Hello, all! I have a recently purchased house where the foundation (brick) is showing for about two feet before the siding begins. It was covered up with stucco (cement?) in a very thin layer - less than 1/4" - which has been cracking and falling off. I'm trying to figure out my options for what to do next.

1. Can I just crack the rest of this stucco off and paint the foundation white? I'm not sure if I can paint brick that goes into the ground, if there are any issues with moisture and whatnot. Would it just be primer then paint straight onto the brick, or would I treat it first?

2. Is there some other product that can go over the brick to sort of flatten out everything? I guess this is similar to painting.

3. I guess going back to the same idea as what was here when I moved in is my last option. I looked at Home Advisor though, and only ONE contractor does stucco work in my area, which seems weird - though this may just be me plugging in the wrong keywords or something. ALSO, to be fair, I'm not sure that stucco is the correct word for this. I feel like it's perge- pargo- something, but can't remember exactly.

I don't have the budget to cover it with a stone veneer, though I sure would like to! :)