So you have decided to install a brick slip wall, ‘congratulations’ you have made the first step in your brick slip journey. Making the most of your brick slips is something which you really do need to do.
All to often we see our amazing products being used and sadly all to often they are not treated with the respect and love which they deserve.
Real clay brick slips are the pinnacle of brick slip cladding. The products which we sell are the best products available on the market and as such should be installed correctly and with love.
Don’t Dos!
- If you have to navigate your brick slips around a 90 degree corner please pay that little extra and use corner brick slips. The whole idea behind brick slips is that once they are installed they look no different to the real thing.
- The illusion is made all the more real when it comes to a 90 degree external corner. Using corner slips really does make the illusion. So our advice would be DON’T butt joint standard straight brick slips. Butt jointing standard slips will instantly give the game away and will make the wall look as if it has been tiled.
- Make sure your ‘perps’ are aligned through centrally and correctly. Perps are the vertical mortar joints which connect the brick together. When running a standard brick bond pattern perps should always be central to the brick on the course below. Using the courses below as a guide allows you to keep the wall looking uniform and straight.
- Do not install your brick slips by eye!! As much as we think the human eye is perfect, it really is not as perfect as a spirit level. Making sure that your courses are level from the get go is paramount. Our advice would be to check the levelling every 3-4 courses and adjust to suit. Most of the brick slips we produce are made from handmade and reclaimed bricks. This brick type means that there are variances with sizes so levelling throughout is always advised when installing.
- Please do not mix all of your adhesive and all of your mortar before installation. Most DIY enthusiasts will be new to the world of brick slip installation. No matter how fast you think you will be, sadly it always takes a little longer than you expect. By mixing by the full bag you may run out of time during curing to use the whole product. We advise splitting the proportions to either a half bag or quarter bag at a time. This way you can give more time to the installation meaning you will yield much greater results.
- If you are thinking about sealing your brick slips please allow time. We do not advise sealing for at least the first 4 weeks post installation. The reason for this is that if there are any salts or efflorescence which come out of the brick work in the early stages after installation. Sealing the brick work straight away will lead to these salts being trapped under the surface, leaving unsightly marks.
Relax
All in all our main piece of advice when embarking on a brick slip project is ‘Relax’. If in doubt take a look at the many posts on our Instagram of successful customer projects. You could even drop our customers a few messages for first hand support.
we recently covered an internal kitchen wall with insulated plasterboard (10 sqm approx size) using dot and dab method then skimmed (as at the time weren’t sure of finish), I would like cover with brick slips and just wanted to check if there is anything else I need to do with respect to the plasterboard before starting ie do I need to screw in the boards to exiting wall to support weight of the slips?
Hi Nim,
Indeed you do, The generalised weight of the brick slips on the wall is 30kg per m2. I hope that helps.