Kim Lindaberry on thu 16 dec 04
Hello All,
I've been reading the thread about Architectural Tile Installation and
I have a question about Architectural Brick Installation. I recently
got my hands on some commercially manufactured green architectural
bricks. The bricks are 4" x 4" x 12" made from a heavily grogged dark
brown ^8 clay, and they are still wet and workable. I plan on stacking
them on an easel (which I still need to build) and then start carving
away. There were/are clay shims that could be put in place between the
bricks to simulate mortar but I am planning on not using them because I
want the carving lines not to be disrupted by the mortar lines. I do
not have a specific installation site or location for the carving once
I'm done. It maybe interior or exterior but this carving would not be a
structural support wall in any sense of the phrase. Who knows, this may
just end up in my backyard on the side of my garage. The question is,
can some of the wonderful modern adhesives be used successfully in lieu
of mortar? I am hoping that I can keep the seam lines very tight. If
this does go outdoors I know I would want to keep water from collecting
between the bricks. I was thinking I might be able to use a good
quality construction adhesive to secure the bricks together and I can
figure out a system for fastening to a wall. Once the bricks are
secured in place would I just use a good quality caulk for the seams or
would I let the adhesive used to secure the bricks together ooze out a
bit and clean the seam lines up then? I haven't carved even a single
stroke yet so I am just looking to the future when I will need to
install these bricks somewhere.
Thanks,
Kim
Darin Lang on thu 16 dec 04
I am not an expert on masonry, but in my tile work I have done some
brick work and tuckpointing. The mortar in a brick installation
provides a continuous bond to the bricks. Take away the bricks and you
have this wonderful honeycomb lattice, fragile but tightly holding
everything together. The bricks provide the strength that mortar alone
lacks. The other thing mortar does, as with tile, is hide the
inconsistencies, a mm or more wider one end to the other, etc. to keep
your wall going straight. Carving and handling your green bricks is
going to make them even more inconsistent in structure, and will vary
the drying/firing characteristics for each brick. The bricks will likely
curve around the carved gouge and shrink much more unevenly than a
normal brick thus enhancing the need for mortar when fired. My
suggestion would be to incorporate the mortar into your design by
setting up your carving wall with 1/2" to 3/8" slab clay placed between
the bricks as a mock mortar. Then do your carving, disassemble the wall
fire the brick, use the slab for something else, and rebuild the wall
with real mortar, which can be colored most any color by the way it
doesn't have to be gray. Make your joints flush with the front of the
brick, and then put your carving strokes in the mortar to complete your
continuous design, or recess the mortar and let the mind's eye carry
your strokes across the gap, which is now properly spaced. You should
probably find a mason to help you build the wall it probably won't cost
as much as you think and then you know it will last. Of course the
curved bricks may drive the mason nuts.
Darin Lang
Kim Lindaberry wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> I've been reading the thread about Architectural Tile Installation and
> I have a question about Architectural Brick Installation. I recently
> got my hands on some commercially manufactured green architectural
> bricks. The bricks are 4" x 4" x 12" made from a heavily grogged dark
> brown ^8 clay, and they are still wet and workable. I plan on stacking
> them on an easel (which I still need to build) and then start carving
> away. There were/are clay shims that could be put in place between the
> bricks to simulate mortar but I am planning on not using them because I
> want the carving lines not to be disrupted by the mortar lines. I do
> not have a specific installation site or location for the carving once
> I'm done. It maybe interior or exterior but this carving would not be a
> structural support wall in any sense of the phrase. Who knows, this may
> just end up in my backyard on the side of my garage. The question is,
> can some of the wonderful modern adhesives be used successfully in lieu
> of mortar? I am hoping that I can keep the seam lines very tight. If
> this does go outdoors I know I would want to keep water from collecting
> between the bricks. I was thinking I might be able to use a good
> quality construction adhesive to secure the bricks together and I can
> figure out a system for fastening to a wall. Once the bricks are
> secured in place would I just use a good quality caulk for the seams or
> would I let the adhesive used to secure the bricks together ooze out a
> bit and clean the seam lines up then? I haven't carved even a single
> stroke yet so I am just looking to the future when I will need to
> install these bricks somewhere.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Kim
>
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Kim Lindaberry on fri 17 dec 04
Darin & All,
I do still have access to as many mortar shims as I need. They are 3/8
" thich and made by the same company that manufactures the green brick
and are of the same claybody and are made just for that purpose. But I
was/am hoping that I will be able to really control any warping that
may want to occur. I have time and patience and I realize I don't have
to force dry anything. And since I plan on only firing in electric
kilns to keep the brick very uniform in their dimensions. I also plan
on hollowing out the backside of the bricks to keep them as uniform as
possible to also reduce the potential of warping. It just seems to me
that given the steps I plan on I should be able to maintain consistent
and uniform sizes once they have been carved, dried and fired. Does
this really seem like such an unreasonable idea, or should I really get
the mortar shims and carve with them in place? It just seems like since
I am not mass manufacturing these I could keep it all tight.
