Questions tagged [brick]
For questions generally relating to the artificial stone-like building material typically called "brick", and also related materials like "cinder block" and natural stone blocks.
584 questions
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Filling old cable holes in brick
My house had several cable runs left from the previous owner that were cut and redone with every TV service they tried. A handful of the runs were brought in from the outside of the house through ...
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How do I remove concrete that has splattered on my brick pavers?
We installed a brick patio, and splatter from wet-cutting the bricks ended up on the installed bricks.
How do I clean it?
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How to cut opening in double brick wall
The external wall of my house is a double-thickness solid brick wall (i.e. about 210mm thick consisting of 100mm brick, 10mm mortar down the middle, then another 100mm brick). I need to cut a new ...
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Can I repair the cracks between the bricks in my fireplace?
The bricks surrounding my fireplace have cracks between them. It's as if the thermal expansion/contraction has eroded the mortor between the bricks. I have had some serious fires in there and haven't ...
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How do I take down an internal wall tied into a load bearing wall?
I'm looking for some advice on whether something I want to do is sensible and any potential risks.
Background:
Between my dining room and utility room at some time there must have been a doorway. ...
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How best can I seal up an old coal door?
Alongside my house is an old coal door that was never properly sealed. Some caulk was added around the metal exterior door, and a piece of plywood nailed over the interior opening (more to keep out ...
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New Window in Structural Brick House
I have an old house (built in the 1940s) that is structural brick. I want to add a small window on the wall to the upstairs to let in a bit more light. Is it possible to add a window to a structural ...
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What is this stucco-like finish called?
The chimney is a wide column in the middle of the living room. The finish on this chimney sort of evokes brick, but I don't think it is. It reminds me of stucco, but it isn't that either. The house ...
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Can I use demo'ed bricks to make an outdoor firepit?
I have four brick posts that are about four feet high and square (1.5 bricks per side all the way up). They are going. A tree hit two of them and I was probably going to take them out anyway. So I ...
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What are these vents in the foundation mortar for?
Throughout the interior side of my 1925 brick foundation are little metal vents embedded in the mortar at irregular intervals. Neither our home inspector nor our real estate agent knew exactly what ...
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Will cement used as mortar need to be replaced?
I had some cracked/spalling bricks on my home as a result of water getting in and freezing during the winter. I went ahead and replaced five bricks (three on top and two below) and accidentally used ...
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How long to wait before cleaning new tuckpointed brick mortar with muriatic acid?
I am about to retuckpoint my exposed brick wall with a custom mortar mix (1x hydraulic lime, 2.5x sand). Once I am done, I plan to clean the residue and other dirt from the bricks using muriatic acid....
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What is the best way to lay brick pavers on concrete porch
I have a concrete porch which I would is covered and does not get wet during rain/snow. It does not have any drain issues. We don't like the way it looks so we would like to beautify it by laying ...
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How should a new brick wall tie into an existing wall?
When building a new brick outside, block inside extension, where it joins an existing brick wall. How should the new wall be tied into the old. ie should the outside brick AND the inside block be tied ...
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What can I put on these bricks that are sticking up to get them flush again?
The house I just moved into has bricks laid in a pattern of stright columns the bricks are sitting tight but 1 inch is sticking up. Everyone stubs their toe on them. The area is about 7 feet long and ...
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How do I determine the correct rise of a step for a concrete footing on a slope?
Going to be building a retaining wall in the front yard on a slope. I'm going to be using King size residential bricks to make a 2 wythe wall. Because of the slope I'll need to have 3-4 steps in the ...
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What is the sheathing underneath my brick exterior walls?
I am trying to figure out what is inside of my exterior plaster wall that the brick is attached to. The house was built in 1946, has no insulation in the walls, and (oddly enough to me), has drywall ...
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How can I block off a doorway with studwork on a brick wall?
I'm blocking up a doorway in a brick wall. I've decided to block it up using a stud wall as that should be a bit easier than bricking it up.
I know that the bricks are 11cm depth plus approx 2cm ...
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Should we cover weep holes with wire mesh?
We just bought our first home and we had advice some friends that we should cover the weep holes with wire mesh, to prevent bugs and other things from going inside. Is that a good idea? Please advise.
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Are there any advantages to using higher priced sealers?
I want to use a water based sealer on my pavers to bring out the color and also for some resistance against dirt and fading. I went to the store and saw sealers varying in price from about $11 per ...
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Is the back section of this house salvageable or should it be knocked down?
My grandfather's house is getting to be in bad shape after years of neglect and more so the back section of the house is falling apart. Now the back section of the house, if I remember correctly, was ...
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How do I darken new mortar in a brick wall to match the older mortar?
I had some bricks replaced. Unfortunately, the mortar is really light. How do I stain it a darker gray, so that it matches the original mortar? Is there a product that I can buy at a big box store?
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What type of mortar should I use?
I'm going to replace these cracked bricks on the front of my home(see pic). What type of mortar should I use? Type S, N, or M? Is there a way to determine the type of mortar that was used when the ...
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Can I change the color of the mortar in my brick wall?
We recently built our home and the mortar color between the bricks is dark gray, we did not pay attention to it and because of that the brick face is looking duller due to the standard gray mortar.
...
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How can I finish and seal an interior exposed brick wall?
I have exposed a 100+ yr old brick wall inside, tuckpointed, cleaned with cup brushes on a grinder, and Sureklean 600. I don't have a picture right now but it looks beautiful.
