BRICK

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9 Genius Ways to Upcycle Old Bricks
Is that old pile of bricks leftover from a previous project creating an eyesore on your property? While you can certa...
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How to Stain Brick
Many homes have brick facades, fireplaces, mantels, interior walls, and walkways. Although it’s a long-lasting buildi...
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7 Types of Brick All DIYers Should Know
Bricks are used regularly in commercial, industrial, and residential construction because they are durable, long-last...
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Solved! What is Mortar?
Q: We moved into a new home and recently found multiple holes in the brick wall’s mortar joints that look to be cause...
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Solved! The Purpose of Weep Holes in Brick
Q: We recently bought a 25-year-old brick home. The other day I noticed that a few mortar joints along the bottom row...
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9 Ideas for a Beautiful Brick Patio
Perk up your patio with great-looking, long-wearing brick with one of these ideas.
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How To: Cut Pavers
Pavers—be they brick, stone, or concrete—are a pleasing alternative to large expanses of plain concrete, adding visua...
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All You Need to Know About Brick Homes
Prized for its classical appeal, durability, and low maintenance, brick is among the most desired types of exterior s...
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All You Need to Know About Limewashed Brick
Despite being one of the most durable materials around, brick very visibly ages.  Its crisp square edges can soften, ...
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How To: Drill Into Brick
Decorative brick adds warmth and beauty to your home, but its tough surface shouldn’t deter you from hanging your art...
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All You Need to Know About Tuckpointing
Bricks provide durable cladding for interior and exterior walls, chimneys, and fireplaces. But the mortar used to fil...
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5 Reasons to Bring Brick Floors Indoors
Brick, the hard-working earthen blocks basic to so many structures, is becoming a trendy flooring option for high-tra...
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How to Clean Brick, Indoors and Out
The naturally distressed patina of brick adds to its desirability indoors and out, but too much dirt accumulation can...
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5 Things to Know Before Installing a Brick Backsplash
Once a purely practical feature to guard against everyday spills and splatters, brick backsplashes are now desirable ...
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All You Need to Know About German Smear
Worn-down bricks make any home look unfashionable and outdated. Instead of shelling out big bucks to repaint their ex...
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14 Reasons to Love Exposed Brick
Exposed brick brings texture, color, and a rustic vibe to interior spaces. The look, which is typically achieved by removing the plaster from a wall to reveal the...
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Bob Vila Radio: The Brick Treatment You Should Try
Looking for a way to improve the look of a brick exterior, interior wall, or fireplace surround? Consider German smea...
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How To: Whitewash Brick
Seems like just yesterday that the red brick in your family room looked perfect, but tastes change with time. Now you...
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How To: Cut Brick
Many home improvement enthusiasts choose to enhance their landscapes with the DIY installation of brick patios, walkw...
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How To: Paint a Brick Fireplace
Sometimes, even despite attentive maintenance and care, brick masonry fireplaces amass a fair amount soot, mildew, an...
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Bob Vila Radio: Painting Exterior Brick
Keeping exterior brick masonry walls looking their best requires time and effort. When you paint, proper preparation ...
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How To: Remove Paint from Brick
If you've ever tried to remove paint from brick, you know that it can be a painstaking process. Depending on the scop...
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How To: Hang Picture Frames on a Brick Wall
Although exposed brick offers a warm, appealing aesthetic redolent of history, many homeowners are puzzled by the que...
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Bob Vila Radio: Repointing Brick
Brick is very low maintenance, but age and weather still take their toll. As a result, brick requires occasional repo...
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Bob Vila Radio: Reclaimed Brick
Brick is an extremely sturdy construction material. It’s attractive, fire resistant, and low maintenance—and it stand...
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5 Things to Do with... Bricks
For thousands of years, people have made bricks and used them to build structures of all kinds. Even today, with so m...
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Quick Tip: Using Reclaimed Brick
 In a restoration project, reusing the original brick is a great idea. Water damage and neglect can destroy the morta...
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How To: Paint Brick
There are a host of reasons that homeowners choose to paint brick:• If a brick fireplace is out of sync with the deco...
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How To: Paint Brick
 Painting bricks requires some special considerations. Wet down the surface first to ensure better paint adhesion. Us...
