It has become the done thing in my local area, that when people get their houses repointed, they also have their bricks sanded removing the decades of patina/city dirt to make their facades look brand new. It does look lovely I'll admit but I read once some 'Honest John' type article in the news, that said you should never do this. That the bricks lose their fired 'skin' and it makes them more porous & prone to spalling. For reference, our local brick is a soft red & the houses are Edwardian/Victorian. Can anyone tell me if this is a bad idea or not? My own house is looking pretty crappy by comparison now, so I'm wondering whether to get mine done too?