How To Fit Brick Slips | Step By Step Guide

Posted on 07/04/22

Brick-Blog



There are countless products on the market to help you achieve a beautiful finish for your home and one such product is brick slips. They’re the ideal solution for creating the illusion of brick feature walls, without needing to construct a real brick wall. But how do you fit them, whether inside or outside the home? 


With a bit of guidance and some patience, anyone can fit brick slips – the key is preparation. In this guide, we’ll show you, step by step, how to fit brick slips to get a professional finish. 


What will I need to fit brick slips?


You don’t need many materials or tools to fit brick slips, which makes them ideal for newbies and DIY enthusiasts just starting out. You will need:




Measuring for brick slips


While the thickness of brick slips varies from a standard brick, the length and width dimensions are the same, so you can use an online brick calculator to work out how much you need for your project. However, when measuring, remember to add an additional 10% for any potential damage or wastage. 


How to install interior brick slips


Creating interior cladding with brick slips is one of the most common ways that they are used, and it’s a great way to get the look of a brick wall without restructuring your entire home. Providing the wall you’re adding the slips to is stable and structurally sound, it’s an easy process.


  1. Make Sure You Have The Right Adhesive


The first step is making sure you have the right adhesive – mortar is traditional for bricks but it’s not what you want for slips. A cement-based adhesive is the best choice as this tends to set quicker and is reliable in terms of performance compared to other materials. 


  1. Measure The Wall


Measure the wall and mark a vertical line down the centre, then measure floor to ceiling in the same way to find the centre point of the wall where these two lines cross. Put your first brick slip, with ample adhesive on the back, on the left-hand side of the vertical line you’ve just drawn. 


  1. Use A Tile Space For Even Gaps


Use a tile space to provide the right gap and then continue to place the slips along this line until there’s no more room. It’s likely you’ll reach a point where there’s no room for a full-sized slip but still a gap – in this situation, you can measure the gap (allowing 1cm for the spacer) and then cut the slip to size. 


  1. Continue To Add More Rows


Now you can add more rows – you may want to work in a straight line, or you can create a pattern. The choice is yours, so make sure you know what design you’re hoping to achieve before you start laying out the next rows of your brick slips. Keep applying the slips in the same way until the area is covered.


  1. Apply Mortar To The Gaps


When the slip adhesive is dry, you can then apply mortar to the gaps using a mortar trowel and wiping away the excess by brushing with a wire brush. 


How to install exterior brick slips


For exterior brick slip walls, the process of installation is very similar, but the difference is that you may need to create slip substrate panels for the area. You may want to create an off-set pattern for this which is what is traditionally used for standard brick walls. To do this, you will need to:


  1. Create a vertical row to begin with

  2. Start the next row half-way along the central brick slip

  3. Add the slips along the panel, using spacers to create an even gap

  4. Follow the pattern along each row until you’ve covered the desired area

  5. Once they’re dry, add mortar to the gaps (make sure that this is a suitable mortar for exterior environments and that it is added with a trowel)

  6. Wipe away the excess mortar before it dries. 


Extra installation tips


  • Make sure that the surface you’re applying the slips to is free from dust and debris, and that it’s clean and dry, as if there’s moisture it could affect the performance of the mortar.

  • Make sure the surface is strong enough to support the extra weight.

  • The adhesive won’t set instantly, so you might need to leave short periods between applying rows to avoid knocking previous rows out of place – the final result will be more professional and consistent.

  • Adhesives can also vary from brand to brand, so make sure you follow the instructions for the specific adhesive you’re using for the best results. 


Final thoughts


Brick slips are a highly effective way to achieve a stylish look for your property, and as you can see, they’re easy to install. Whether you want to create a brick fireplace, a feature wall or a stylish finish for a uPVC clad area, brick slips enable you to get a classic look at a fraction of the effort.




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