Would you buy a ‘stick on brick’ IP?

Smilla

Smilla

Looking at a potential IP at the moment but just found out it is a brick clad house (stick on brick). My dad (an architect and builder) says they’re a big no no.

We are mainly buying for the CG and future development opportunity but would like to rent out for the next 5-10 years until we choose to develop it.

What do you reckon. Is my dad being overcautious or should we avoid brick clad homes all together?

If you have a stick on brick place, what has been your experience?
 
HeXa said:
sounds like a description of brick veneer... which is quite common
Click to expand...

I don't think so HeXa. I think what is meant by stick on brick is exactly that and not brick veneer. You sometimes see high set houses with all this blank air underneath and then what looks like brickwork ( but can't possibly be!) on the upstairs walls!! I don't think it enhances the value one little bit.
 
HeXa said:
sounds like a description of brick veneer... which is quite common
Click to expand...

no, not brick veneer

Stick on brick is a thin sheet of imitation brick that is stuck over the top of a weatherboard house.

This was done a lot in the 70s when everyone was very anti-weatherboard.

They basically nail some beams directly over the top of the weatherboards at intervals, and stick the sheet to them.

It’s actually quite common and im sure a lot of people think they are living in a brick house when are actually living in a stickon brick house.

A brick veneer is an actual single layer brick wall but it has no structural value and is just fixed to a timber frame for cosmetic reasons
 
I don't really think anyone living in a "stick on" brick house would think it is brick because they usually look so shonky, especially around the windows and openings.

If a house is in a good area and all other things are good, stick on brick would not faze me because it has protected the weatherboards for years. Only proviso is that I would want to be allowed to remove some of it to check that the weatherboards are still there, and not eaten out by termites.

There are several of these places I have seen over the years, where no-one wanted to touch them, but once the stick on brick is removed, there emerges a lovely weatherboard house, with only a bit of filling and painting involved.

It would not stop me, once I had satisfied myself the underlying weatherboards were in sound condition.

Wylie
 
Stick on brick in WA was awful looking stuff!! Sometimes people pebble creted their verandah to add a real touch of class :D Often thin sheets of brick cladding was put on over asbestos. If it is covering weatherboards as Wylie suggests, well it might be lovely restored to its former glory.

If you are just going to rent the place out (and you are paying very close to block value) then it may not matter too much what it is built of. I assume the end goal is to bowl it over not extend? If you are paying a fair bit over block value then it is risky because they are not solid looking houses ( if fibro or asbestos underneath) and your Dad's view is a common one.
 
It is horrible. But this can be OK.

Pull it off and you have instant capital growth.

There might even be nice weatherboards underneath! Even if you need to replace them it might work out quite well.

Cheers,
 
Simon said:
It is horrible. But this can be OK.

Pull it off and you have instant capital growth.

There might even be nice weatherboards underneath! Even if you need to replace them it might work out quite well.

Cheers,
Click to expand...

Agreed. My first IP was a weatherboard Victorian cottage that had brick cladding. Took me about half a day to pull it all off and reveal excellent quality weatherboard underneath. The condition of the weatherboard was excellent because the cladding had been protecting it for about 30 years.
 
Hi Smilla

Yes, I have bought two faux brick clad houses.

The first one had multi-coloured weatherboards underneath, all in very good condition. This house looked awful when I bought it, the faux brick was a dingy brown and the whole house was well past it's prime.

The second was in very good condition with regards to the faux brick, but as this product is asbestos cement sheet based, when Reid's removed the sheets they also removed the eave and verandah soffits, the whole of the internal linings including the ceilings from the laundry, and seriously damaged the rumpus room walls which had been built on to the rear wall of the house.

So if you buy with faux brick, leave well enough alone. When you are ready to develop the property then get expert removalists to remove the asbestos sheets and they will dispose of it correctly.

Other than that, I got two quite nice houses in two very good localities and would certainly buy faux brick clad houses again.

Cheers

Kristine
 
ah ok... I didn't realise it was fake bricks... I was thinking just a nonstructural layer of real bricks but up in front of the existing wall to hide it.

fake brick panels sounds rather dodgy :p
 
I'm in a weather-board house and I have resisted the temptation to clad it, with anything. I've seen a high set house with faux brick and it was awful.

A one-off cost, less than cladding, will cover a through repaint and with modern paints that will probably last till you flick it. Old cladding looks no better than old paint, methinks.
 
If I ever saw a cheap brick clad place that had weather boards underneath I would jump at it!! A lovely weatherboard is delightful. I don't think they are as plentiful here in the west as they are in the east.
 
There was a product that got sold in the 70's that was made of metal. They were replica metal boards and some well intentioned people had their whole houses clad in that awful "maintenance free" product :eek: They put lovely metal edged windows in to compliment the look :)
 
Tizzy said:
There was a product that got sold in the 70's that was made of metal. They were replica metal boards and some well intentioned people had their whole houses clad in that awful "maintenance free" product :eek: They put lovely metal edged windows in to compliment the look :)
Click to expand...

Haha, yep saw them in the area where we are looking for an IP too. Hilarious, isn't it.
 
i bought a dingy old place that had vinyl cladding over the weatherboards - horrible stuff. took me a couple of days to rip off because of the zillions of nails and the foam padding stuff underneath ... but ... the weatherboards underneath had been beautifully protected and came up a treat with a light sand with the belt sander and a paint.

so, it all depends on what's under them there bricks!! you should be able to tell by scooting under the house and looking up from the inside
 
At least you dont have stick on bricks INSIDE, which an IP I bought last year had. Fortunately confined to the kitchen above the cupboards. Removing it would have been a big job as they were stuck to the gyprock and would have torn the sheeting, I just left it alone. :D

kitchen1.jpg
 
As said, check what the brick cladding is covering. If weatherboard then all OK, if asbestos then at least you know about it.
Marg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
Would you buy out your parents home in this scenario?
2
Replies
38
Views
5K
albanga
albanga
M
Advice please - PPOR, CGT and tax deductibility
Replies
3
Views
2K
Terry_w
Terry_w
beachside
Logan suburbs - the other part, south of the Logan Motorway
Replies
8
Views
3K
hugh72
H
S
Newbie Here - looking for Advice
Replies
10
Views
3K
smokyjoe
S
B
Would you add air con in your IP?
2
Replies
33
Views
3K
citystar
C
Back
Top