Facing bricks on old bricks

Hello dear people,

my wife and I are going to move into my parents' house. However, my wife does not like the existing brick at all and wants a change. I agreed because I am glad that she has agreed to move into the house.

So we have an existing red brick from the 70s in good condition. Here and there something was added and a similar brick was used, so you would have to veneer it anyway.

Now to the question. Is it possible to apply new brick slips directly onto the existing brick? And if so, how would that work? Is it still possible to plaster some elements (e.g. the gable) directly on the old brick?

I am not asking about the sensibility here, only about the feasibility.

Thank you very much for your help!!

I am not asking here about the meaningfulness, but only about the feasibility

That is probably better this way. However, I would advise against the attempt – it is more complicated than one might think, and for good reason it is so rarely (to be more precise, I do not know of a single case) "practiced," which almost makes it an interesting topic for a bookmaker

Seriously: my counterproposal would be to paint the existing clinker bricks and either paint the joints as well or renew them. But "wallpapering" bricks "on top of each other" would be just as botched "1:1" as staggered or in a different format. What exactly do you not like? – show some photos of the current state and the desired result.

Here is a front view of the house. The plan is to renovate the right extension with facing bricks and to continue it in the direction of the entrance door at approximately the same height. The clinker above is then possibly to be plastered.

Maybe someone has a completely different idea!

She does not like the red clinker.

Best regards

70s clinker in classic matte red without any frills. Lasts forever. I see no rational reason to change anything here. If [Riemchen] should/must be applied, then you should also add insulation underneath. On top then without [Riemchen], just EPS and plaster. Still costs more than you will ever save with it, but at least it serves a purpose. A large-scale facade renovation is anyway not allowed without additional insulation according to the Energy Saving Ordinance for all houses built before 1978. That might be an argument for your wife not to change anything there.

My recommendation: leave it as is and possibly replace the windows (if they are old anyway) with ones that have a few slender mullions matching the front door. Then it really looks stylish.

In Holland, you often see brick buildings where the bricks have been painted, often white. Combined with new stylish windows, this can look extremely stylish. I can also well imagine a light gray. Google image search will surely help. It's annoying, you have a super valuable facade but just don't find it beautiful. Personally, I wouldn't like it either; I'm on your wife's side. Red 70s brick is not everyone's thing. But I agree with the others, cladding or even removing it would be nonsense.

It is planned to renew the right annex with cladding bricks and to continue this in the direction of the entrance door at roughly the same height. At the top, the brickwork should possibly be plastered.

There will be no suitable height for the break between the two surfaces. Also consider the note

A large-scale facade renovation may not be carried out without additional insulation according to the Energy Saving Ordinance for all houses built before 1978 anyway.

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She does not like the red brick.

What she does not want is not sufficient as a planning basis. That is why I asked for an example picture of what would be acceptable to her: would she prefer the bricks in pebble gray, sand beige, or aubergine, ... ?

In Holland, you often see brick buildings where the bricks have been painted, often white. Combined with new stylish windows, that can look extremely stylish.

The windows here still look too new, I would probably only foil them on the outside at most. I can imagine quickly achieving a nice look by "recoloring" the entire facade and painting over the joints on the surface (but only not between the upper and lower edges of the first-floor windows, so there only paint the bricks and tape off the joints or color them in a different tone).