Moving an Opening in a Brick Wall
Mason John Carroll goes through the process of rebuilding brick veneer using basic masonry skills.
While photographing mason John Carroll as he rebuilt brick veneer for the article “Taking the Fear out of Brick Veneer,” I shot some video as well. Here you can see how John reconstructed this brick opening after a carpenter had completed the rough demo and moved the window in the wall.
After “toothing out” the old brick using a masonry bit and removing the remaining mortar with a grinder, John goes through the process of laying new brick, from mixing and spreading the mortar for a course of common bond bricks, to getting rid of excess mortar, to cutting and laying the last brick in a course. Although the carpenter had taken care of the basic window flashing, John had some brick-specific details to take care of, including placing PVC through-flashing over the lintel to protect its steel from water.
I was a carpenter for 20 years before becoming an editor, and I always avoided remodeling anything with brick veneer. Having seen John on this job, I wouldn’t hesitate today.
For more on how he rebuilt the brick veneer around this window remodel, click to check out John’s article in FHB #268.
Also check out all the stories that John has written for Fine Homebuilding.
View Comments
Beautiful job! But brick sill?? Sure, you could explain that you were matching the existing sills, but you should be educating your readers (and the homeowner).
The only acceptable sill for a brick "Fine Home" is a single, continuous length of stone. Too often I see the joints of brick sills that have deteriorated within a few years or even a joint in a stone sill that has cracked or deteriorated. Add freeze/thaw cycles where I live and in no time you've got a big problem.
Brick is cheap and available. Custom length stone is expensive and another order. Please don't cheap-out on Building a "Fine Home".
I hope that you plan another video to educate us about cleaning existing mortar and mixing/using coloured mortar to match it.
Using a drill to remove (toothing) brick is rather archaic A tool made specifically for that purpose is the Arbortech AS 170. They have been around for probably 15 yrs. or longer.