Hi all,
First post. I hope it's ok to write in English. If not, please let me know and I will try and have someone translate for me.
We recently bought a murermestervilla from the early 1900s. Three of the four sides of the house are in the original, untreated brick facade (beautiful brick as well). Of course, one side of the house had to be ruined by a careless previous owner at some point and is covered in puds and paint. The current owners do not know anything about it but clearly there used to be an entrance on this side of the house that was covered. I assume that's why only this one side is covered in plaster.
This drives me crazy since it's only one side of the house. I want to avoid plastering the other sides of the house as it would ruin the character of the house. I'd prefer to restore the brick but after speaking to one professional (he hasn't seen the property yet, I just showed him a photo) and doing some research, it's not as simple as I assumed. I figured one could simply sandblast the plaster off and done but now I'm learning the chance is high of ruining the brick allowing excess moisture/frostbite into the brick and it can crumble over time.
So, the question goes: are there any less aggressive methods to restore the brick? Is sanding/grinding an option or does that still ruin the burn skin on the brick? Even if it's a simple chisel and hammer and many hours of my time, I'm happy to do so as long as I am able to bring back the original brick facade. There must be some methods out there for this.
Extra details if it makes a difference: the wall construction is a cavity wall with circa 30cm of insulation beads between the cavity. Once we receive the keys, I plan to get some professionals over for opinions however I'm hoping to gather as much info first so that I can propose solutions (if any).
Looking forward to ideas. Thank you.