What can we do about bad brickwork?

MrsBreadbin

We have an old two storey extension with terrible brickwork on one corner. The building is on an angle and we believe there has been an attempt to ‘pull the bricks’ around rather than laying them correctly to accommodate the irregular angle. It looks very unsightly, however the structure seems very solid, we have no issues with damp etc. The extension was built in the early 1980s and had planning permission but clearly hasn’t been built very well. We believe the previous owner may have built it himself! 

The whole house is a work in progress, however pulling down the whole extension and rebuilding is not an option. We have been advised that this could be sorted out by rendering the area, essentially covering the bad brickwork. Is this the best option, is it sensible or should we be trying to do something else now? Please help, this wasn’t flagged as a huge issue when we bought the property and we knew it would need addressing (along with a load of other things). However I underestimated how obvious the bad brickwork is and how much it would bother me. Any thoughts gratefully received. This is a house we are going to live in (hopefully) for many many years to come so selling is not an option either as it’s big enough for us, in the right area and affordable. Thank you in advance. 

FreeBear

Render is often used to cover unsightly brickwork - It means the builder can use cheaper block & seconds (brick). As you are considering it as a "new job", you need to be aware that if it is covering more than 25% of the building, building regs* kick in. This means that you may be required to add wall insulation and/or make other improvements to improve the thermal efficiency of the property.

*) https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/18/external_walls/2

Belenus

From that one picture it doesn't look too bad too me. Perhaps it looks worse in real life.
Can you not try to ignore it, or get used to it or appreciate it as a quirky design feature?

Frank99

Pity a tool doesen't exist to plain down the half bricks that are sticking out to level it off, not sure if taking out those half bricks and replacing them would work with slimmer amount of mortar, once you have this job sorted i'd look at that dirty guttering and fascia boards.
It is difficult to get brick layers these days due to the amount of house building going on so i would search for a handy man that is good with bricks to see if they can advise!

FreeBear

Frank99 said: Pity a tool doesen't exist to plain down the half bricks that are sticking out to level it off,

One does indeed exist - https://www.screwfix.com/p/marshalltown-20-grit-rub-brick-152-x-76mm/600jf

Other sizes, grits, and suppliers available. Not suitable for use on all types of bricks - Thinking textured & fancy ones here...

Jeepers_Creepers

An angle grinder would surely make quick work of that? The only issue would be that the finish may be too smooth, so might need roughing up somehow - or use the A-G carelessly...

I suspect that hand tool above might take a good few weeks of work, per brick.

Rendering it is the obvious solution, and only a fruit-loop would consider involving building regs in this, for an existing house extension. Unless, of course, you'd want to consider adding external insulation? 

stuart45

To do an acute angle in stretcher without doing it that way you would need to cut the bricks like this. Not all bricks can be done in this way. Cutting the corners off with a grinder will probably make a worse mess of the brickwork.cut 

Homer_home

FreeBear said:

Render is often used to cover unsightly brickwork - It means the builder can use cheaper block & seconds (brick). As you are considering it as a "new job", you need to be aware that if it is covering more than 25% of the building, building regs* kick in. This means that you may be required to add wall insulation and/or make other improvements to improve the thermal efficiency of the property.

*) https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/18/external_walls/2

Why on earth would you consider getting building regs involved in a simple render job ?

Homer_home

You can get bricks made to your shape , with regards to cost however you would have to speak to a specialist , whether that would be cheaper than render I simply don't know 

stuart45

https://ibstockbrick.co.uk/kevington/specialshapes/universal-joints/
Ibstock do a universal brick that will do different angles.
The method shown in the OP's photo is actually one of the accepted ways of forming an acute angle, although it's the cheapest.

FreeBear

Homer_home said: Why on earth would you consider getting building regs involved in a simple render job ?

I was just making the OP aware.. The building regs for improving the thermal efficiency of a structure is a bit of an !!!!!!. You could improve insulation elsewhere such as the loft to offset the lack of wall insulation. Or if the cost exceeds a projected saving over (I believe) 15 years, you don't have to do the extra work.