3 smart ways to update a dated brick home facade

A traditional brick house can offer great street appeal, but if yours is starting to look a little more dated than charming, there are several ways to modernise the facade. 

From cladding to rendering, discover how updating an old brick home can improve its appearance and performance, and potentially add value before selling. 

Cladding

Cladding involves covering the existing brick with a new material. It’s a popular choice for modernising a brick home that is available in a large variety of styles and textures that can be painted almost any colour.

The Hardie™ Architectural Collection by James Hardie includes fibre cement and shiplap products that offer the same look as traditional weatherboard, brushed concrete, and Hamptons-style homes — without the maintenance requirements. 

Julian Brenchley of Brenchley Architects regularly uses James Hardie engineered fibre cement products in his projects, including on the 2023 season of The Block. 

Four of the original 1950s brick houses he has redesigned feature a different Hardie™ cladding product and application, such as the Hardie™ Fine Texture Cladding and Hardie™ Axent™ Trim on House 4, to achieve a board and batten look.

“It was a no-brainer for us to adopt James Hardie’s suite of products,” says Brenchley. “There’s an ease of construction, longevity, and look.”

All Hardie™ Architectural Collection products can be installed by a carpenter, with no need for brickies, renderers or specialist trades.

They are durable, resistant to damage from moisture and termites, and pre-primed ready to paint in any colour, saving home owners time on upkeep.

“I think the clever folk at James Hardie have focused a lot on the long-term – the life cycle and lifespan of products,” says Brenchley. “They’ve stood the test of time and will continue to do so for a long time.

After

Before

“You can do anything with the Hardie™ Architectural Collection,” Julian added. “You can choose to preserve the existing brick structure while adding a modern extension, or you can clad the entire house to achieve a harmonious design, at a fraction of the cost. 

“The possibilities are endless, and the outcome can be absolutely transformational.”

Founder and managing director of Lumous Projects Bob Breese says cladding also provides insulation that can improve a home’s energy efficiency.

“This can lead to reduced heating and cooling costs, making the property more attractive to environmentally-conscious buyers,” he says.

Conner Malan, selling partner for Ray White Burleigh Group, says cladding a house can provide a great return on investment. 

“We sold an old beach shack at Mermaid Beach at the start of the year that hadn’t been touched in decades … We secured $2.4 million for the vendor. We then sold another one a few streets over with a fresh weatherboard look and that got almost $3 million.”

Render

Render is another effective way of transforming a brick home facade, achieved by applying a layer of cement or acrylic over existing brickwork.  

“Render can be tinted to achieve the desired colour, and textures can be customised to create a unique look,” Breese says. “It not only improves aesthetics but also offers protection against weather elements.”

Breese said home owners can expect to pay $60 to $100 per square metre on average for render, depending on their home’s size, the type of render used, surface preparation requirements, and labour costs. 

Malan says rendering can also boost your home’s value prior to selling.

“A dated facade, brick or otherwise, is rarely going to appeal more than a brand new exterior such as rendering or cladding, so if there’s budget, I always recommend a facelift,” he said.

“A rendered look or new Hamptons-style cladding is very ‘in’ at the moment, and a well-marketed listing is about appealing to as many people as possible.”

Malan advises focusing on the outside of your home so as not to overcapitalise on pre-sale renovations. 

“You can definitely overcapitalise on a property and struggle to recoup what you spent on an eventual sale price, but rarely, if ever, does that occur with a facade,” he says. 

Landscaping

Don’t underestimate the impact of landscaping with plants, pathways, and outdoor lighting to update your home’s appearance. 

“The age-old saying is never more true these days, that landscaping really should be considered another room of the house,” says Brenchley. “Don’t forget about it, because it’s worth gold.” 

Malan likewise advises vendors to consider investing in landscaping before selling. “Your front facade is your property’s best advertisement. I’ve had people buy a home even though the interior didn’t really suit them purely because its frontage was so eye-catching,” he says. 

Other options to refresh a brick home include lime washing, regrouting, or painting the existing brickwork.