He seriously thought that was acceptable?

I suggest you find someone else who has actually done brick work before.

Are these the original bricks that have been replaced into their respective locations? Are they oriented in the correct direction (what was inward facing is still inward)? The current brick looks darker on the face but maybe it's hard to be sure because of the wet mortar, the brick may be absorbing the moisture. If you look closely, does there appear to be creosote on the brick?

Agree with above poster, you may want to bring in someone who has more of a clue. The fact that HE told YOU to tell him what to do is very concerning.

I like the new wall. Super cool looking. Quirky, unique.

Brooklyn- Anna brings up some very good points regarding the brick. What does the contractor say is causing what we assume are the originally bricks to be looking so dark compared to the rest? How long ago did you have this job done?

@greg_2015

Yes, it’s definitely frustrating. However, this is a very very small part of a very large full home renovation. I did not hire him for his brick work and he’s done spectacular work elsewhere. I’m hoping to provide some guidance on how to clean this up.

@Anna (6B/7A in MD)

It‘s a good question - they do look much cleaner than the other bricks - like maybe they were put in backwards or the creosote was brushed off during removal. The bricks are more than 100 years old! Is there anyway to give the darker bricks the same effect/look as the original ones? I don’t think taking them out and flipping them is an option.

@Sister Sunnie thank you! That’s very kind. I’m feeling pretty sad about them right now - it’s very distracting.

In my area I have a very good brick yard that have helped me with brick and stone issues. I'm wondering if you have the same nearby where at least you could call them and send them photos and see if they can give you some advise. And at the very least, mine has a list of masons who I've been able to talk to to either help correct problems or give me their expertise advise when the brick yard wasn't able to. And maybe your contractor had a mason but maybe an older one with more experience is who you need to connect to. I'd try to exhaust every avenue before starting to white wash it or anything else that changes its natural being as then the history of it is gone IMO.

You really may want to bring in a bricklayer for this. I'd be surprised if there wasn't a brickyard or mason that could help you--lots of these sorts of renovations going on in NYC.

The replaced bricks look dark, not clean. Creosote does not really "brush off" so I would really ask if these are the same bricks.

Once you consult with an expert, you'll know your options, sorry I don't have more guidance.

It also looks like you may have a structural issue that now has a “bandaid” on it. Grout fill in a full length split near the edge with metal stepping holding it together. That seems more serious than the different brick colors.

Oh that’s wonderful. Sorry for making an issue of it. Personally I think it looks kinda cool. Re the non matching bricks. There are decorative painters that can make the new bricks look like the original. I have an exposed old brick chimney in my house. I like mine too.

I’m wondering how much the contrast will reduce with a lighter mortar. I have no experience with sand blasting but curious if that could be used to create a cohesive finish.

How long ago was this done? Is there any chance that the bricks are still wet?

The fact that he's asking you what he should do is an enormous red flag. Not only does it mean that he has no clue what he's doing (with brickwork), but if you tell him and he does it and it still looks like crap or even worse than it does now, he can just brush his hands of the whole thing and say that was what you asked for so he's done.

Firstly the wrong mortar was used- the original mortar was a light colored lime based mortar, they went back with a modern dark grey cement mortar. Secondly they cleaned the brick (either intentionally or unintentionally) removing the residue from the plaster that used to be on the brick making them appear lighter. Did they know this was supposed to be a feature wall? At this point you could have the wall re pointed with the correct mortar (probably the entire wall), then clean the entire wall (which you then won’t like) then lime wash the wall. Easier would be to hire a faux painter to glaze in that section.

@HALLETT & Co. would it work to just remove those bricks and redo that section?

They did know it was supposed to be a feature wall, but I guess I didn’t know lining the chimney involved removing the bricks or that I’d have to specify how they were reassembled.

@ci_lantro I doubt it - it was probably four weeks ago?

Brooklyn- maybe it's best to get the brick figured out 1st before you make a final decision on your back splash as depending what direction you take, the brick could end up looking different and may warrant a different back splash.

Those bricks will never look like the virgin bricks next to them. Repointing with the correct mortar will help.

@HALLETT & Co. Oh for sure. I am suggesting (hoping?) that if we remove the "newer" bricks and replace them with bricks from the same time and era as the old ones, it will look more seamless. Would that work?

Not any better than the old bricks you have now which I assumed came from that spot or elsewhere in the house?

Ok - talked to the contractor and here's what we're going to do: We are going to take whiter-looking bricks out from the same chimney wall in an upstairs room (which they also deconstructed in the same way to run the chimney liner) and switch them with these darker bricks, which, from talking to him, sounds like were "new old bricks" (and not the ones originally removed). The wall upstairs is in an office, and I am less concerned with whether the bricks are all the same color. And they will use a light lime-based mortar.

Any other suggestions for making this go smoothly?

You could white wash the whole brick wall. We just did that with our wall with 50/50 white paint and water. You brush it on then wipe it off. You can just wipe off more or less where you need it.

Brookyln, I would look at the office bricks against the feature brick chimney--if they're not yet removed from the office, then take as accurate of a picture as you can and then check against the feature bricks to see if they'll work. Anything close will be better than what is there. The lime-based mortar will help a great deal. Hope this works for you!