Exposed brick??
by
Erin Hodnett
+3
I see shows like Rehab Addict, and she always seems to find a wall that is covering beautiful brick. How are you supposed to know that there is brick behind a wall without tearing it up and making a mess???
4 answers
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Walls around a fireplace will likely be false-walls framed over brick. This is a tricky one though, because you don't want to go around bashing in drywall all over your house. To test it: use a stud finder to find a stud and then a jab-saw or utility knife (razor) to cut a small hole right next to the stud that you can peek through to see if there is brick underneath. If not, then you can patch the drywall easily because you'll have a stud right there. Risky, I know. Good luck! ;)
CraftPro Home Improvements
on Jan 03, 2014
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@CraftPro Home Improvements super advice! a look at your neighbors homes, similar style and design, may be helpful too. For example, where I am (Baltimore) downtown rowhomes built before say 1940 would almost certainly have structural exterior walls of brick. In my current house, a farmhouse, I have several brick chimneys that were, like CraftPro suggested, studded over. With these we just traced them down to the basement and up to the roof to identify them as chimneys and then removed the walls around them. Of course there was no guarantee that what was below was intact. good luck @Erin Hodnett
Building Moxie
on Jan 03, 2014
- See 1 previous
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thanks guys! I love the look of exposed brick and I want it so badly but I don't have te budget to fix my walls after poking a bunch of holes. etc lol my home is a ranch brick house built in 1960 with a chimney fireplace. I may try the stud finder method or just get someone to come out and look for me ;)
Erin Hodnett
on Jan 03, 2014
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I would try to see the wall construction above the ceiling (perhaps from the attic?) or from the basement or crawlspace (true masonry walls require a foundation to support them - veneers not always) or if you are handy you could pull an outlet (power off and only if you know electrical) to see what lies in the wall or if studs are hiding a masonry wall. Age of the home can give you a clue as well -- the older it is, the better chance you have of finding masonry.
Moxie
on Jan 03, 2014
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