Design advice request - Page 2

Normally, sure. But your house is made from two bricks, which are unequal in color, geometry, and their degree of rustification. You don't have another option to amend that. Don't take advise from contractors. If you can't afford the cost to do something right, don't do it. Half-ass design improvements not only fail to solve the problems, but they waste the money you or the next buyer will need to fix it next time. You're probably in over your head.

I promise you it won't. It's still brick, so paint doesn't affect structural or performance value, which is significant portion of it's total value. But any aesthetic value of brick is eliminated if it's showcased in such a cluttered way. Don't even think about removing or covering up sections to make it look more coherent.

It's cluttered in that your house is made from two different houses.

Jesus Christ, man, just sell the place and move into a condo.

lefty

And the wood. And the concrete. And the iron. And the asphalt shingles. And the two different porch lights.

The first order of business is to cancel the pity-party you got going on there. This isn't going to help get the work done that needs to be done.

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I thought you said you were the only bid? The bidding war thing is a real pain in the ass, but you only do it for houses you really want, and for a price you can live with.


Well, I didn't say just start bashing away (although there probably isn't anything fancier than that to do). It might be incredibly well attached to the old brick, which will mean it will be a chipping job being careful not to do much damage to the old brick....or it might just fall off real easy...depends how well it's attached.



You don't have to build a new one...they look fine without them. At any rate, what choice do you have...what's there is already the worse case scenario. Removing it is a one-day job...hire a couple of guys to dismantle the thing and take it away.

So now you have the balcony removed, and the angel stone removed. now you can see what needs to be done to restore/repair the brick facade. This is the only real job you need to make sure is done right.

This being done all over the city every day....it's not that hard to find someone who will be able to make it look original. You don't listen to contractors...you check out their references and look at some of their actual work. Or you can start in your own area and look at houses that have had nice brick restoration and ask the homeowner for the number of the contractor.



These days...most people think so. There was a time when painted brick was in style....some of that "orange" Toronto brick wasn't considered attractive for a while. The two-toned brick facades are the favourites. I think painted brick facades lends themselves more towards classic styling (like georgian), rather than victorian. With victorians, you paint the wood details. Plus, brick needs to breathe, so you need to be careful about what your slapping on. Plus paint in our climate doesn't last that long. Most people paint to avoid proper restoration. I think the victorian brick facade is too important to cut any corners on...I think it's one thing that should be done right. It will look great...be a great source of pride of ownership, and increase the value of your home.