Covering up a brick wall

How to Cover a Brick Wall Inside Your Home | Home Guides

By SF Gate Contributor Updated October 18, 2021

While brick exteriors on expensive homes add to the classy, expensive look, all too often brick looks dingy, cold, cheap and simply urban instead. Inside the home, the effect is even worse. You live inside those walls – cooking, cleaning, entertaining, relaxing – and you deserve an interior that expresses your style and personality. Two options to cover the brick inside are painting and drywalling. If the wall is an outer wall, the drywall requires furring strips underneath, reveals Home Improvements. Drywall is, however, the best option for completely covering the wall.

Drywalling Over Brick With Furring Strips – Exterior Wall

1.

Measure across the top, middle and bottom of the wall. Mark every 16 inches, beginning at "0" and ending at the final measurement, regardless of the distance between it and the previous mark. Run a straightedge down the wall, connecting the marks, and draw a line. Use a chalk line, alternatively. These lines guide the vertical furring strips.
2.

Measure the distance from floor to ceiling and subtract twice the width of the furring strips plus an additional inch. Store-bought furring strips are generally 1-by-2-inch or 1-by-3-inch pieces 8 feet in length. You can rip your own to the dimensions you choose, using 1- or 2-inch-thick boards. So if your ceiling-to-floor distance is 8 feet, for example, cut each 1-by-3-inch furring strip to 7 inches less than 8 feet, or 89 inches. Plan one strip per mark plus enough strips to run along the top and bottom of the wall. Allow extra strips to frame around doorways or windows.
3.

Squeeze a bead of construction adhesive along the back of the first, and each successive, furring strip before attaching. Hold the first strip close to the ceiling with about a 1/4-inch gap between the two. Check that the strip is level and adjust as needed. Pre-drill a hole through the furring strip into the mortar joints between bricks, with a hammer drill fit with a masonry bit. Bore holes 12 to 18 inches apart. Secure with concrete screws or other concrete fastener. Repeat with each horizontal ceiling strip needed to cross the length of the wall, then switch to the bottom of the wall and perform similarly.
4.

Hang the vertical strips, centering each strip over a mark to create a framework that's 16 inches on center. This allows drywall, which is a standard 4 foot width, to always begin and end on the framing. Check for plumb, meaning straight up and down, with a level, and adjust before pre-drilling and securing. Combined with the horizontal strips, the vertical strips form a framework like a stud wall. The gap between the strips and the wall allows any faint moisture to evaporate more readily, preventing mold. Proceed to hanging the drywall just as you would on interior walls.

Drywalling Over Brick With Furring Strips – Interior Walls

1.

Run large, S-shaped lines of construction adhesive across the wall for about the length and width of a sheet of drywall before hanging the first, and each successive, piece, instructs Today's Homeowner. Start at the top end of the wall first and work over and then down. Run each sheet so the length covers the wall from side to side. This creates the least noticeable seams. If you installed furring strips first, glue the wood instead. This is the only difference between hanging on interior and exterior walls.
2.

Drive masonry screws through the drywall into pilot holes in either the brick wall or the furring strips previously installed. Space each 12 to 16 inches apart. Using construction adhesive allows fewer attachments.
3.

Cut drywall as necessary to end a row or fit around a door or window. Additionally, start the bottom row with a different length of sheet to stagger the seams. To cut drywall, score the face with a utility knife, then snap the drywall back. Cut through the paper back to complete.
4.

Spread joint compound – also known as "mud" – across each drywall seam and every screw head. Cut drywall tape to length and center over each seam as well as the screws. Slide a drywall knife down the length of the tape to force out air, which will later bubble. Smooth a layer of mud over the tape, extending slightly past the previous layer with this, and each successive, layer – a process known as feathering. It helps create smoother edges when finished.
5.

Dry the mud and sand smooth. Repeat, feathering another thin layer over the top before drying and sanding. Continue until you are satisfied with the results. Prime and paint to complete.
Things You Will Need
Tip
Cover the wall with unbroken lengths of plastic sheeting, or rows overlapped 12 inches with the seams taped, to protect against excessive moisture. Alternatively, seal the brick. Causes of dampness, which appears as discolored brick while wet and as a powdery white residue called efflorescence, should be fixed before renovating the wall. Poor drainage, wall cracks and other conditions lead to further problems.

