Cladding over a tired brick façade: How to Transform Your Brick House Into a Modern Coastal Home

Cladding over brick creates a dramatic transformation, so much so that neighbours and passers-by often mistake these brick house exterior makeovers for completely new home builds.

No-one knows this better than Lydia Thompson, homeowner and designer of an incredible brick home makeover in the Tasmanian countryside. Lydia is still in awe of the dramatic difference cladding over her tired brick home made, ultimately transforming it into what looked like a completely new, modern home, in just weeks.

At the time of the renovation, she shared the home with her husband Martin, and their children Mia, Charli and Louie. Set amongst 3 acres of rolling paddocks on Hobart’s Eastern Shore, their renovated home was inspired by the Linea™ Weatherboard farmhouses they’d seen dotted around the local countryside. It has undergone a major transformation from a dated ‘90’s brick home, to the stunning property it is today.

“Linea™ Weatherboard transformed our home from an ugly 90’s home to a stunning modern costal home,” Lydia said. “We have to pinch ourselves that it’s the same home. It’s amazing!”

Completely change the look of a brick house with cladding

Leaking bathrooms, rotting skirting, soggy walls and mouldy carpet were the catalyst for the complete interior renovation. But Lydia couldn’t contain her excitement at the opportunity to not only renovate the interior, but also update the exterior of the home, to cover up the dated brick façade that made the home look much older than it actually was.

Describing the exterior as dark, dated and flat, the owners wanted to create the illusion of a larger, brighter home that suited the country landscape.

“The property was set down the driveway, making the house look small, and we also had a deep front porch. Linea™ Weatherboard was the perfect choice to make the façade feel higher and add interest along the front patio,” Lydia said.

To create this look, the owners clad over the top of their tired peach brick home, utilising Linea™ Weatherboard by James Hardie to create a bright, inviting and refreshed façade.

A front façade transformation that stands the test of time

“With the home being semi-rural, located on paddocks, with mature gardens and mountain views, we wanted to enhance the county feeling on the outside,” Lydia said. “I follow Kyle and Kara from The Block, they used Linea™ Weatherboard on their new Bay Build project. Once I saw the finished product, I knew they were perfect for what I wanted to achieve.”

Using the crisp white roses featured in Lydia’s country garden as inspiration, she selected Dulux® Lexicon Quarter for the weatherboard exterior, to brighten the home and enhance the stunning sunsets the family regularly enjoyed on their property.

“We chose Linea™ Weatherboard as we found it to be very well priced, looked fantastic and durability was a huge bonus. Living on acreage with kids, pets and farm animals, we wanted a product we could be confident would last.”

The fact that Linea™ Weatherboard is made from Hardie™ fibre cement, a material that will hold paint longer than timber and is rot resistant, was an added bonus. With the property open to the Australian elements, and located in close proximity to the ocean, it was important to utilise weatherboards that were resistant to shrinking, swelling and cracking and would look great for many years to come.

“One of the big benefits was that the material was non-combustible and added a layer of insulation over the existing bricks,” their builder Jarrad Sacco said.

Completely change the style of your home in a quick and affordable way

From installing the batons onto the brickwork, framing out the windows and doors, to installing the boards, the process took under 4 weeks. The Thompson family’s builder Jarrad Sacco says he regularly uses Hardie™ exterior cladding, and they are the only weatherboard he recommends. Not only because of their reliability and durability, but also the cost and time saving for his clients.

“I only pay for one trade, and it’s a faster method than brick laying and rendering. Brick layers and renderers are a much longer process and are a trade that is in high demand,” said builder Jarrad Sacco.

Compared to a tear-down and re-build that could take years, the Thompson’s achieved a complete exterior style transformation in four weeks with Linea™ Weatherboard, getting the look of a completely new home quickly, and for a small fraction of the budget a new build would require.

The owners loved Linea™ Weatherboard so much, they are planning to use them in their next renovation, cladding over brick again this year, as Lydia says “they allow for such a huge transformation and are easy to install and add a real ‘wow’ factor.”

Proof that you don’t need to tear-down your existing home to achieve a new build look

When speaking of her favourite elements of the 90’s brick house renovation, Lydia is ecstatic with transformation achieved through cladding over brick. “Linea™ Weatherboard transformed our home from an ugly 90’s home to a stunning modern costal home,” Lydia said. “We have to pinch ourselves that it’s the same home. It’s amazing!”

The light-filled open plan home came to life and was recently sold to a very lucky local family. The listing was the no.1 viewed listing in Tasmania at the time of the sale, and the 7^th most viewed Australia-wide.

When selling the home, Lydia said the most asked question was whether they re-built, as it looked like a brand-new house. “It’s amazing what one product can achieve,” Lydia said, in reference to Linea™ Weatherboard that completed the dramatic transformation.

Ready to specify Linea™ Weatherboard? Order a sample here.

Builder: JJSACCO Building

Designer: Lydia Thompson

Products: Linea™ Weatherboard 180mm