Smart thinking will get more than just another brick in the wall

COLOURED renders and painted finishes can splash a bit of life and variety on a house, but there’s still a lot to be said for dependable brick: it just gets better with age.

This wet winter has taken the gloss off even the best-kept homes, though, with green growth settling in on external walls. Even buildings finished in the past year or so — many with supposedly maintenance-free, sprayed, coloured plaster finishes — are turning 40 shades of green.

Will a dry summer banish these forlorn winter ‘blues?’