Remove 'scudding' from red brick?

[AC92]

Hi All,
I'm currently opening up a fire place in my house:

http://imgur.com/a/oYh7W

You'll see the red bricks are covered in what I believe is called scudding, which for some reason was applied before stubbing the wall off with plasterboard?!

I'd like to remove that material to expose the genuine red brick below, the whole chimney breast floor to ceiling - make it into a feature.

Do you know if/how its possible to remove the scudding without damaging the bricks/mortar? I tried a little with a wall scraper and a hammer but I doubt neither my arms nor the bricks will survive the ordeal...

Thanks.

 

[stevethespreader]

That's a slurry coat used for a key are the bricks painted underneath?

 

[AC92]

Thanks for the reply, no they don't seem to be painted. In the roof space the bare brick is exposed, I noticed the mortar between the bricks is a little crumbly in some areas up there (it's an old house) - what are the chances this slurry was applied to protect the brick/mortar under neath?

 

[stevethespreader]

Doubt it it could also be a tanking slurry to stop damp

 

[stevethespreader]

Doubt it it could also be a tanking slurry to stop damp

As a matter of fact that's what I think has been done tanked to stop the damp then boarded

 

[AC92]

OK, probably not something I want to remove then...!

 

[chappers]

But that shouldn't be an issue if your planning to open it all up, so long as its ventilated

 

[vinn]

As stevethespreader says, it was applied to "stop the damp" so to speak.
In this case its the hygroscopic salts coming through the c/breast brickwork from the sooty, unswept flue(s) thats attracting moisture.
Photo 2. shows two rusty nails in the central batten.

OP,
your flue(s) should be swept and smoke tested. Wire brush the fire opening.
After removing the battened p/board from 3-sides of the c/breast (cut the joins at all inside corners with a utility knife) you could hire a small grinder and remove the slurry.
Do not use brick acid or any aggressive chemicals.
But, as above, almost any remedial work on the bricks will cause unsightlyness.
Raking out the beds & re-pointing will show as glaringly new mortar.

 

[chappers]

Do not use brick acid or any aggressive chemicals.

Don't think you'll have much choice, any mechanical method short of a scraper will cause damage.
A house next to my Mother's had the paint stripped from the bricks a few years back, by a brick renovation company essentially they used a paint on stripper followed by washing off, followed by what was essentially a paint on brick acid paste and further jetting off.
I was pretty impressed with how it came up, but the brick faces were clearly more pitted than those on the surrounding houses which hadn't been painted

 

[stevethespreader]

Never had to remove a tanking slurry before not sure how I would go about it you could always ask a brick restoration company what they would use

 

[vinn]

Are you seriously suggesting that the OP should carry out the procedures you list above?
In a decorated room above a new looking laminate floor?
Power jet washing is about the quickest way to bring efflorescence to the brick surface that I know.
Plus, this is a c/breast already suffering from damp & hygroscopic salts & you are suggesting that more water be injected?

Depending on the (slurry) cement bonding to the brick - a very sharp brick chisel should shift most of the slurry, and grades of grinding stone will take care of the residue.
Done with care the result will be a surface corresponding to the age of the house - worn but well fit for purpose as a feature.

FWIW: There are no such creatures as "brick restoration companies" - they dont restore the existing brick they change it, and the changes they make with their jetting and chemicals are short lasting in appearance but long lasting in the damage they cause.

You probably have removed lots of slurry, only it was part of the render you've hacked off jobs over the years - thats it, its no big deal.

Anyone remember when the cosmetic surgeons claimed that they could restore youth - or the monkey gland injectors?

 

[stevethespreader]

There are such companies and it's worth asking their advice

 

[chappers]

http://www.restorebrick.co.uk/moreinfo.aspx?mid=13 http://www.newmanbuildingsolutions....NILQkZGfWlAO4opFPCQ16SQer4XrXo8iUkaAvsL8P8HAQfirst two listings if you search for brick restoration.
Of course I'm not suggesting the OP should go jetwashing his living room, was just pointing out that, there are chemical alternatives and that's the way it would be done professionally. I'm sure the OP would have the sense to protect his living room if carrying out anything like that, just as he would if chipping it off mechanically.

 

[vinn]

stevethe spreader,
I'm not in any way personally attacking you, and
I'm not, of course, suggesting that such companies dont literally exist - I'm saying that what they do in practice is not restorative but damaging.
I write from my experience of whatever, & my experience of restoration companies & their results is not happy.

 

[vinn]

So you are suggesting that the OP should apply the acid & chemical potions you mentioned above to that c/breast in that room?
How would you propose to clean them off?
If you were only proposing chemical cleaning then why mention jet washing?

The building photos in your references are best seen 12 months, or 2 to 3 years after such treatment. They prove nothing in terms of this thread.
Of course, anything can be power cleaned - water lances are used to cut re-barred concrete, & remove all patina from any brick or masonry.

I'll note a single example that was power cleaned 44 yrs ago and has had issues ever since. The Royal Albert Hall in London. Massive damage was caused with long term effects - much of the fabric, terra cotta and brick, has since disintegrated.