to as "wonder bond". Doing it wrong is one thing, but at least do it wrong consistently. I have no reason to believe that the OP's intuition is wrong here, that's screams DIY if I ever saw one. May have even been a brick salesman moonlighting, who had a good lead on discontinued brick............ :whistling2:
> 
> 
> Tscar,
> ...


We're planning on selling and trying to get the place fixed up. We bought it five years ago planning on retiring here but I can't take it. I need to be by the ocean again. The mountains are gorgeous, the people are friendly, the peace and quiet is heaven. The lack of salt air and seagulls is hell I can't take! LOL We've found where we want to move and are hoping to go in the next couple years. So we've got a ton of half started projects around the house we need to tackle before we put the house on the market.

I'd never heard of lime washing. I'll have to look into that. :thumbsup:

This entire house has been someone's first attempt at DIY. Granted, it's estimated to be about 80 years old so it's not going to be perfect, but there's not a level floor, 90 degree angle on any wall, or part of the floorplan that makes sense here. It's maddening. We're beginner DIY'rs ourselves so we're trying to fix the mistakes that others made before us. It's going to be a long couple years!


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## stuart45 (Jun 20, 2009)

Getting the kerb appeal right is important when you come to sell. 
Another option is to grow roses, or similar up the walls. It's popular where I live and covers up some real cock ups.


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