Mark..I told her the same thing. I thought the brick was attractive enough. But, they are planning to stay here and sell in only 3-5 yrs and are convinced the outside is dated and will hurt resale. The rest of the siding on the house is pretty nasty. So they want to side all four sides the same.

the inside is almost complete and is very well done.

Ditto what Mark said. Is your daughter into flipping?

If it matters, I also like the brick. And if the house on the right is as close as the house on the left, I'm not sure if matching the sides to the front matters. That looks like a pretty tight squeeze; not many people are going to duck in there just to enjoy the view.

Is the brickwork original to the house and structurally sound? If so, why would anyone think of changing it?

Unless there are problems with the brick that cannot be repaired it should be left as it is; nothing could look better or be easier to maintain.

I would not be surprised if there was a local historic commission that would not like this proposal.

I would paint the brick and update the staircase before slapping LP over the top of it. Maybe even add a porch roof or awning of some sort over the front door.

To answer your original question, putting siding up over the top is not unheard of (however for brick that is in good shape I would think it would be a last resort). They would have to fur out a wall ontop of the brick so they have something to screw the LP into so the first thing I think of is a haven for critters.

Robin...not flippers but outgrowing this house and want one more child.

Dauglus...they are all close like this in the city. I would go crazy. I also agree that the sides don't need to be the same as the front and like the brick.

JDS...the brick is sound, although I asked her to look for weep holes and she couldn't find any. The two middle windows leak into the inside of the house when it rains. So probably not flashed properly? The front windows are the only windows that have not been replaced. I will mention the historic commission issue to her.

they want to sell this house in a few yrs and buy a truly old house in the same neighborhood that is already refurbished. Those houses are incredibly beautiful.

Steph....

"would paint the brick and update the staircase before slapping LP over the top of it. Maybe even add a porch roof or awning of some sort over the front door."

great idea!! Would you paint the quoins as well?

would you completely tear out the concrete steps and rebuild them with a porch.

Critters. Oh....never ever thought of that.

I really like the idea of re-siding the 3 sides, painting the brick and building some kind of porch with new steps on the front. The new windows on the rest of the house are 4 over 1 so the new windows on the front of the house will look nicer than these leaky windows.

This is a historic neighborhood with a bunch of newer, not well built homes and awful, modern homes interspersed here and there.

Thank you so much for all of the great feedback!! I will share it with my dd and let you know what she decides to do.

Yes to painting the quoins, in this case they are purely decorative split CMU pieces that are flush with brick aside from the split face texture and I don't think they add anything to the elevation.

As to the steps, it depends a bit. I would love to see them wider, as in the full width of the set-back portion of the house. Looks like they are about 2'6 shy. Another option would be to replace the railing, fill in the rises and adding large stones on the side to give it more substance. Sorry if that doesn't make much sense, I'm terrible at describing.

I talked to her this morning and told her what all of you said. She said the quoins are made out of the blocks that all of the Chicago builders were (are) using for awhile that have to be sealed because they leak.

their first condo...three sides were constructed with them. They were glad to sell.

If the split face blocks are causing issues, seems to me they need to come off not be covered up.

Steph...no, I think I get your description and even if they remove the brick and reside the whole house, I think the porch as you describe would like nice.

Something tells me that brick and the Quoins are not right. This house as many of the not so new houses in Chi was not built as well as the older houses. I'm afraid she has water issues behind the brick.

CMU = concrete masonry unit, aka concrete block so it's all the same, split face is just the fact that it has a texture vs. being smooth faced. If they are having water issues it's because it was constructed poorly in which case the only proper solution is to rip it out. Bricks and CMU absorb water so if constructed properly they will have a way for the water to get out. They aren't meant to keep water from getting in the building, that's what vapor barriers aka Tyvek do. They do however protect the barrier. So if the house doesn't have a good barrier, poor flashing and the CMU & brick aren't breathing, you have water issues.

ETA: Just noticed your comment to JDS about weep holes and flashing so I'm sure I was being redundant with information you already knew. But either way, if she's having water issues, take it off. Sealing isn't the best route either as you trap in moisture.

Is this a brick veneer cavity wall?

When was it constructed?

I thought the brick was attractive enough. But, they are planning to stay here and sell in only 3-5 yrs and are convinced the outside is dated and will hurt resale.

It isn't really a question of hurting resale (which I doubt to be honest, if anything brick is overvalued by buyers), it is a question of whether or not it hurts resale more than the cost to change it.

I very strongly doubt that she will recover the investment, or even a significant portion of it. This is really just throwing good money after bad.

I originally though the number over the door was the date of construction but I finally realized its the street number. So when was it built?

The brickwork looks good to me but you need to have it inspected by an experienced masonry contractor or engineer. This should not be a DIY investigation.

I hope the quoins are made of rusticated cast stone instead of split-face concrete block, Block would be ridiculous IMO. What is meant by saying the quoins leak? If water is getting into the cavity at the quoins it should drain out at the bottom. If they are too porous, you can have them sealed. If the joints around them are cracking, you can have them raked back and sealant added.

Without expert investigation you should not assume the brickwork cannot be repaired for less cost than covering it. I've seen far worse brickwork restored.

I love the look of the brick; it'd definitely hurt resale to modernize it.

Sorry it took me so long to get back here to this thread. I shared this information with dd and she can take it as she wishes. I told her after reading all of your responses I would have an expert look at the brick and if it's in good shape , I would keep it. If not, I would remove it before siding.

jds, the quoins are split faced cmu and have to be sealed according to her. I forgot to ask her how old the house is. I'm guessing 20 yrs.

i have no idea if they will make their money back on resale or a profit bry, but they are sure planning on it ;-)

anyway...thanks for all of the helpful comments on her house. They are smart kids. I will give you an update when they are done for those interested.