Exposing the brickwork tomorrow

tizzle6560

We are attempting one small alcove wall in our living room as the plaster is shot anyway and we like the industrial look of exposed brick.

Have read up on this online and we have all the necessary equipment/protection, I was just wondering if anyone else had any advice for a project like this?

N.B. I'm not after any opinion on whether or not you would do it, just advice/suggestions if you have.

Thanks

phil24_7

Be as gentle as you can to save you having to repair or replace too many bricks.

tizzle6560

phil24_7 wrote: »

Be as gentle as you can to save you having to repair or replace too many bricks.

Kinda goes without saying but thanks anyway

phil24_7

You'd be surprised!

dominoman

I did the same. Just chip away. Don't worry too much about damaging the brick. It'll be imperfect anyway and that's part of the charm.

Stay away from acid. If there are bit of plaster / cement that you can't remove with a cold chisel then leave them. When it's done you can always try again if you want to, but you'll likely find they look good as is.

Once it's back to brick you may need to do some pointing. A few gaps is fine, but ours was a loose sandy mortar full of large holes so we needed to point. An easy DIY job.

At the end apply a clear waterproof sealant. If you choose an invisible non glossy one like I did then the bricks will look bare and untouched. But the sealant stops dust and cement flaking off over time, and it also protects the brick from absorbing humidity from the room. Important.

Good luck! Post a pic for us.

tizzle6560

dominoman wrote: »

I did the same. Just chip away. Don't worry too much about damaging the brick. It'll be imperfect anyway and that's part of the charm.

Stay away from acid. If there are bit of plaster / cement that you can't remove with a cold chisel then leave them. When it's done you can always try again if you want to, but you'll likely find they look good as is.

Once it's back to brick you may need to do some pointing. A few gaps is fine, but ours was a loose sandy mortar full of large holes so we needed to point. An easy DIY job.

At the end apply a clear waterproof sealant. If you choose an invisible non glossy one like I did then the bricks will look bare and untouched. But the sealant stops dust and cement flaking off over time, and it also protects the brick from absorbing humidity from the room. Important.

Good luck! Post a pic for us.

Thanks and will do!

Yes I bought some matte brick sealant as I dont want it to appear glossy at all.

No doubt some repointing will need to be done, I'm just hoping we dont have numerous bricks falling out of the wall!

teneighty

It rather depends on what type of plaster you have.

If it is old soft lime plaster it will probably just fall off if you sneeze loudly.

If it is newer strong cement render or gypsum plaster it will be a tough job to get it off and very difficult to get a clean face on the bricks.

The other thing to bear in mind is that is is unbelievably messy. Try to keep the door to the room shut and preferably taped (windows open) or you'll be hoovering up dust in the rest of the house for days.

tizzle6560

teneighty wrote: »

The other thing to bear in mind is that is is unbelievably messy. Try to keep the door to the room shut and preferably taped (windows open) or you'll be hoovering up dust in the rest of the house for days.

So I've been told! I have bought loads of plastic sheeting in the hope that we can completely cordon off that small area and keep it all contained. Fingers crossed anyway!

dominoman

teneighty wrote: »

The other thing to bear in mind is that is is unbelievably messy. Try to keep the door to the room shut and preferably taped (windows open) or you'll be hoovering up dust in the rest of the house for days.

So true. You will still be finding dust in places it shouldn't reach weeks later!

Remove *everything* from the room. Covering it up won't be enough. Brick dust somehow has the ability to travel straight through several layers of plastic!

firefox1956

Second or third the mess............
There is going to be a big one.......
Best thing to use is an old vacuum cleaner DO NOT use your best domestic one or her indoors will have your guts for garters !!

ceredigion

I exposed 40m2 of bricks and stone work today, Whilst tiding up the result of my days toil couldn't help thinking how you got on with your alcove