Installing Thin Brick Tiles

One of the finishing touches on my son’s sports themed bedroom was the brick chimney. I want to call it a faux chimney, but it really IS a chimney for the fireplace downstairs. Now it just actually looks like one! To create this look that mimicked the real brick facade of the fireplace in our dining room and on our exterior, I used thin brick tiles that were MUCH easier to install than regular solid bricks. These tiles are easy to install, even more simple than tiling, and can add so much texture to your space. I think these would also look great as an accent wall or backsplash. So let’s dive into what I learned installing thin brick tiles.

Installing Thin Brick Tiles

Supplies For Brick Tile Accents

• Old Chicago Rosse 8.20 in. x 2.50 in. Thin Brick Flats
• Old Chicago Rosse Thing Brick Corners
• Mortar For Stone
• Light Almond Grout
• Putty Knife
• Tile Snapper
• Level

How To Install Thin Brick Tiles

Mussle Bound Versus Mortar

First you want to prep your walls. The same way you would before any tiling project. Sand down any rough spots and make sure your walls are dust free. Here are all my fails and what worked best for me.

I have used mussel bound product before, it’s a great alternative to mortar for the right project. This wasn’t it. I used it for tiling our niche in the hallway and that was a perfect place for it. It’s mess free, extremely adhesive and a lot easier if you have ever tiled before. However, I tried it and the tiles just fell off. I think it was because the brick tiles are uneven and so rough, there just wasn’t enough adhere. So you definitely want to use a mortar for natural stone.

I started by applying the mortar directly to the wall like you would in most tile applications, but I realized that yet again due to the rough and uneven surface on the back of the tiles, that they weren’t sticking as well.

So I decided to apply the mortar directly onto the back of the brick tiles, where I could fill in mortar where it was needed. This worked perfectly.

Cutting Brick Tiles

I used the corner pieces for the corners and then the flat pieces in between. Because this is a small space, I had to trim down the flat bricks by about an inch or so, so I could fit 3 in a row. Since the bricks are not all the same size anyway, they are very organic and natural looking, I didn’t have to be as precise.

To cut the tiles, all I used was my Tile Snapper . I didn’t have to bring out my wet saw for this since it was all straight cuts.

The spacing of your bricks can vary. I wanted it to look as close to our current brick as possible, so I spaced mine out a little further with a thicker grout line. I also used a Level throughout the process to make sure my rows were straight.

Grouting Brick Tiles

Once I was done installing the tile, I waited 24 hours and then started grouting. Except, this didn’t go quite as planned and was a learning experience as well. With normal tiling, you apply the grout and then smooth it out with a sponge and remove the excess. Except this isn’t normal tile and it didn’t wash off the bricks. Plus, the grout lines in our home are rougher, not polished and did not appear to have been sponged over. So this wasn’t the right technique. I actually had to bristle brush off the entire section and scraped out all the grout.

Also, during this time I played around with grout color. I tried an off white and it was too stark, so I went with this light almond grout which was perfect. It gave it almost an antique, vintage look. It really complimented the color of the brick.

To apply, I used a gallon bag and turned it into a piping bag. I applied a first coat of squeezing it into all the cracks to fill them.

I let this dry and then then squeezed in a second coat. I played around with doing the piping bag and then applying it directly with the putty knife and spread it out. I spread it out flat and allowed it to go over the brick a little bit. This would be considered a German Schmear brick.

That’s it. It’s actually a pretty simple process and technique.

Thin Brick Tile Accent Wall

You can tour more of this room here!