Can siding be removed to expose original red brick?
+5
Our home was built circa 1890. It was covered (my guess) in the 1940's in what is now really ugly white aluminum siding which has become dirty and dingy and is falling off in places and I hate it. Parts of the soffits are missing as well as the corner pieces. The obvious thing to do of course would be to replace the siding with new but I was just wondering, couldn't it be totally removed and taken down to the original brick? I've never heard or seen of that done before, and I was just curious if that was an option. It is an old two-story so it may be not very cost effective -- as a matter of fact, it may be very out of my cost range (retired, on a fixed income) but, just wondered if anyone has ever heard of or seen this done. Thanks in advance for anyone's input!
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I would certainly try that. It may just have been put on when aluminum siding was fashionable. But...the old brick may be damaged, missing or need repointing. If it is in good shape, you may want to power-wash it to brighten it. I would also come up with a fall-back plan in case the brick is in really bad shape.
This is done all the time, watch any home improvement show. Expect to do at least some repair work once the siding is removed. Extent of repairs will be unknown until all the siding has been removed. So it is a bit of a gamble. What I would do is get estimates to see if it is an option within your budget.
Yes, they do this often on home improvement shows like "This Old House". Whether it is economical depends entirely on the condition of the wall. Only wise course is to remove the old siding then decide then what you want and what you can afford.
Here are a couple of links that may be of help to you in making your decision. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS4296
https://thecraftsmanblog.com/how-to-remove-aluminum-siding/
You might want to paint the brick once it is exposed, so add that consideration to your budget.
HomeAdvisor.com or Angieslist.com can help you find a good exterior siding specialist.... or structural engineer/contractor... they can help you determine how best to remove the siding... if the brick can be restored and the cost... needs to be replaced... and the cost... and what the best alternatives are... and what the costs will be in time and labor... the more information you have... the better you can make a knowledgeable decision.
Big job. Siding had to be attached to some kind of wood base not directly to the brick. Could be evenly spaced firing strips to nail the siding onto. Condition of the brick is a factor. Siding could have been put on because cheaper to than repairing bad brickwork. A little investigating would be needed by removing some siding panels and see what surprises are under it.
Depends on the brick condition. It may be starting to crumble and then you will have a very expensive siding problem. As someone who has a 100 yr old house, we priced out replacing original cedar siding that was eat up by termites, with new cedar siding. It was extremely cost prohibitive. We ended up having to go with vinyl siding.