References

Today's Homeowner: How to Hang Drywall Over Brick
Home Improvements: Furring Strips for Drywall

Tips

Cover the wall with unbroken lengths of plastic sheeting, or rows overlapped 12 inches with the seams taped, to protect against excessive moisture. Alternatively, seal the brick. Causes of dampness, which appears as discolored brick while wet and as a powdery white residue called efflorescence, should be fixed before renovating the wall. Poor drainage, wall cracks and other conditions lead to further problems.

15 Ideas for Covering & Enhancing Interior Brick Walls

Do you find exposed brick walls cold? Add contemporary warmth and interest with these 15 transformative ideas

While interior brick walls often convey a sense of history, that certainly doesn’t mean they can’t also be elegant and contemporary. If you’re looking for ways of covering interior brick walls, consider applying a variety of techniques and effects, choosing complementary colours and materials, or revealing and preserving their character, which can serve to make them stand-out features of a room. Here are 15 tricks that can transform masonry from mundane to magical.

contramark.com

1. Create a textured contrast
A raw and irregular wall of bricks can create a rustic contrast in a modern bathroom that features an assortment of smooth, plain and patterned tiles. The black, white and grey colour palette in this bathroom not only keeps it looking elegant, but also ties the ensemble together.

Petro Builders

3. Add limewash to an exposed brick wall
Limewash is a breathable coating that offers a soft, porous finish. The interior brick wall in this home is a continuation of the exterior wall, and the limewash serves to soften the red brick inside. “This result took two coats. Each coat increased the ‘whiteness’ of the brick wall,” explains Tim Gibbs at Petro Builders.

Brickworks Building Products

4. Play with size and layout
This dark and rustic brick wall has a course of Roman bricks – which are 50 millimetres high – every fourth course of standard bricks – which are 76 millimetres high – adding subtle detail and further texture to the wall.

“Brick is such a rich material,” says architect Karen Ognibene of Arkhefield, who used Brickworks Building Products. “Brick was a way of bringing the landscape into the house and it gave an enhanced texture without adding another material to the palette.”

elaine richardson architect

5. Frame a section
Only a section of the original brickwork is exposed in this house, due to some of it being damaged. The surrounding white wall frames the brick background, which also serves as a great place to hang timber geometric-shaped shelves.

See more images of exposed-brick walls

Kennedy Nolan

6. Offer a sneak peek
The vast majority of the brick walls in this living space have been painted solid white, except a circle that offers a sneak peek of the recycled clay bricks that form the structure of the home. The brick circle becomes, in a way, a piece of artwork and eliminates the need for wall decoration.

Maxa Design

7. Build dividing walls
This innovative home pays homage to the iconic Australian wool shed. Winning the 2011 Building Designers Association of Victoria award for Most Innovative Use of Brick, it features recycled brick walls that divide interior space and offer thermal mass.

Versaform

8. Add whitewash to an exposed brick wall
More opaque than a limewash, whitewashing or painting an exposed brick wall can certainly serve to change the colour, look and mood of a room. A whitewashed brick wall has a level of coverage that reveals subtle tones of the brick’s original colour and has the added advantage of helping brighten up interiors.

Maxa Design

…paint an exposed brick wall black
A solid black-painted wall adds depth and luxury to a living space, and covers up a wall that might have been built with an unsightly choice of brick from a bygone era. By teaming with light-toned upholstery and blonde-wood furniture, the effect is not only quite striking but also elevates the atmosphere in the room, especially if there is not a lot of light.

Jolson

9. Layer the bricks for contrast
An exposed brick wall serves as a splashback in this industrial-style kitchen. Additionally, the bricks have been layered to protrude and recede, creating contrast, texture and shadow.

Core Collective Architects

10. Highlight its history
This contemporary house was once a boot maker’s shop (built in 1962) and the evidence still exists today. The remnants of a painted sign features on one of the original brick walls alongside the staircase.

casafabrica

11. Preserve its wear and tear
The nine-metre-high brick party wall in this Edwardian terrace has been preserved behind the central staircase – it still bears the marks of the former fireplace.

Atticus & Milo

12. Mimic the shape of the bricks
These 1970s bricks have an elongated, horizontal profile and so too do the bathroom fixtures attached to the wall, including the vanity, recessed shelf and mirror. Black and white frames and surfaces stand out against the warm orange brick.

