How do you handle faux brick?

In our hunting, we seem to be seeing quite a few like this, which are clad in faux brick.

We've generally bypassed these immediately as the faux brick completely puts us off (does it EVER look any good? :p)

So some questions regarding faux brick, if I may.
  • Is is possible to render (or equivalent) this stuff? Or would it have to come off?
  • From what is it usually made? Are there asbestos risks in some products?
  • What would YOU do, or what have you DONE with faux brick?
  • Are we getting hung up on this for the wrong reasons? :eek:

Thanks.
 
Used to see a lot of those in some suburbs in Adelaide but for some reason (can't think why :D ) most have been knocked over and subdivided into small blocks and new BV houses built there.

As to the looks, don't see why you couldn't just render over it with acrylic render ... I think they are asbestos but not really an issue if you're not removing the stuff or drilling it or the usual dust-creating things.
 
You wouldn't be able to deal with the sheet joins adequately and it would be prone to cracking. Best to remove it and start again.

Tools
 
Hi wobby

Nothing wrong with the stuff at all

The brick shapes are on asbestos-cement sheet backing - Not a problem if left alone

I have bought two houses with the faux brick. Underneath were weatherboards in very good condition, having been protected from the weather for thirty years.

The first house had obviously had new windows fitted at the time of installing the brick sheets. The sheets are fixed to battens so are 'off the wall' and proud of the weatherboard profile by that distance. The windows had been fitted over the top, so when the sheets were removed the windows stood away from the boards

The second house had architraves fitted around the window frames - actually, over the window frames, to take up this gap. When the brick sheets were removed, most of the architraves were ripped away, too.

The first job was very neat, the second job was a debacle. Both jobs were done by Reids of Moorabbin.

I would just paint the sheets if I bought another one, if all the house needed was a bit of a tidy up. When I bought the second one, the valuer wrote 'brick veneer' on the report - I had to take him outside and show him that the only brick in the place was the one small planter box on the front porch. Some of the faux brick can look quite good, I wouldn't let it stop me from buying another house with the same cladding

Cheers
Kristine
 
If its just for rental I wouldnt worry about it at all, if its your ppr, particularly if you could get it cheaper, I would definitely rip it all off, big job but you can do it yourself. Just be aware you have to putty up a million holes where they nail the framework to the weatherboards to hold the faux brick onto. Usually the weatherboards are in excellent condition underneath, but a good bargaining point with the vendor as you just have their word for the condition.
 
One of my IPs has exactly this. The way I look at it - it saves having to paint the exterior every several years. I still think it looks marginally better than plain old fibro.
 
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