DIY – A tale of the white brick wall
For a while now, we’ve had a thing for white brick walls and wanted some of that texture in our home. I really don’t know why it did not occur to us when we did the renovation 2 years ago. Perhaps then, we were keeping a tight rein on the budget and did not want to spend more on fancy extras. And so, last month we decided to embark on this DIY project at home. We were gonna make this brick wall happen!
(*Image from White Cabana)
We did some research, called suppliers to compare prices and the various types of brick tiles we could use. We also looked for ‘inspiration’ images online so we knew exactly how it was going to end up looking like. We have an old 3-room HDB apartment which we overhauled before we moved in. So for those of you who are familiar with the layout of old 3-room HDBs, you would know that the ceiling is low, and it is significantly smaller than the new generation 3-roomers. We wanted a loft-like feel in our flat, but lofts typically have high ceilings so tiling all your walls with brick tiles will not be overwhelming. But in our case, we thought it would be best to just do one small wall and make it a feature instead. Plus, it would be easier on the pocket. The entire project cost us not more than S$150, and that includes the brick tiles, glue, putty and paint.
Here are some pix of the process, and we are extremely proud and happy with the outcome even if it may not be entirely perfect. The sense of satisfaction we got when it was complete was … indescribable.
hey! where did you get the tv console?
carrotoh
June 17, 2011 at 4:58 pm
Hi Carol, the TV console is from Scanteak
looknookhook
June 19, 2011 at 12:49 am
WOW! It looks AMAZING!
J
June 17, 2011 at 9:07 pm
Thank you Jade! We are really happy with it & it was sooo fun!!
looknookhook
June 18, 2011 at 1:31 am
Hi, can u share with us where you got the material and maybe the details for each steps. I wanted to get my ID to do it for my house, but the quotation is very expensive
nelson
December 27, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Hi Nelson, you can visit http://www.bricktiles.com/ for more information. The company is called Lian Wang Trading Pte Ltd and they are located at Senoko Loop. We called to enquire and went down physically to have a look at their showroom. They are a supplier to other large companies and usually sell in bulk. However, they were nice enough to attend to us.
Do have the measurements of your wall ready on hand before you go down to select the type of brick tiles. Their website is not really updated so the best would be to go down and take a look. We were lucky and the boss himself attended to us on that day. Based on your measurements, he would advise which type of tiles are suitable for your use and approximately how many you will need. Also, he told us the type of glue that you can use to stick the tiles on to the wall. I forgot the name, but he will tell you the name and you can get it easily at your neighborhood hardware shop, together with the glue gun applicator.
Don’t forget to buy several extra tiles, as some may break when you cut them. You will need a disc grinder to cut the tiles to size, as you will need ‘shorter’ tiles to fit in at the corners of every row. It is very messy and very time-consuming, but the satisfaction you get once it is completed is amazing
Other than the brick tiles and glue, you will also need putty to fill up the grooves in between the tiles as we left gaps in between all the brick tiles. Lastly, once the putty has dried, we slapped on 2 coats of white paint to finish it up.
I hope this helps you! Have fun!
looknookhook
December 27, 2011 at 9:53 pm
Happy Chinese New Year!!!!!!!
Thanks for all the info and tips
I will definitely check their showroom out. Just nice I stay at woodlands, so not too far away 
Hope I can do a nice work just like urs >.<
Nelson
January 26, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Happy Chinese New Year to you too, Nelson!! You’re most welcome, and i hope your little home project turns out well! Good luck!
looknookhook
January 26, 2012 at 5:27 pm
Thanks for sharing this post! This is exactly what i need! I have been to Lian Wang ytd and one sales girl attended to me. I am going to choose a rough surface brick tile. She recommend me this adhesive called Davco TTB ECO. Is this the same you used for your house? May i know where you bought the tile cutter shown in one of the pics since i do not have a disc grinder. Can you advise?
JD
September 13, 2012 at 8:56 pm
Hi JD, i think so it was Davco, also recommended by the place where i bought the brick tiles from. The tile cutter belongs to my father-in-law, and i was told you can get it from the hardware shop. Just let them know what you need to do, and they can recommend to you the tools that you will need
Good luck and happy DIY-ing!
looknookhook
September 18, 2012 at 8:39 pm
HELLO! May i know what’s the thickness of the brick that you use? Does it exceed the thickness of the ledge at the very bottom of the wall?
Anna Alison
November 15, 2012 at 2:11 pm
it’s about half a cm I think, and no it doesn’t exceed the thickness of the skirting at the bottom. Hope that helps
Good luck!
looknookhook
November 17, 2012 at 3:58 pm
Hi, great job on that wall! Just wanted to check if you had to strip the paint off the backing wall before putting up the tiles or had to apply any base coating?
Jun
March 19, 2013 at 3:58 pm
Thanks Jun Biao! Actually no we didn’t strip the paint or apply any form of base on the wall. All we did was give it a good wipe down so there was no dust or residue. And simply just stick on the brick tiles with the glue that was recommended by the guy we bought the tiles from
looknookhook
March 19, 2013 at 8:20 pm
Thanks for the info! We are starting on our project, but weren’t able to find a tool to cut the tiles. The hardware shop we went said that we need a machine cutter. Do u have a clearer picture of the type of cutter u used?
Jun
March 23, 2013 at 6:34 pm
we didn’t hv the proper machine type cutter for our project, so we just used a normal cutter which looks like pliers to me. I don’t have it now as we’ve since returned it to my FIL. if I get a chance to , I will take a picture of it for you.
looknookhook
March 25, 2013 at 8:08 pm
Hi, I was researching on how to DIY a feature brick wall too. Saw your post on your achievement for it
will it be possible to share with me more details of the process?
How long did it take for the glue to dry?
The whole process took approx. how many days? And where did u get your brick tiles from and how much does it costs?
Thanks in advance
Melissa
May 18, 2013 at 10:22 am
Hi, impressive brick wall u have! Thanks for sharing these valuable DIY info. Can i know if the walls show hairline crack in a few months times? My contractor give me a lot of excuses not to do the brick wall for mi.. Say will have deep crack lines down the road, need to re hack the wall, need to drill holes etc.. Worst still charge me super ex. So upset and frustrating. How much does ur DIY project cost in total? Thanks in advance for sharing.
TT
May 21, 2013 at 12:12 am