Two questions:
I want ...
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How do I cut a brick fireplace hearth to allow for a laminate flooring expansion gap?
I am attempting to cut a small piece out of the brick fireplace (already in place) to allow for the expansion of the floating laminate flooring that I am installing. I don’t want to just leave the ...
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Can oscillating multi-tools be used for fitting pattress boxes
I have a bunch of pattress boxes to fit for light switches and plug sockets and was wondering if my oscillating multi-tool could be of any use.
I have a Bosch PMF 180 E Multi. Can this be used to cut ...
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How to fix pitched floors in a brick building
I'm looking at a property the was built in the lat 1800s. It's a 3 level brick building with two other building of similar stature on each side. I too a quick look at the second floor, and it pitches ...
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How should I apply brick to an interior wall?
I don't want to use veneer, I want to use real brick. Is it as easy as using tie-ins to the studs and setting the brick as one would normally?
The existing wall is drywall, So I was thinking of ...
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Can I install a (probably ductless) range hood against brick?
I'm thinking about making an offer on a 1930's house that needs a few improvements. The gas stove/range isn't situated against an exterior wall. Rather, it's placed against the back side of the brick ...
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Are these brick walls properly constructed?
I'm looking into buying an apartment and I'm visiting some locations. During one of my visits I saw this exterior wall of a future apartment building:
I'm not an expert but it does not look good to ...
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How to fill gap between brick and drywall?
Where my ceiling drywall meets a brick wall there is a gap.
This is smaller at the brick itself (maybe 3/16") and then larger where the mortar is struck.
This seems too large to fill with caulking......
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What type of paint should be used to paint a brick fireplace?
The brick color is hideous. Additionally there are some missing bricks that will be replaced first and would be hard to match.
Is there a particular type of paint that should be used on brick?
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How can I resheathe behind brick fascia without removing the brick?
The original builders of my house used a material called "Aluma Sheath", also known as Dennyboard, to sheathe my house. Dennyboard is a radiant coating on two sides of a 1/8 sheet of a fiberous ...
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How to fix broken brick staircase?
Short form question: Replacing bricks of a brick stair-case (leading to house), what kind of concrete to use?
Full story:
The staircase leading to my house (from outside) had some broken bricks. The ...
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How much should brick "give" when pushing against it?
My wife and I are having a home built by a local contractor. The house is wood framed construction with a brick exterior. The home is nearly complete -- just interior trim and paint work remains.
...
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How can I enlarge a hole in a brick wall without drilling?
I currently have a small hole in my brick wall that is bringing a cable for my satellite dish into my house.
I now want to install outdoor speakers in my backyard and I would like to feed the speaker ...
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What type of wood should I use as an outdoor table top for a BBQ?
I am going to build a brick BBQ similar to something like the below BBQ picture.
The position will be against the house and will get wet from rain. I only plan to cover the BBQ.
Would I be ok to ...
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How to build a brick wall on the front of a CMU retaining wall?
My retaining wall is made of two parallel "walls". One is made of 16x8x12 Concrete Masonry Units and the other will be 8x4x2 bricks. The CMUs are to have mass to hold the hill, while 8x4x2 are to be ...
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How can I cut through brick to add a window?
I'm redoing a bathroom and would like to add a window (36x12) in the shower. This involves cutting through brick. A contractor I spoke with said he could cut it with a angle grinder (diamond blade?), ...
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How do I remove construction glue from brick?
I just removed glued-on paneling from an interior brick wall. Now, I have the task of removing the glue from said brick. What is the best method of doing so? I know there's no getting around the use ...
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How can I build a porch enclosure?
I'm looking to take on this project myself, I want to enclose my porch. It's roughly 2x5 metres, and 8 feet high and is part of a semi detached where the porch continues on the other side to my ...
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Do Old Houses Have a Pre-determined Lifespan?
Taking into consideration the building supplies that were available in that time period for that particular geographic area (say, a major metropolitan city in the mid-western United States), do homes ...
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House Has Different Types of Siding - How to look seamless?
Alright, I am looking to purchase my first house. One of which looks somewhat like the one below. As you can see, it has a brick sided portion and a vinyl sided portion. Obviously this house has been ...
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How do I remove mortar from bricks so I can re-use them?
I have about 500 bricks to cleanup so I can reuse them, the mortar is old and the bricks are soft clay.
What is the best way to remove the mortar and how much time should I allow?
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Should I replace old wooden siding with brick?
I'll say first, that this isn't a question about DIY, but more about the idea and whether we should go through with it.
We bought our first house last year, and in the Spring this year, we are ...
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How can I remove faux brick from a kitchen wall?
My kitchen has these fake bricks placed over the drywall on the walls around the cabinets.
My question is, is there a way to remove just the bricks without completely tearing down the cabinets and ...
- 439
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How much weight can single-track shelving mounted on brick wall hold?
I'm looking at attaching shelves to a brick wall using single-track metal strips with adjustable brackets. The metal strips will be 78 inches long and I'm planning on using pine shelves 47 x 12 x 3/4 ...
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Does my garden brickwork need mortar?
We recently redesigned the walkway through our garden to our back door. This involved lots of scaping of the land -- especially to change the waterflow away from the house. The new walkway ends with a ...
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How do I match this brick?
I am trying to find a good match for some 1930 bricks (North West England). Any ideals on makes and model of bricks that will match well.
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