Damp Brickwork on house - advice needed

[Helen Bradley]

Thanks everyone for your replies. It has been a great help. So as a complete novice and with no DIY skills whatsoever, I’ll have to rely on others to sort this.

Am I best getting a builder out in the first instance to do the repointing?

Any tips on how to get that black paint off the bottom? Will this be something I’ll be able to do?

Thank you, Helen

 

[Burnerman]

There's a good chance the paint has soaked into the brickwork to some degree and therefore wire brushing will have little effect.....although there's no harm in trying.
If there's a firm offering dust free blasting nearby, it's worth calling them.
John

 

[JohnD]

if there is efflorescence behind the coating, you may find it is partly lifted and can be scraped off. It might be bituminous paint, which is very difficult to remove cleanly.