-
I think your bricks will look fine once they’re done. Those soft red ones often crumble to bits and have to be replaced.
By the way, once you’ve had the skin of your bricks cut back like that (as they are on my house too) they should be coated in Thomson’s Weatherseal or similar as it makes them porous.
rodabod-
The red bricks are really porous anyway. If you put a new one in a bucket of water, it will bubble for ages.
If they are pointed with lime, it isn't a problem and I wouldn't put anything on them.
@hoefla
You need to be 100% sure they don't sneak in some cement into that mortar. It's common for builders to do that, as it makes the mortar set faster but you just end up with a cement mortar with loads of lime in it.Lime mortar is either NHL and sand or lime putty and sand. Lime putty mortar doesn't have as much frost resistance as NHL mortar and isn't as strong. If you're in London, you'll be ok with a putty mortar, but out of town you want a hydraulic (NHL) lime mortar.
Aunt_Maud
Yeah above the back door. I accept they had to grind the old cement out of it was too stuck to the bricks but would have expected them to be more careful about it. They are definitely using lime. As a company they only do brickwork and only using lime, and they came locally recommended.
My poor bricks :(