Installing bricks veneers on plywood and cement walls

ECO BRICKS INSTALLED ON A WALL

INTRODUCTION
Veneer bricks installation is the application of veneer bricks on the wall, this can be done on both plywood walls or concrete walls and each wall type have different brick veneer installation techniques applicable to it. Are you a home owner in Nigeria, you can hire the services of a bricks installation company here in Nigeria like Farad Contractors Nigeria or you can decide to do it yourself as fun project for the home.

There are step by step rules you have to follow for a great brick veneers installation.If you’re using a thin brick veneer it is advisable to reinforce your wall with ¼ inch cement backer boards and fasten them to the studs with dry wall screws. This also helps with walls that are not solid or the paints on the walls are peeling off.

If your walls are made from plywood then a water-resistant surface must be placed over the original frame to prevent moisture and mold from rotting out the walls. In this case you need to install the cement backer board over the plywood framework. This will make the brick veneers to bind very well on the surface. There is what is called Wire Lath Installation for wooden surfaces. First, a paper backing need to be installed horizontally on the frame then fasten the wire lath with 1 inch screws and apply a slim coat of mortar. After the mortar dries up, you can start the brick veneers installation. However, this process won’t be needed if one is installing on a brick, block or stone, you just need yours walls to be free of dust or any hydrophobic liquid like oil.

STEPS FOR INSTALLING BRICK VENEERS ON THE WALL

1. Get the substrate wall ready by making sure it is smooth, clean, dust and oil free because presences of any of this will make it difficult for the glue to bond to the wall. Create a temporary ledger by using a straight piece of wood across the bottom of the wall. The importance of this ledger is to help you create a straight leveled brick veneers as you tile. The ledger has to be removed once the installation dries up.

2. Make sure all your bricks are for the job are readily available to avoid having to pause the installation job in order to get more bricks. Normally, you should have 1 extra sq meter of veneer bricks for every 9 sq meters measurement job as a rule because of cuttings.

3. Start the installation of the bricks at the bottom of the wall. The notch trowel will be used to spread mastic also called Arabic gum over a small portion of the wall, then press your veneer bricks to the outer edge of lower corner of the wall. This will give the brick veneer a running pattern look which is the most common layout of brick masonry.

4. Keep installing with full bricks starting from the bottom of the wall up to the half way point doing this row by row. While installing always makes sure that the courses are running straight by using a 4 foot level. This should be done in a space of 20 minutes before the bonding matter dries up.

5. The spaces between the bricks otherwise called grout joins joints can be created evenly with slim wood slices cut evenly to make an even spacing.Once you’ve reached the half way point of the brick installation, repeat the steps taken before and finish the remainder  of the walls to your desired height. Look over the job and check for even running pattern.

6. Finally, the spaces in between the bricks should be filled with grout, the grout gives the bricks mechanical strength by unifying the whole brick units and also gives the brick veneer work awesome aesthetics. you can achieve different color patterns of grouting line of your choice by mixing the filling grouts with different iron oxide pigments. absolute care should be taken to avoid staining the bricks during grouting as this stains bonds strongly with the brick veneers and may be very difficult to clean off.