Installing brick slips can be seen as a tricky task but, It doesnt have to be. Following the below steps will make it a walk in the park and ensure that you have a perfect finish to your Brick Slips. Within this Installation guide, we will advise of all materials needed, the best methods and how to look after your brick slips to ensure the best possible result. If there is anything in this guide that does not answer your brick slip questions please get in touch with a member of our live chat team.

Prepare And Measure For Brick Slips

• When asking "How to install brick slips" Getting the wall perfect before installing your brick slips is not always necessary however, it is important to consider the longevity of your brick slips is dependant on the surface they are being installed on. Its important to ensure the wall surface is not flaking or crumbling and that the wall is flat. If your wall is not flat, please bare in mind the brick slips will follow the contour of the wall.
• If your wall is painted we would advise "scoring" your wall with a sharp blade to allow the brick slip adhesive to adhere to the wall and not the paint. If your wall is bare plasterboard, brick, plaster or wood we recommend priming the wall before installing brick slips. To do this we recommend using an acrylic based primer such as BAL Pro Primer. When priming the wall, follow the instructions on the back of the primer. 
• Now your wall is primed, and prepared for the brick slips it is time to measure out for a centrered finish. To acheive this take a measurement from one ide of the wall to the other side (width) for the purpose of this guide we are going to assume your wall is 2 meters. So the centre of your wall will be 1 meter and you will put a mark at that point and draw a verticall line from top to bottom. Your wall will now have a centre. Now the normal pattern for brick slips is the Brick Bond pattern to achieve this, the bricks are off set from one another so you will need to draw another vertical line either side of the exsisting vertical line half a brick slips length apart (around 100mm). 
  
  You should now have two vertical lines, one that is dead centre and another that is half a brick slip away. When customers ask us how to install brick slips, this is the first and most important step to set you on the path for that perfect brick slip finish.

Mix Your Adhesive And Get Installing! 

• The purpose of this page is not just to install brick slips but, how to install brick slips correctly. This starts before you even put a brick slip on the wall. The key element when creating a brick effect wall is to create a natrual finish, with different tones and textures placed without. So with that, you will open at least two boxes of brick slips and you will use both boxes at the same time rather then one after the other. This will ensure your brick slips look random and perfect!
• When it comes to adhesive, you want to use a powder based adhesive, many tile shops and diy shops stock powder based adhesive. There are two main types, fast set - This adhesive sets within 3 hours which is great if you are a fast worker and have experience or, in a rush. if you have the time we would advise using slow set as it allows for corrections and you can work at a slower pace which is perfect for brick slips. On the back of the adhesive it will advise how to mix the adhesive using water. For this you will use one bucket to put the powder in and then with another bucket, fill it with water and pour this in to the bucket containing the powder as per the guidelines. You then need to mix this together.
• THIS SECTION IS ONLY FOR THOSE USING CORNER PIECES Now that you have your adhesive ready, yoiu can begin to start installing your brick slips. You want to use your 6mm notched tile trowel and your mixing trowel. When tiling with brick slips it is important that your corners are installed first (if you do not have corners please skip this and the next paragraph). Starting from the bottom you will spread your adhesive on to the back of the brick slip in a consistent fashion (the adhesive should be spread vertically and 100% of the back of the brick slip should have adhesive on it) once your happy with the adhesive on the corner, you will then place on to the wall, pushing firmly. For your next step you will place your next corner directly above this and use the spacers to keep a 10mm gap. Continue doing this untill your corner is completed.
• THIS SECTION IS ONLY FOR THOSE USING CORNER PIECES If you have corners and this is now completed it is time to start with the straight brick slips. You will again start from the bottom, spread your adhesive on the back of the brick slip and place this next to the first corner in a row. You will repeat this process, placing a 10mm spacer between each brick slip until, your row is almost complete. Now that you have installed brick slips along the bottom row you will probably have a gap that is smaller then a whole brick slip. This is where cutting comes in to play. Measure the remaining space e.g 40mm, you will then deduct 10mm (to allow for the spacer) and mark your brick slip at 30mm. Using a wet tile saw or angle grinder, cut this peice from the brick slip. Once cut you will then spread adhesive on the rear and place this in the final gap with the cut end of the piece facing the edge of the wall. Now that you have your first row complete, you will repeat this process for each row untill your wall is complete.
• Now that you have your adhesive ready, yoiu can begin to start installing your brick slips. You want to use your 6mm notched tile trowel and your mixing trowel. For your first row you want to start from the central vertical line you marked on your wall. You can go either left or right of this with the edge of the brick slip touching the line. Fit your first brick slip by spreading the adhesive to the back of the brick slip and pressing it against the wall. The continure to install the next brick slip placing a 10mm spacer inbetween them until, your row is almost complete. Now that you have installed brick slips along the bottom row you will probably have a gap that is smaller then a whole brick slip. This is where cutting comes in to play. Measure the remaining space e.g 40mm, you will then deduct 10mm (to allow for the spacer) and mark your brick slip at 30mm. Using a wet tile saw or angle grinder, cut this peice from the brick slip. Once cut you will then spread adhesive on the rear and place this in the final gap with the cut end of the piece facing the edge of the wall. Now that you have your first row complete, the next row, you will start from the other vertical line you marked and continue until that row is complete. The next row will be the central line, next one will be offset line etc etc to create the brick bond pattern..

Cleaning & Pointing

• Wait 24 hours after installing your brick slips to clean them. Once that time is up, the best method to use, to get your brick slips clean and ready for pointing, is to first remove all the spacers. Try and do this by hand as, using a blunt object can chip your brick slips. Once all of these are removed, the next step is to clean the brick slips, the best method to do this is either a hard-wire bruch or a stiff bristle brush. Ensure you brush all the gaps, faces and joins of the brick slips. It is important that no adhesive is sticking out from the gaps.
• Once brushed and cleaned, it is time toi start pointing, pointing is a messy job so please ensure your floor and skirting boards are covered to prevent damage. Again with the pointing mortar, you want to mix this as per the guidelines on the reverse of the packaging. ensuring you are only mixing as much as you can work with at one time.
• There are two methods when it comes to pointing brick slips. You can head down the traditional route of using a pointing trowel and a profiler. This method is a lot slower but some prefer the old school ways of doing things. The other method is to use a poitning gun. You simly feel the cartridge with pointing mix and squirt it in to the gaps. Whatever method you choose, you just want ensure all the gaps are full and that the mortar sticks out past the face of the brick slip. Work in small sections at a time 5-15 brick slips. Once pointed you will then profile them either with a pointing trowel or ice lollly stick to get a nice smooth finish. Once this done and, before the mortar has dried take your hard wire brush and brush off any excess mortar. Repeat this process until your wall is full pointed.
• Now that you have pointed your wall (and you no longer need to know how to install brick slips) it is time for a final clean, again the best method is a hard wire brush to remove any excess. Due to the texture of brick slips, a sponge will simply disintegrate so, stick with the bruch.
• This final step is optional, but some customer choose to seal their brick slips. The process of sealing is to protect the brick slips from stains from oils, shamppos etc (depending on where your installing brick slips depends on wether sealer would be needed) If you do wish to seal your brick slips ensure the brick slips are clean and free from dust. Following the instructions on the bottle of sealer, seal your brick slips. You have now learnt how to install brick slips and, hopefully have a perfect brick effect wall. If you need any further help, please do get in touch with us.

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