"Sean" wrote in message
om...
Anyone have a good technique or advice for removing a texture from a
brick? Our house is 16 years old and our fireplace wall is a
deep/dark red brick with a wavy texture that sticks out as much as
3/8". The wall is really dated looking. I want to preserve the look
of brick but we would rather cover it over than look at it in its
current state. Ideally I would like to smooth down the face of the
brick to be flat.

I was putting up crown along that wall and needed to smooth down one
row near the top. I tried a chisel, grinding wheel (don't ask) and
other grinding attachments with no real luck. The brick is way too
hard to make this a reasonable job across an entire wall.

Other questions:
- what can I expect to be inside the brick? will the brick have
consistent color throughout?
- on some 'paint removal' threads they advise not to sandblast on
exterior walls due to weather protection, etc... what would I suffer
with inside? Is there risk of breaking bricks?

Forget it- there is no practical way to change the look of existing brick
without covering it. If it really bugs you, you could always add another
layer of brick. They have thin bricks available, or you could wear out a
couple wet saw blades making your own from regular brick you like. Apply
chicken wire to the existing brick with anchors, lay a mud bed of mortar,
and apply the new brick like tile, 'grouting' with mortar after it sets up a
little.

BTW, think about resale value- if fireplace wall now matches outside brick,
it can look 'wrong' to many buyers if it doesn't match after you change it.

aem sends....