How to Make a Brick Floor
Brick floor installation today usually doesn't involve full bricks, which are too heavy for the structure of most houses. Instead, you can buy brick tiles, which are real bricks that have been cut or formed to be about 1/2" to 3/4" thick. The surface looks like brick, but it lays like tiles. Because brick is porous, you'll have to seal them before you grout, then re-seal afterward. Start with a solid layer of thick plywood or cement backerboard. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Tape measure
- Pencil
- Chalk snap line
- Brick tiles
- 1' x 1/2" piece of wood
- Thin set mortar
- Notched trowel
- Wet saw
- Grout
- Grout float
- Sponge
- Brick sealant
- Brush
Instructions
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1
Find and mark the middle of each wall at the floor. Snap two intersecting lines across the floor with your chalk snap line, laying it from one mark to the one across from it. Before you snap the second line, use a square to adjust it so the two lines are perpendicular to each other.
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2
Spread a few square feet of thin set mortar at the intersection using your notched trowel.
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3
Set your first brick tiles in place along the lines, going in the direction you want (usually, with the longest direction of the room).
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4
Lay the brick tiles end to end, setting the 1' x 1/2" piece of wood between them as you go to space them. Span the whole line with end-to-end bricks.
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5
Cut the end tiles as necessary on your wet saw.
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6
Lay the next course alongside the first, staggering the ends so the narrow ends of any two bricks meet at the middle of the wide side of the brick in the next row.
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7
Continue spreading mortar and laying brick tiles, cutting the ends as needed, until the whole floor is done.
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8
Allow the brick tiles to set for a day. Apply a coat of brick sealant over the faces of the tiles with a brush, covering the surface completely. Don't brush sealant into the spaces between the tiles. Let the sealant dry for eight hours.
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9
Grout the floor starting in one corner, pressing it into the spaces with a grout float while squeezing it off the surface. Wipe off the excess grout with a damp sponge.
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10
Let the grout set for a week, then apply a layer of sealant over the whole floor.
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Tips & Warnings
Wear goggles when using a wet saw.