TIA,
Kim
On Dec 16, 2004, at 12:41 PM, Darin Lang wrote:
> The other thing mortar does, as with tile, is hide the
> inconsistencies, a mm or more wider one end to the other, etc. to keep
> your wall going straight. Carving and handling your green bricks is
> going to make them even more inconsistent in structure, and will vary
> the drying/firing characteristics for each brick. The bricks will
> likely
> curve around the carved gouge and shrink much more unevenly than a
> normal brick thus enhancing the need for mortar when fired. My
> suggestion would be to incorporate the mortar into your design by
> setting up your carving wall with 1/2" to 3/8" slab clay placed between
> the bricks as a mock mortar. Then do your carving, disassemble the wall
> fire the brick, use the slab for something else, and rebuild the wall
> with real mortar, which can be colored most any color by the way it
> doesn't have to be gray. Make your joints flush with the front of the
> brick, and then put your carving strokes in the mortar to complete your
> continuous design, or recess the mortar and let the mind's eye carry
> your strokes across the gap, which is now properly spaced. You should
> probably find a mason to help you build the wall it probably won't cost
> as much as you think and then you know it will last. Of course the
> curved bricks may drive the mason nuts.
>
> Darin Lang
Darin Lang on fri 17 dec 04
Take a few bricks. Stack them. Carve them. Fire them. See what happens.
With care you might be able to keep it tight enough. The only way to
find out is to experiment.
And please let me know. I would really like to see.
Do you have a camera to take pictures? I would use a square and
micrometer to measure green, dried & fired, take good notes and try
different carve cuts and drying methods with each brick, hollow some,
not others and at least one brick as a control brick you do nothing with.
Darin Lang
Kim Lindaberry wrote:
It just seems to me
> that given the steps I plan on I should be able to maintain consistent
> and uniform sizes once they have been carved, dried and fired. Does
> this really seem like such an unreasonable idea, or should I really get
> the mortar shims and carve with them in place? It just seems like since
> I am not mass manufacturing these I could keep it all tight.
Valice Raffi on thu 30 dec 04
Kim,
getting back to you a bit late on this...
I have a couple of friends who've done murals with raw brick and here is
their process:
1) they made an easel with a slope out of plywood, slightly larger than the
mural was going to be, and attached a 2"x4" at the bottom for a lip (VERY
important!). They covered the plywood with plastic.
2) Stack the bricks either shallow or deep depending on how deep you plan
to carve, using a letter and number system on both the top and back of the
bricks (ex: A-1, A2 etc.) They didn't hollow the bricks at all, and set
them right next to each other with no spacing, but with alternating
courses.
3) They used another piece of plastic to draw the design on with a
non-waterproof marker to transfer the design to the bricks. (You could
skip this step if you want to work free-form.)
4) They were using bricks from Muddox (in California) and fired to ^4 to
^6. (glazing was optional)
5) the bricks were applied to Hardibacker board with thinset set tightly
together with no grout.
6) the Hardibacker was then bolted onto a cement block wall.
I hope this helps!
Valice
in Las Cruces
anxiously awaiting the completion of my new studio!
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