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How To: Lay Brick
 Here are a few tips on laying your own bricks. Prepare a mortar mix that is neither too firm and nor too runny. Spre...
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How To: Repoint Brick Walls
Brick houses are hard to damage. Anyone familiar with The Three Little Pigs knows that. Inevitably, however, there co...
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Top Tips for Weaving a Veneer Brick Wall
Brick has a timeless appearance and requires little maintenance, making it a popular material for a variety of applic...
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Tour a Salvaged Home with the Latest Green Technologies
Architect Mary Kennedy and Bob tour her Georgian Colonial family home in Westchester County, NY. After a flood ruined the house, the challenge was to salvage and ...
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Brick Chimney Repair
Bob meets with Ed and Lisa Zywusko, a husband-and-wife masonry team, and sees how they are going to refurbish the old brick chimney.
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Interior Demolition for Warehouse Conversion
Bob meets with the construction foreman to discuss the demolition work that's underway. Having removed the elevator shaft, the crew plans to move ahead by taking ...
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Tour of Luxury Loft Space and Brick Facade History and Restoration
Bob tours the multi-story luxury loft space of developer and artist Jane Walentas. Next, Bob and his son, Chris, consult with Cas Stachelberg about the history, a...
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Restoration of the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Karen Brooks Hopkins, president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), gives Bob a peek at the restoration of the main building.
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Brick Façade Restoration
Bob gets an update on the status of the brick façade restoration. Replacement bricks have been aged and roughed up with a grinder, lending them an antique appeara...
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Planning the Decor
Bob meets with Darren Brown and Jonathan Adler to discuss the interior design of the penthouse apartment, which Adler envisions being a casual space, enhanced by ...
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Finishing the Façade & Touring the Completed Apartments
Bob gets a final status update on the restoration of the façade, as the ground-floor commercial storefront undergoes construction and the bluestone steps are laid...
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Antique Brick Work at the Burtch-Udall House and Sumner Mansion
Bob and Professor Tom Visser (UVM) visit the Burtch-Udall house in Quechee, VT, and the nearby Sumner Mansion-- suitable locales for a running discussion on prope...
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House Five: Queen Anne Victorian Porch Restoration
Bob meets with Judy Lee, the owner of the fifth Elmwood project house. The front porch, built in 1892, must be replaced.
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Installing a Brick Walkway and Porch Lighting, and Milling the Railings and Balusters
Contractors put in the brick walkway. Forester Moulding and Lumber replicates the porch railings and balusters. Also, new security and sprinkler systems are insta...
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Front Porch Work
Bob reviews the progress being made on the front of the house and, with restoration contractor Richard Marks, discusses the original brick and masonry work.
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Salvaged Brick Hearth
Bob watches as the mason lays a new hearth in the old fireplace using salvaged Charleston brick.
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Brick Plant Tour
Bob takes a field trip to East Windsor Hill, CT, where the bricks for the cabin project were made. Along the way, he learns about the manufacturing process bricks...
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Count Rumford Fireplace Construction
As the mason builds a Count Rumford fireplace, he describes the foundation built to support the hearth and the variety of bricks used throughout the fireplace.
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Exterior Shingles and Brick Walkway
Bob talks with contractor Bob Ryley about shingle exposure, brick surrounds for basement windows, and the design of a brick walkway.
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Repairing the Outdoor Barbecue
Bob demonstrates some masonry techniques for repairing a crumbling outdoor barbecue.
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Bricking In a Window
General contractor Ron Gan talks through the process of bricking in a window in the new kitchen. Ron also addresses the installation of a smaller bathroom window.
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Removing Old Paint
Brick worker Dan Webb explains how the brick façade is power-washed to remove several layers of ugly paint.
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Garage Entry
Bob helps general contractor Ron Gan and his crew take down a section of brick wall in order to make way for a garage door leading into the basement.
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Garage Construction
The concrete floor has been poured in the basement, and general contractor Ron Gan explains how a ledger board is attached to the masonry wall to support ceiling ...
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Installation of Window
Bob reviews progress on the renovation, both upstairs and down. Carpenter John Sheehan installs a new vinyl window, which is a challenge in a brick house where no...
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