Learn the secrets on how to install
brick veneer.
|
Accent any part of your
house with brick.
Step by step instructions for the
DIY homeowner on how to install
brick around the footing
of the house. |
You don't have to settle for ugly
stucco around your house any more. If you
wish to install brick on your own or
have a brick layer who is doing it
for you but you want to educate
yourself about the process, this is
the right page for you.
In the
following article I am going to
outline the steps it took to veneer
a public building in Plantation Fl.
How to Build Your
Own Brick Wall.
Build your
brick veneer that last for decades
and save hundreds on the cost.
Before you can
start building the wall you need to determine the height and the
width of the area you wish
to veneer with the bricks. These measurements are
necessary for calculating the amount
of bricks and mortar necessary for
building the brick wall.
To make counting more understandable
I will outline an example on one
straight wall.
The wall we want to build is 4 feet
tall that is 48 inches all together.
Each brick is about 2-
2 ¼ of an inch in
height plus we are going to leave a
3/8th or a half of
an inch joint so each course is
going to be around
2 ½ " in height. Now dividing
the 48 inches with
2 ½ we get 19.2 courses. Lets round it up to
20 courses
The length of the wall in our
example is 10 ft.
Each brick is around 8" plus the
3/8th or a half of
an inch joint
that gives us around 8.5" per brick.
10 ft is 120 inches and dividing
the 120 inches with 8
½ we get 14.1 bricks in one course.
Lets round this one up to 15. So all
together we have 20 courses and each
course holds 15 bricks that gives us
a total of 300 bricks for the whole
wall.
It is always a good
idea to order a few brick more than
you need in case if it brakes. So to complete our
brick wall we
will need to order around 320
bricks. As an average, for the
installation of 120 bricks you will
need about ten bags 60lbs of
mortar.
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The first
step in building your veneer
wall is to establish the
corners. After outlining the
first course you have to
build a small lead on each
sides of the wall in order
for you to pull a string
line. This will establish
the height of each course
and keep a straight wall as
you go along building your
wall. The height or
thickness of the mortar
joints are gong to be
determined by the total
height of the wall. If you
need to meet a certain
elevation with your wall I
would advise you to measure
out each course with the
thickness of the joints on
the corners. |
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Simply mark your outline on
the wall you wish to veneer.
You don't want to arrive
with a half course lower or
higher on the top of the
wall. The top of the last
brick has to be exactly the
desired height. After
building your leads you have
to pull a line and put it to
the top corner of the bricks
on each side of your lead.
And build your wall one
course at a time. |
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If you veneer your bricks around any masonry
wall it is always a good idea to
tie some of the courses to the wall. As the example
shown in the pictures above.
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Lets start installing
the bricks.
There is no need to use
the 6 ft
level and plumb each
curse. You just simply
have to line up the
top corner of your bricks to
the string and it will
provide you with an
accurate guideline for
each and every curse.
Quick tip! Occasionally
step back a few feet
from the brick column
and check on the
outcome. See if your
joints are equally sized
and if the bricks are
perfectly level on each
courses.
It is important to keep
the wall and the bricks
free from mortar.
It will save you a lot
of cleaning time and the
result will be a much more
professional one. Second
note: Although we are
going to install a stone
cap and seal the wall
against water damage it
is also required to
install weep-holes on
every two feet on the
bottom of the brick
wall. This will allow
water to escape from
behind the brick wall. |
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Concaved joints. |
As you go along
with the installation of the bricks you have
to do some minor touch ups, such us
filling up or tuck-pointing the
joints with mortar. ( The same
mortar you have used for laying the
bricks but perhaps in a little
thicker consistency.) Don't let the
mortar get too dry. Try to do the
tooling as you go up, after
finishing every 4-5 courses.
The most
commonly used joints are either
concaved or raked out
( Square
recessed ) joints. If you finished
tooling the brick joints you have to
brush it with a light whisk brush to
smooth-out the surface of the
mortar.
And that's all.
You can complement this brick
veneer with a cut brick or a precast stone cap. With a little effort and
attention to details you can
complete this brick veneer project like a breeze. And the
completed brick wall will
be for the
admiration of your neighbors and
the attention and praise from
your guests for many years
to come.
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Does it have a price?
At this point you are
probably wondering
how much this brick
column building project cost.
Well I can tell you
exactly how much if you
click the link above↑. |
Read on
to find out how our brick layers can help you save money
on your next brick installation
project.
↓
Not a DIY?
Don’t feel to build
brick columns on your
own? Fear not, if your
project is located in
our Florida service area
just send us an email
and we will give you a
free price quote
on any sized job.
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We also install fake
fireplaces, marble fireplaces and other
stone fireplaces. Fireplace surrounds
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