Has anyone used brick veneer on an interior space?

[Dee*Jay]

I am closing in a place in February that needs to be totally gutted. The space will be a totally empty box that I can do pretty much anything with (from a cosmetic standpoint) and I want to put brick veneer on one of the walls, which is 55' long and 13' feet high with six 3' X 3' windows. Has anyone else used Brickweb or any other product like that for interior use? I am having a hard time finding installations to look at so any info will be much appreciated!

 

[momhappy]

No. We moved into a home that was built in the 70's and we gutted it. One of the living rooms had an interior brick wall and we covered it with dry wall because it looked dated.

 

[JewelFreak]

DeeJay, my kitchen has a brick backsplash. The house was built in 1988; I have no idea what the material is, but it looks & feels like real brick & mortar. (We bought the house 10 yrs ago.) Here & there a few bricks look like they were whitewashed for accent -- and that does not look like real whitewash; must have been made that way. I didn't change it because I kind of like it & it's easy to clean. The veneer is about 1/4" thick.

Here are photos:



Corner:


Edge by door frame:


I've wondered if it's real or a faux brick of some sort. Sure feels real, but this wasn't an expensively-done house, so difficult to imagine they would have done genuine brick. I like brick walls a lot, like you see in renovated antique places.

--- Laurie

 

[artdecogirl]

Hello DeeJay, I have not done a brick veneer but we did do a stone veneer and I will tell you it is a lot of work. I think the two use the same concept, we put it in a small area behind a wood stove and we had looked at the brick then decided to go with the stone because we liked the look a little better in that area with the wood stove. I can not remember the product name we used but it uses real brick or stone they are just cut thin to reduce weight / size. There is a ton of prep you have to do, if you have ever done ceramic tile it is done the same way with just one exception I believe. You have to cover your area with cement board so it does not shift with temp and humidity changes then we applied a chicken wire over that (you do not do that with ceramic I do not think) then you apply a mastic to the wall in thick layers and hold the stone /brick in place until it adheres, you do that to the whole wall, let it dry and then apply a grout between the pieces like you would tile and then apply a sealant to the grout, I forgot before you do anything you have to lay out all the brick on the floor to make sure you have a decent pattern and if you have to cut any pieces. I like the look but I would not do it again, way too much work.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Thanks for the feedback on this!

Momhappy, I know what you mean about it looking dated. There are some products (I’ll try to insert that as the first picture below) that are Too Perfect and I think they just scream FAKE! 1973!

JewelFreak, I like the way yours looks! The whitewash may not be truly authentic looking, but it’s certainly not *bad* -- and believe me, I’ve seen BAD!

Artdecogirl, your point about the amount of work involved is well taken. The CB has this idea that he’s going to do this himself, but I have an alternate idea that I’m going to hire someone, LOL! Seriously, the wall I’m thinking of is 55’ long and 13’ high with six windows to cut out. Just typing that makes me tired…

I will put some pics below, please feel free to offer opinions!

 

[Dee*Jay]

This is called ZBrick and looks really fake to me because of the perfection.

 

[Dee*Jay]

This is Brickweb and there are (I think) 8 bricks on each piece of mesh backing. From an application standpoint I think this would be the easiest because it seems to go up like regular tile that is mesh-backed and I'm pretty sure a good tiler should be able to do this with relative ease. My potential concern about this is if there is a "repeat" in the pattern. E.g., is the third brick down and second one over on every web darker, or something like that. If I decide to go that route I will contact the company and see if that is the case or if it is truly random.

 

[Dee*Jay]

There is a company close to me (in Rockford, IL) that makes veneers from real reclaimed Chicago bricks. Here is one that I like.

 

[Dee*Jay]

And they also do a sawcut version that is a little more rustic, but also about 30% less expensive in terms of material. For this wall I would save about two grand that way, but I would have to see it in person and really like it or else saving the $ isn't worth it to end up with something I don't like as well.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Forgot to say, with the last two I believe I would have to use a real brick layer because I think they go up one at a time.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Oh, and one more thought! If there is a repeat in the Brickweb pattern it just occurred to me that I could cut the webbing on some of them and randomize myself.

 

[crown1]

I have been reading with interest about your new home. I do hope that you will give us pics when you are able. I am interested in the commercial to residential project. Will you be using it at all for commerce? An exciting and interesting project for a busy go-getter like yourself. You seem to have boundless energy and are always embarking on some new project. I will be watching and reading with interest. Best wishes on a quick and easy closing.

 

[artdecogirl]

DeeJay, I really like the Chicago brick look and I bet it would look great with all those windows

 

[nottospec]

Hi, we used stacked stone on an internal wall on the support wall in the lower level gym at our house. It is glued directly to the bricks and looks awesome. Wish I had a photo but am away from home at present

 

[Dee*Jay]

Crown1, I have what my great grandmother always called “a bad case of the can’t sit stills!” Because of the zoning I could use the property for either my real estate business or if I decided to open a small accounting office too, but right now my plan is to just use it residentially. Having that flexibility is nice though and will open up the buyer candidate pool when I go to sell.

Artdecogirl, I have been looking at tons of pics on line and am getting rather excited about this product! I think I will also put a rough hewn lumber header above the windows to give the illusion of a little more size because they seem “small” in scale due to the size of the whole wall.

Nottospec, if it’s not too much trouble when you get home I would love to see a picture! Do you happen to recall the brand of product that you used? And did you do it yourself or have some else install it for you?

 

[JewelFreak]

I like the Chicago brick one best. It looks the most real -- except the mortar between bricks is too smooth; if I used it, I'd put in a few tiny irregularities here & there, wouldn't need much but enough to make it more genuine.

You'll order a sample to eyeball, of anything you're considering, right? Sounds like it will be really nice looking -- hope you'll put up pics when it's done. I'd love to see them!

--- Laurie