DIY Brick Backsplash

Rick, the “Brick” is in the house.

Or in this case…the kitchen.  In case you don’t know who Rick is, he’s my handsome husband who helps me with everything I do for this blog.  I want you to know, that if it wasn’t for him, this post would not be possible.  He gets all of the credit.

Check out our new, real, “DIY Brick Wall”, or backsplash if you prefer…

It turned out absolutely amazing!  Way better than I ever imagined.  Here’s another version…

The shelf was added for fun, and it is removable.  It’s a piece of a pine board that I stained and polyurethaned.  It also has hooks in it to hang my utensils.  I can take it down, or leave it up and switch out my decor any time I like.  Sometimes I hang a wreath here for Christmas, or I could leave it plain, too.  (Stay tuned until next week to find out how I made the “Spice Jars”.)

The brick adds depth to the room, and actually grounds our cozy kitchen.  It’s a beautiful, warm, rustic focal point.  We happen to have a fireplace on the other side of the kitchen that I wanted to match, or at least get close to the same brick color.

You be the judge…

Here’s the brick fireplace…

It’s very close.  We actually got lucky with that because we chose the colors on-line.  (See Affiliate link below.)

So…here’s the story behind the “Brick Backsplash”.

When we first moved in, the kitchen & backsplash looked like this:

You can view our full “DIY Kitchen Makeover” here.

If you look closely…there was fire damage.  This was a big red flag to us and we knew we had to do something about it.

That was when we decided to put copper tin up.  I was happy with it for a little while, but then it seemed too flashy to me.  That’s when I got a little crazy and painted over the tin.  I gave it this white washed look.

Once again…I was happy with it for a while.  Until we switched to granite.  Then it seemed to clash.

So…here’s Rick the Brick in his POP pj’s taking matters into his own hands.  Literally.

He’s thinking…”Why the hell did we put this up in the first place.  Damn woman.”

*** Some of the links in this post may contain affiliate links for your convenience.  Read full disclosure policy here.

That morning we looked up “DIY Brick Wall” on the internet.  Believe it or not, we didn’t find much.  So, hopefully this post will help a lot of people that wish to put up a brick wall, or back splash.

Before I hand my blog over to Rick, here are a list of products.  FYI-the bricks are not full size bricks, but they are REAL BRICK, just thinner.  It’s very affordable, and much easier to have delivered.  We used almost 4 boxes of brick, 1 large container of adhesive, and 1 bag of basic mortar.

Buy Brick Here

Buy Adhesive Here

Buy Trowel Here

Buy Mortar Here

Buy Brick Sealant

Buy Sponge Here

Buy Grout Bag Here

Buy 5 Gallon Bucket Here

Buy Drop Cloth Here

Buy Black Pastel Set Here

Rick’s Tutorial:

After surface is clean of debris, attach a level ledger to the wall to ensure your first level of brick is straight and level.  We used 1×4 ripped in half and attached it to the wall, using a level to keep it straight.  Then we spread adhesive (molding covers up any gap if there is one).

Once the adhesive is spread on your wall, score it with the trowel so you have grooves evenly throughout the adhesive.  This will ensure proper adhesion of the bricks to the surface of the wall.  You will want to measure your wall area ahead of time so that you are able to lay out the bricks evenly.  This will ensure you know how long to cut the end brick on each layer and create an even pattern.  Now, begin laying your bricks using spacers in-between each brick on both sides and top.  You will create an even pattern this way.

After you have finished laying your brick wall, allow it to dry for 24 hours.  Now you are ready to mortar the joints.  Fill in the joints with mortar using a trowel.  Let set and then clean the brick and mortar joints with a damp heavy sponge.  Let the brick dry for another 24 hours and then seal the brick with a quality brick sealer.  These sealers come in several different sheens.  We used high gloss which gave the brick a richer look.

{This is the brick before sealer, and everything was wet. The brick and mortar dry lighter than this.}

Okay…now it’s me again.  Thanks, Richard.  Great job!

Here’s an important tip…

Before we applied the sealer, I got whip lash turning my head back and forth trying to judge if the brick matched our fireplace on the other side of the kitchen.  As you can see with the photo above and below, the brick was lacking the dark grey shadings that I love so much.

So…I took matters into my own hands and stole our daughters pastels.  I took a risk and shaded some of the bricks with black.  It was very simple.  I just blended it with my 2 fingers and if I made a mistake it came off with a damp rag.  It was actually very fun.

Here it is after it was sealed and dry.  That dark brick right by the pizza cutter is my favorite brick!

I like it so much that I used the backsplash as a back drop for my new blog photo,lol.

Stay tuned for 2 more related posts…one of which will explain the spice jars and a few other details, and the other one will include our Fall Tour/ Thanksgiving Tablescape 2015, and a new full kitchen reveal.  I’m calling it…”Our Thankful Kitchen”.

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