# Forum Home Renovation Brickwork  option for covering internal brick wall?

## blissin

Hi all 
I am pretty new to the forum and to renovating and hope someone can help me 
In my lounge, I have an 80s dark brown textured brick wall, complete with an arch and deep gaps between each of the bricks (? raked)  
As the room also has an unpainted oregon pine ceiling (floorboards of upstairs bedroom) with exposed mission brown beams its a tad gloomy in there 
I have to do it myself - no $$ - and was planning to cover it with acrylic render but apparently thats difficult to get right if done by amateurs? Same for plasterboard options 
So, was thinking about using cork wall tiles - glued directly to the brick - and am wondering -
- would I still need to fill in all the gaps in the brick first, or will the glue will stick enough where it hits the wall to hold the tile on (very textured brick so am hoping that helps glue) 
- will the cork tile warp or curl if they are not stuck all over to the wall?
- if the above things are ok - what type of glue would I use?  
If this is a really bad idea, I would love to hear any other suggestions anyone has for ridding the world of one more 80s wall 
Thanks in advance  :Smilie:

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## Bloss

Easiest is simply acrylic paint of some sort and quite effective. You can 'bag' the wall to fill the joints so you have a 'flat' surface and that can be done to give a smooth or coarse surface to then be coated. This too is easily done by a DIYer. As described here: http://www.cemaust.com.au/files/CA01...p_DLsingle.pdf Note few uses bags anymore - sponges are more common.

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## GeoffW1

Hi, 
Agree  :Arrow Up:  
Not a bad idea at all. That dark sandstock brick look with timber was quite the fashion for a while.  
The oregon will look quite handsome with a Bloss wall and the right shade of paint. I think you will be amazed at how much more light it will give. 
I feel a satin paint, or low-sheen, will reflect a bit more light still. 
Cheers

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## blissin

thanks for your reply, Bloss and Geoff1 
I am a bit confused about the difference between bagging and rendering ... tho I did read the pdf you linked to (thanks for that) 
If the bagging fills in all the gaps in the brick why would anyone bother using battens etc for the rendering?  
feel like I am missing some point here ... sorry if I am being thick  :Confused:  
Also, do you need to bag it first or can you just paint straight over it?

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## myla

hi, 
i would go for plasterboard, go to a small plasterboard supply shop and get some contacts for day rate and where you can assist 
ie. you can help moving boards, mixing cornice, cleaning up 
because if you are going to do bagging then all of the above is just general labouring as well 
as the minute you put paint on the wall you change the ways in the future that you could tackle the project,  
rendering will normally apply a 5-10mm thick coating over the wall, bagging is only a 1-3mm coating 
in your case because of the raked out joint you would look at trowelling the mix to fill joints 
thanks

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## blissin

thanks for the advice Myla 
I unfortunately dont have the $$ to pay for help and and I have low level skills and basic tools - no bench for cutting things up easily, or a backyard, so my choices are limited to things I can easily do indoors using my kitchen table as a work bench and the lounge as the render mixing room! 
I was just looking at Dulux AcraTex roll on interior render - http://www.dulux.com.au/specifier/pr...l?product=2406 
Seems a great option so far - its ready mixed and can be coloured - anyone had any experience with that?  
Would it be able to fill raked mortar joints and look okay with amateur skills?

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## myla

hi blissin, 
no it will cost you a fortune, 
go and buy acrylic render bags from Bunnies, either render-it or the green acrylic one (normally about $15) 
fill joints with one of these, very very low cost,  
the raked joints need a product with "body" to fill it, which is sand 
with bagging or rendering as you put each coat on the appearance gets better, just add more boncrete and leave surface at bit scratched to provide key 
the dulux product is about $120/15lt it will disappear very quickly if you want to fill

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## Bloss

> thanks for your reply, Bloss and Geoff1 
> I am a bit confused about the difference between bagging and rendering ... tho I did read the pdf you linked to (thanks for that) 
> If the bagging fills in all the gaps in the brick why would anyone bother using battens etc for the rendering?  
> feel like I am missing some point here ... sorry if I am being thick  
> Also, do you need to bag it first or can you just paint straight over it?

  If you read the link I gave above it explains it well. Basically bagging will simply fill the joints and rub a very thin layer of the mortar over the brick surfaces. Rendering will both fill the joints, but will add a 5-6mm layer of concrete over the whole surface. Rendering will use more mortar and will be laced using a steel float although sometimes might be finished with a foam float - depending on the finish look sought. IMO rendering is for tradies who do it for a living while bagging can be done my most anyone - I've seen god an bad jobs done by both though so that's just a general rule. Can't see why you'd bother using plasterboard unless you are seeking an ultra smooth finish. 
Myla is right - easiest is to fill the joints (so mortar cheap as chips and so far as skills go you can wipe in on with your hands if it comes to that!)

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## blissin

ouch expensive 
Thanks heaps for all the advice - sorry for asking dumb questions  :Redface:  
will give it a whirl and see how I go  :2thumbsup:

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## Black Cat

Another option would be to attach battens and then install plywood (stained a varnished, or painted as per your preference) to the battens. With some coverstrips to conceal the joins. I have seen a rather lovely wall done with plywood squares, each either stained (different coloured stains) or left unfinished, then varnished over the lot. Not too hard if your timber supplier can cut the ply to size for you.

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## blissin

nice idea black cat, thanks for posting 
it might be a bit too much in mine though - I already have so much wood in the ceiling and beams so feels like I need to dilute it a bit with pale colour

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## Bloss

> ouch expensive 
> Thanks heaps for all the advice - sorry for asking dumb questions  
> will give it a whirl and see how I go

  The only 'dumb' questions are the ones not asked . . .  :Wink:

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