How to Build a Brick Veneer Wall
Add style and curb appeal to your home's exterior with a brick veneer wall. We'll show you how to successfully install brick cladding.
Brick cladding, also called brick veneer, will dress up the exterior walls of your home. Brick veneer is essentially a one-wythe wall attached to the house. After a few preparatory steps, you apply it using the same techniques as you would for a running-bond wall. The first step is to establish a solid bed for the brick to rest on.
You can dig a trench, build forms, and set a concrete footing along the wall, or you can fasten 4x4x3/16-inch angle iron to the foundation to provide a ledge, as illustrated on these pages. Even a half-high wall is a substantial weight, so fasten the angle iron with lag shields and lag screws. This layer of brick will trap moisture against the wall; weep holes at the bottom of the wall give trapped moisture a way to escape.
Expect to spend about a day laying a 4x10-foot wall. Before you begin, you'll need to remove siding on the surface you plan to place the wall. Make sure you're comfortable mixing and applying mortar, measuring and leveling, cutting bricks, and striking joints.
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