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How to pick the
right
brick for your house.
A helpful guide on
all types of bricks and brick
veneers. |
If you are selecting a building
material for your home or the
business there are basically four
factors you have to consider.
Esthetics, economics, design
properties and how the selected
material will have to perform when
its installed. Besides natural
stones, probably there is no other
building material that is as time
tested as bricks. Brick is a very
durable building material. It can
add unsurpassed beauty and long
lasting value to any home.
The type of bricks
you may consider using on your home.
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 different type of
bricks and brick veneers, this is
the right page for you.
Salvaged bricks:
As
the name applies salvaged bricks
were used before and had been
cleaned and inspected for future
use. Because bricks are very durable
it can be salvaged and used again.
However, there are some code
requirements regarding to the usage
of salvaged or second hand bricks.
Used bricks has to be clean,
approved as to quality condition and
compliance with the new masonry
units. Salvaged bricks shall be of
whole, sound material and free from
cracks and other defects that would
interfere with its proper laying or
future use. Salvaged bricks often
has a bit rustic appearance. Since
these bricks were used, it is not
uncommon to see mortar, paint and
minor defects on the bricks.
However, many homeowners and
architects are choosing salvaged
brick because of its
appearance, lower initial cost and
its nice design properties.
Old Chicago brick
Brick veneer
Thin brick veneer
Different type of brick surfaces
Bricks for columns
Bricks for your patio or pool
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.
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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.
Related articles and pages:
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learn more about our company please
check out our about us page.
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information on
what services we provide please
click here to check out what
type of construction projects we
can help you with.
We also install fake
fireplaces, marble fireplaces and other
stone fireplaces. Fireplace surrounds
installation in and around Miami fl. We
install all types of Fireplace veneers
in Miami Dade and Broward county.
