DIY Network

Brick Wall: Installing Brick Veneer From "Rock Solid" episode DROC-109

It's time to bring in the brick veneer and see this project begin to take shape!

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	The guys are in the Centennial State...
	working on a wall...
	that takes the room from boring, to brick!
	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D
	Figure E
	Figure F
	Figure G
	Figure H

Materials:

Measuring tape
Pencil
Utility knife
Screw gun
1-1/2 in. drywall screws
Shop vacuum or broom and dust pan
Drop cloths including plastic sheeting
Masking tape
Cement fiberboard
4 in. grinder
Safety glasses
Construction adhesive (designed specifically for brick or brick veneer)
Caulking gun
Tile spacers (for desired thickness of brick joint)
Protective gloves
Masonry baker’s bag
Trowel
Half-round jointer (one for each person jointing)
Bullet level
2 ft. level
Premix mortar (any other material)
Mixing buckets

Installing Brick Veneer

1. All brick work and stone work should begin with the corners or edges of the project. The pattern for this wall is a running bond pattern, which is started at the corners by laying a full brick, following with a half brick, then a full brick, then a half brick and so on (figure A). The running bond pattern is one of the most common patterns seen in brick work and its goal is to have each row break the joints of the row beneath it at the halfway mark. In full brick work this is done for support, but for brick veneer it provides visual interest and recreates the look of full brick.

2. To create the half bricks for the running bond corners, cut the thin brick in half using a tile cutter or diamond blade grinder (figure B).

Safety Alert: Be careful when cutting and wear safety glasses!

Because this wall recreates an old wall – and old walls are not perfect – your half bricks don’t need to be cut exactly at the half way point. Cut enough half brick ahead of time so you’re not continuously stopping to cut more brick.

3. Start with the first brick at the bottom. Apply a bead of construction adhesive designed specifically for brick veneer to the back of the brick (figure C). Keep the adhesive about a quarter of an inch from the edge of the brick. Apply the brick to the wall with enough pressure for the brick to adhere and hold it until the brick doesn’t move – it shouldn’t be more than a few seconds.

4. Apply the corners with the cut side facing the inside of your brick work; this hides the cuts and creates the illusion that the brick veneer is full brick (figure D). Install the brick corners up to the top of the ceiling, and make any necessary adjustments to the brick placement and joint size. The construction adhesive should be adjustable for about 15-20 minutes. If you want your joint size to be exact, you can use tile jointers, but Dean and Derek chose to slightly vary their joint widths to better create the illusion of an old brick wall.

5. Any notches that need to be made can be made with your grinder.

6. Start building up the body of your brick work. As you work, keep the running bond by working from in from the corners – where the running bond was established – and making sure the end of each brick hits the middle of the brick above and below it. But before you cover all of your brick, Dean and Derek have several pointers.

• Decide on your window design. Dean and Derek decided to use the brick corners along the edges and top of their stonework, with a soldier course created from the flats along the bottom and stone sills (figure E). The stone sills are created from a piece of thin veneer stone (figure F). To recreate this sill look – depending on the depth of your sill – you can use thin veneer, wood, or a piece of bluestone or limestone. Talk with your distributor or local quarry to find out what’s available to you. Make design decisions before you reach your corners because they may require cuts that should be spaced out in the wall design.

• Once you have some of your brick work established, mark a straight line across the wall using a straight edge and a level. Build a continuous row across the length of the wall to act as a guideline for setting brick and keeping your running bond (figure G). If you have multiple people working on this project they can then start from opposite ends of the wall and work together without worrying that their running bonds won’t match up.

• If the row of brick doesn’t meet up perfectly – i.e. there’s not room for full brick all the way across – you can cut a brick plug to fit. Don’t cut the brick to less than 3/4 of the size of the full brick. If the gap won’t be closed by one 3/4 brick and adjusting some of the joints, you can cut a second brick about that size and hide these two cut-down brick in the length of the wall.

• Step back every now and then to check your work (figure H). If your wall is long, the row might begin to sway or the joint sizes to change. The joints and line don’t have to be perfect, but there should be some consistency.

7. Finish building the brick of the wall and begin grouting.

RESOURCES :

Product: Peppermill (color)
Brand Name: Old Brick Originals Thin Brick
Robinson Brick Company
1845 W. Dartmouth Ave.
Denver, CO 80110
1-800-477-9002
Website: www.robinsonbrick.com