Studio 74 architects

13. Mix it up
The interior walls of this mid-century brick house feature a distinctive mixture of salvaged bricks and coloured, glazed bricks. The salvaged bricks were roughly cleaned, leaving many of the pre-existing marks for effect. “The kids had drawn on some of them over time, so it was lovely to see some of that as part of the wall,” says project designer Anja Michelzahn.

TK Design KITCHENS | BATHROOMS | INTERIORS

14. Create the torn-down effect
Brick walls went out of fashion in the ’80s and ’90s and many were plastered over. Now that they’re back in style, the torn-off-plaster look can create an interesting decorative wall effect, as it does in this dining doom.

K Co Design

15. Use colour-contrasting mortar
A brick wall can look more contemporary with mortar that is contrasting (yet complementary) to the brick. Here, a light-coloured mortar ties in the white wall and contrasts with the deep red and brown bricks.

Your turn
Do you have a modern and decorative exposed brick wall in your house? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save your favourite images and join the conversation.

More
Read more here: Exposed: Bricks in All Their Glory … Inside the Home

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Types of brick anchors, installation, tips

In modern construction, such fasteners as anchors, without exaggeration, can be called indispensable. These hardware provide the connection of building structures during installation, serve to install equipment, and are also used to securely fasten massive objects to walls and ceilings. Brick is one of the most common building materials today, so the need to use an anchor with a brick wall arises very often during construction or renovation. nine0109

Types of anchors used in masonry work

When working with bricks, mechanical and chemical type anchors are used. The most popular are hardware that uses mechanical methods of fixing in the wall. For brick walls, the most popular are the following types of products:

Drive-in anchors ideal for use with solid sand-lime bricks or cinder blocks.
Wedge anchors used for mounting facade hinged systems and external glazing on various types of brick walls. nine0006
Two-spacer, designed for mounting critical massive structures and objects to solid brick walls.
MSA anchor systems for fixing lightweight parts to all types of masonry structures.
Anchor bolts with hexagon head. Suitable for any walls made of piece elements.

Manufacturers also produce other types of hardware products that are not very widespread and are used mainly for special types of work related to the installation of equipment or finishing elements. nine0109

Requirements common to all anchors

It is pointless to list the nuances of using all types of anchor fasteners that exist today - each manufacturer provides detailed recommendations for their hardware, in accordance with their device and purpose. But there are a number of requirements common to all products that are intended for installation in brick walls:

Holes for mounting any kind of anchors are drilled exclusively in the body of the brick. Drilling of masonry joints is prohibited, since they, most often, are not able to hold fasteners. In addition, the destruction of a part of the seam leads to a weakening of the bearing capacity of the wall in this place. nine0006
Any anchor is installed strictly perpendicular to the brick structure. Even a slight slope is a gross violation of construction technology and leads to a weakening of the fastening.
When calculating the depth of the hole and drilling, the thickness of the finishing layer - plaster or putty - must be taken into account. It should be borne in mind that the anchor is fixed in the thickness of the wall, and not in its lining. Errors in the depth of fasteners can lead to the most unpleasant consequences.

These requirements are mandatory, since the quality of the installation of anchor fasteners directly depends on their observance.

How to install an anchor in a brick wall

The most important step in working with brick anchors is the choice of product, taking into account the characteristics of the material, the type of load on the anchor and its magnitude. Hardware designed to work with solid material will not perform effectively when used with hollow bricks, so it is important to find out what building elements the wall is built from. nine0109

Marking is the first step in the installation of any part or object. In this case, it should be borne in mind that in case of an error, it will most likely not be possible to move the hole a couple of centimeters to the side, as in the case of concrete. Brick, especially hollow ceramic, is a fairly brittle material and is more likely to break in the place where holes are tried to be drilled at a short distance from each other.
Brick drilling is performed with a special drill, taking into account the diameter of the anchor and its depth. As we already wrote, the perpendicularity of the hole is the most important requirement for the quality of work. After the hole is drilled, it is thoroughly cleaned of dust and a control depth measurement is made. nine0006
When installing fasteners, make sure that they enter the prepared hole with a minimum clearance. If the anchor moves too freely in the wall, it is better to use a larger diameter screw, adjusting the hole to the appropriate size.
Installing drop anchors requires no less care than installing expansion anchors. It is worth remembering that by applying excessive force when hammering a hardware, you can damage not only the product itself, but the wall around it.

Finally, it is worth mentioning the choice of anchors for installation. If you want to be sure that the product will reliably perform its task, purchase certified products from reputable hardware manufacturers.