Mortar

The mortar you use and how you ‘finish’ the joints will play a very important part in making your wall look truly old.

See the information below under ‘How to Create an Old Brick Wall’.

Delivery

Pick up in Chichester , West Sussex or :
  • Small orders : usually dispatched within 1-2 working days ; Royal Mail 48 hour tracked .
  • Larger orders : may take longer and will require pallet delivery .

How To Create an Old Brick Wall

1. SETTING OUT (drawing horizontal tile lines on the wall )

  • Measure: the distance from floor to ceiling . Deduct 10 mm for the gap next to the ceiling and 10
    mm for the gap next to the floor.
  • Divide: the height between ceiling and floor (less the 20 mm described above ) by 58 mm (which is
    the average height of the brick wall tiles + 10 mm mortar joint ).
Eg floor to ceiling = 2240 mm – 20mm = 2240mm
 
Divide by 58mm = 38.2 so , you are going to have 38 rows of brick wall tiles .
 
Draw horizontal lines on the wall at multiples of 58 mm ; for example
 
Line 1 : 10 mm above the floor
Line 2 : 68 mm ………….
Line 3 : 126 mm ……
Line 4 : 184 mm ……..
 
And so on .
 
When you get 2/3 of the way up your wall you need to remeasure the remaining height of wall , deduct 10 mm
for the very top mortar joint, then divide by 58 mm .
 
2. ADHESIVE
 
Use a ‘high grab’ adhesive so that the tiles do not slide down the wall after being stuck on . I use Ultra Tile
Fix : pro super grip .
 
3 SPACERS
 
The tiles have been cut from hand made bricks ; the heights and lengths vary …. so you can not use regular
spacers . I use pieces of cardboard . You will need to use the cardboard to stop the brick wall tiles from
sliding down the wall as the adhesive dries .
 
4. TILES
 
  • Try to keep the wall tiles in approximately the same vertical alignment ; it does not have to be exact.
  • Keep an eye out for brick colours , patterns and shapes so as to create an even appearance.
5. BRICK PATTERNS
 
I personally prefer the Flemish bond pattern ; this is where the header (short end of the brick ) and the
stretcher (long face of the brick ) are alternated . Headers can be made by cutting the stretchers in half with
a disc cutter and gently chipping the side to create a more natural , weathered finish.
 
6. MORTAR
 
The mortar you use will make a huge difference so I recommend you think carefully about this .
 
If you want to create a wall that looks genuinely old , I would recommend the following :
  • 3 parts sharp sand
  • 2 parts builders sand
  • 1.3 parts lime (Hanson NHL 3.5 white formula for conservation )
That is the mix I use , but it is a personal choice . This mix gives a nice granular , rustic appearance.
 
I would recommend you make some trial mixes first and then choose.
 
Please be aware that it is the lime which holds the sand together , so if you don’t put enough in ,
then you might be continually sweeping sand particles from the floor.
 
A bag of lime is expensive , and you don’t need much ….. so you might not want to buy it .
But if you want a wall that looks genuinely old …….
 
Applying the mortar
Use a brick jointer to push the mortar into the joints .
Try to keep the mortar off the face of the bricks as much as possible to minimise staining . 
 
Removing excess mortar
After approximately three hours the mortar will be sufficiently dry to :
 
  • Use the side of a trowel to remove excess mortar from the bricks .
  • Rub down the joints initially with a medium stiff hand brush and then go back and remove mortar
    stains from the bricks with a small , stiffer nylon brush .
Do not allow the mortar to completely dry as it will then be very difficult to remove mortar stains from brick
surfaces.
 
An old wall is not a ‘perfect’ wall …. so embrace the imperfections in the bricks . When I build old walls I
even break some brick tiles and stick them back together …… because old walls have cracks !
 
Don’t try to make a ‘perfect’ wall ; the more you try to make it perfect by rubbing down , pointing and
smoothing the mortar around each brick , the more fake it will appear . An old wall is , to a certain degree ,
rough !
 
It depends on what you want ; an old wall or a ‘polished’ fake one !
 
Good luck ! Any problems get in touch.