Brickwork Ideas?
I recently purchased a 3 family brick home in Ft. Greene. The previous owner started a very dubious DIY renovation, including replacing the brick on the front facade. The brick he used looks too modern and cheap for my taste. Does anyone have any ideas (other than replacing all the brick) about how we might…
I recently purchased a 3 family brick home in Ft. Greene. The previous owner started a very dubious DIY renovation, including replacing the brick on the front facade. The brick he used looks too modern and cheap for my taste. Does anyone have any ideas (other than replacing all the brick) about how we might be able to make this brick look more like every other beautiful brick house in the neighborhood? Thanks!
Whoa! Thanks Drew. Any idea where I could find recipe, instructions, pics, etc?
Ok this may sounds completely disgusting but it would be an incredibly inexpensive solution to aging your brick.
If you really consider this, please test it somewhere inconspicuous, with similar environmental conditions i.e. sun exposure.
There is a recipe for blending moss and buttermilk that can be painted onto stones, clay pots, baskets to help age them. We have actually done this with new stone walls to help them blend in with existing ones.
You can actually buy moss spores here:
http://www.mossacres.com/
They have links to NYT articles and HGTV and recipes for blending. Anyway I thought it was worth considering in lieu of ivy and other more expensive solutions.
As one person pointed out ‘…don’t make the mistake… and forget to clean the blender before your significant other finds out.”
Please let us know what you decide. I hate all the new crisp, almost shinny, brick that it constantly going up. It would be nice to start a guerrilla campaign to age this brick.
Drew Stuart
Incorporated Architecture & Design
http://www.incorporatedny.com/
More4less: I love the parking too! It’s not exactly legal, but I’m hoping it won’t be a problem. You’re right for sure about the facade not being flush with the neighboring houses. Both are frame houses and are set back a good 6 inches. I was at the house yesterday and I am beginning to be convinced that the facade is actually brick veneer. The lines are just too straight to be laid by a mason. And – not that I know what this means – but the matching bricks lying around in the backyard have 3 holes through the middle of them. They’re not solid bricks. Is that what veneer looks like? I’m not sure what my options are if it is veneer, other than pulling them down and starting over, which I don’t want to do (unless it’s not as expensive as I imagine – thanks for the suggestion Grand Army).
I’ll do a little research on Virginia Creeper too – thanks RH.
Consult with a mason. He can tell you whether the brick you have currently is veneer and what it would cost to replace. There are “antique brick” veneers available that look pretty darned good — made of real brick. We used some recently to patch our back wall on the ground floor level. An old door had been removed by the previous owner and stuccoed over but not to the full depth of the wall. It wasn’t providing enough insulation so we added a couple of layers of foam board and finished with the veneer bricks. It’s now a very close match to the rest of the back.
Lots of plain concrete houses in Ireland are covered with ivy looking vines and I love the look of it. My husband told me it’s Virginia Creeper, which is supposedly not as destructive as ivy.
msb277, yeah, that’s the house (love the parking). reason I suspected that it might be bricks over an old facade is that the new brick facade is NOT flush with the other houses.
Thanks everyone. Smoky: I like the look of ivy, but so many people seem concerned about what ivy may do to the mortar over time.
More4less: the building is on Carlton Ave in Ft. Greene, between Myrtle and Willoughby. Is that the one you’re thinking of? The neighbors don’t seem to know too much, but I haven’t asked them specifically about the facade. You can see the cinder-block behind the brick because the cornice is missing, so I don’t think there is another old facade behind the brick. I could be wrong, of course. The building was originally a frame house and we rebuilt – according to the DOB – in the 1930s. But the brick on the front is definitely not from the 30s.
I think I know this bldg. if my memory is correct, this brick facade was added onto an old facade (cant recall what the old facade was). if this is something you want/need to confirm, ask one of the neighbors.
Plant ivy.