The Logistics
Q: Where did you buy your brick? Home Depot. All supplies are linked at the bottom of the page.
Q: What type of brick to buy? Old Mill Brand- Castle Gate mixed with Boston mill
Q: How do you know how much brick to buy? Figure out your Sq footage for the room and then buy 10% more brick. This is a common rule with flooring, you want to have extra’s.
Q: How much should I budget for brick? $75 per box of 50 individual bricks, each box contains 7.3 sq. ft.
Please Note: This tile option is not the cheapest because it is a customized look.
The Prep
Q: How to prep floor before? Take up whatever you have on your floors already. Ex: Tile. Technically you could tile over tile. But with brick if you are going to put it over USB sub floor You have to lay this membrane down otherwise the wood will suck the moisture out of the mortar and it won’t dry/adhere properly. That is what the membrane is for.
Q: What membrane did you use? It’s a waterproof membrane made by Schlutter Detra. It’s only necessary when tiling on a wood subfloor. So the wood doesn’t pull all the moisture from the mortar. It always protects from any flooding or moisture getting under your tiles! If your tiling on concrete you don’t need a membrane!
Q: Is it easier, harder or the same as laying regular tile? It is harder because of the pattern. It is easier because you don’t have to be perfectly straight. It is hand laid which gives it character. There are Brickweb tile options you can use, I just didn’t for this because I wanted to place each tile.
Q: How would you transition the brick to meet up with LVP flooring? There are wood transition pieces you can use. Wherever you buy your LVP flooring should have it. It is technically a lip that goes over the brick and then the other side goes over whatever other flooring you have. You can also get them at any hardware store.
Q: How do you get started laying out the design? Saw a inspiration picture on Pinterest and created my own take on it!
Q: No need to put the mortar on the floor? Do I just backbutter the tiles? Yup! I was mortaring the entire floor when I first started and it worked fine but I felt like so much was wasted and it was drying before I could get all my tile laid. That’s why I started back buttering the tiles individually and it’s worked GREAT! I’ve tried to pull them up after the mortar dries to test it out, and it wouldn’t budge so I know it’s holding well!
Q: Have you tried any other patterns or layouts you really like? Nope this is the only pattern I’ve liked/ done. I’ve done it at both my house and my parents!
Tiling the Brick
Q: Do you use the same type of grout and mortar as regular tile? Yes! The mortar is the same and then for grout I have used two different types. I always use TEC but depending on how big of a surface I need to grout I switch between pre-mixed or the kind you have to mix.
Q: What sealant did you use? I always use Varathane Floor Finish Polyuthane in Satin
Q: Why is it so slick in the end? Because of the sealant I use it is such a smooth finish. There was an old instagram video where I slid across it!
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Q: Does it need to be on a membrane? Can I place it right on concrete? Yes you can place it right on concrete! If you place it onto a wood subfloor when/if you rip up the tile it will be a nightmare because you are going to have to rip up the subfloor too.
Q: Is there a tool that can be used or one maybe on a smaller scale? You could, I don’t personally have one that I’ve used but that is personal preference because I don’t like the sound of the manual tile cutter. So I still recommend the wet tile saw.
Q: Which tile saw was that? The tile saw I use is actually one of my friends tile saw that I’ve been borrowing the last two years! Which is proof that you can borrow tools!! I know he got it from Harbor Freight for really really cheap.
Q: Do you not need spacers? Not for this brick look. Because I want it to have character I am hand laying each tile which means it is going to be imperfect!
Cleaning
Q: Cleaning on a day to day basis? I usually do a deep clean with a mop weekly. However if I need to do some spot cleaning then I will take a spray bottle and a microfiber clothe to clean it. Because of the sealant it is suuuuuper easy to clean!
Q: Is it durable? Or do they break overtime? Due to the sealant we use it has held up over time and we are not kind to our floors (unintentially but still). These floors are very durable.
Q: Have you ever had issues with it cracking after install? So pieces crack when you are installing them but you can butt them up together and you don’t see the crack because the mortar goes over it. But it’s also brick and that’s what gives it character.
Q: How is it on bare feet? It feels like normal tile on bare feet once it’s sealed. If you don’t seal it then it feels like chalkboard on your feet.
Supplies
Q: Can you make us a supply list? Yup! Here you go!
**If items are not shown above you can find all the tiling items on the Timber & Twine LTK.
Q: Where do you learn to do everything that you do? Honestly trial and error, Youtube, reading blogs, etc. Everyone has to start from somewhere. Soon we will be dropping amazing resources for you to take on any home project. This will be perfect for everyone who wants to take on DIY!
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