Fitting Instructions
You don’t need any special skills to give your walls an exposed brick makeover with our brick tiles. The wonderful thing about them is how easy they are to fit, just like normal wall tiles.
Step 1: Prepare the surface
You can fit your brick tiles to pretty much any surface, apart from areas where they would get wet. The wall needs to be:
- Level, sound and secure
- Capable of carrying additional load
- Clean and dry
- Free from dust, grease or any other loose material
To prepare your surface for your new brick tiles, follow these simple instructions:
For plaster, skimmed walls and plasterboard:
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Prime the plaster surface with diluted acrylic bonding and priming agent.
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If the plaster is dusty, porous or hard and shiny, brush it thoroughly with a stiff bristled brush before priming. Dilute primer 1:4 with water.
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Allow the primer to dry completely, then apply another coat of undiluted primer.
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Ensure that the surface is completely dry before tiling.
For bare plasterboard:
Plasterboard can be tiled over provided it’s firmly braced and fixed, with no deflection in any of the boards. Seal your plasterboard with diluted primer (1:4 with water) and ensure it’s completely dry before tiling.
For timber:
You can tile timber providing it’s WBP plywood with a minimum thickness of 12.5mm; it also needs to be dry, firmly braced and fixed, with no defects in any of the boards. Seal the front and edges with undiluted primer and ensure it’s completely dry before tiling.
Papered and painted walls:
We don’t recommend tiling papered or painted surfaces. Any paint or wallpaper will need to be completely removed and the wall beneath primed with acrylic bonding and priming diluted 1:4 with water. Ensure that it’s completely dry before tiling.
Tile backer board:
If you’re using a tile backer board, simply follow the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure it’s correctly fitted before tiling.
Step 2: Installation
Having followed these instructions to ensure your surface is properly prepared for your brick tiles, here’s what you need to do to install them and transform your wall.
1. Mix a suitable amount of Granfix flexible adhesive.
2. Find the centre of the wall to ensure even cuts on both sides. Ensuring your tiles are free from dust, apply adhesive to both the tile and the wall using an 8mm trowel.
3. Fix the tiles a row at a time, placing spacers between each tile to create a mortar joint. Check the level of the tiles every third row to ensure that they’re straight, as the bricks are not uniform. Use cardboard packers to bring any lower tiles level with the rest.
4. Repeat this process to your desired height.
5. After around half an hour, start carefully removing the spacers so that they don’t get stuck to the wall.
6. When the tiles are fully dry, it’s time to apply the mortar. We recommend a 4:1 sand and cement mix, though you can alter this according to your colour preference - just don’t go for any more than 5:1, as it weakens the mortar. You can use a mortar applicator (which you can buy at many builders’ merchants) or a standard pointing tool for smaller areas. Ensure that the mortar reaches right to the back of the joint so that it works properly.
And you’re done! We recommend leaving the tiled area for 24 hours before fixing or hanging anything to it, so sit back and admire your handiwork.