# Forum Home Renovation Brickwork  Help needed.  Bricking up internal doorway.

## Macgyver

Looking to brick up this doorway that leads from a bedroom to a bathroom.  I've never used this door - bricking it up will allow me to improve the layout of bathroom in a soon-to-take-place reno. 
I work in the fabrication/metalwork trades, and have next to no bricklaying experience.  That said, i'm pretty a handy guy and not easily overwhelmed by unknown DIY, so I hope this is a project I can take on myself.  I want to start ASAP.      
I need to know the right steps here.  Can I remove the metal door frame completely in advance, or will I need to remove it piece by piece as I work up to the lintel?  Should I do a couple of courses every few days, or is this a job I can knock over in a day?   
I want to do this job properly, avoiding the likelihood of perimeter cracking etc in years to come.  Any advice to get me from A to B would be much appreciated.  Wanting to make a start this weekend if possible.

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## cyclic

Remove the metal door frame, it is held in place by tie wires into the brickwork, but there won't be a lintel as the brickwork above is held by the door frame, and it should stay in place without any worry.
I have done doors 1.8 wide without losing any bricks.
If you want to do it properly, tie the new bricks into the existing wall by removing the odd half brick every few courses.
9" angle grinder with diamond blade comes in handy for that but most people run a mile when they see one of them.
Other option and less dusty is brickies plugging chisel to get the mortar out but so slow, or of course the rabbit shop(bunnies) rotary hammer with chisel.
Grooved Plugging Chisel - $14.00

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## johnc

Follow Cyclic's advice, taking out the existing half bricks and replacing with whole should almost guarantee no cracking on your plaster joins. Are you rendering yourself? If so go on Utube there are plenty of how to picture shows. Sand and cement then cornice adhesive or hard plaster will do the job.

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## Macgyver

Thanks guys.  I'll start on this today and try and cut the frame out.  9" angle grinder is a luxury i'm afraid - the best I can do is a 5" with masonry disks, and chisel and hammer to strike out anything I can't quite reach with the wheel. 
Not sure what size format the bricks are underneath... I guess we'll soon find out.

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## David.Elliott

Onto a concrete pad taking out the half bricks could be argued as OTT.  I drill holes into the existing mortar and place 6mm? galv rod in long lengths in there which then sits in my new mortar course...up/down not really the problem, front/back can be..  chip back the existing render and plaster to expose a bit of brick each side and use that with a straight edge to keep your new bricks plumb to the existing wall...

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## Macgyver

No point mucking around.  I've pulled out the steel frame (apart from the upper / lintel section), and knocked off the mortar around the brick edges.    
I'll start accumulating the bricks now I know what type i'm dealing with.  But first, it's off to work. 
One more question - how do I deal with this footing area?  Do I just fill up the pitting with mortar, or do I need a more specific plan of attack?  At the deepest point it's probably about an inch below the surface level of the slab.  And the other side is a wet area.  Hmmm.

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## johnc

I should have realised it was WA, yep if the pits are only 20mm deep filling with mortar will be fine. The galv rod method will work as well, probably better, knocking out Victorian solid reds is easy, I would leave those WA hollow blocks alone and just fill the space.

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## YoungBolt

If you need a guide on how to lay bricks - check these vids out. Bill is very informative and great bloke to watch. Audio is a bit crappy sometimes and he's a fan of cheap sound effects but that far out*weigh*s his seriously detailed advice. Great bloke. I've watched him build his entire kit home (56 vids worth!) plus he has some a heap of vids on fibreglass fabrication too.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS5srtCBAMQ  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBcRxkfWyRo

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## Macgyver

Those videos are absolutely fantastic.  Thanks for posting them.  
Here's where i'm at:    
Drilling these pins into the wall every second course:    
Question:  how many courses can I do in a day?  Can I knock this project off today or should I aim to do a few courses every other day, letting things settle and cure?

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## johnc

All in one day will be fine.

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## Macgyver

Done!  Not pretty, but it's straight.  I seemed to find my stride toward the upper courses.    
So - what next?  I want to blend this into the rest of the wall so you'd never even know it's there.  Appears to be a render on the brick, finished with an exterior plaster.

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## autogenous

Its fine. Good work. 
Stick gyprock to it and bog the edges as per masonary requirements.

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## cyclic

Possibly render with white set finish.
Start googling how to with white set plaster.

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## Macgyver

I'm going the render route to keep consistent with the rest of the walls in the house.  Brick, render, white set. 
Bought the render tonight.  Will sit on it for this evening and get stuck into the next stage tomorrow.

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## RickW

Did you consider framing up with timber and using cement/plaster board? I'm trying to decide myself currently which way to go. 
Both ways will crack over time in told.

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## YoungBolt

Plaster will only crack if its not secured to something. 
Leave a few mm gap between the existing board and the new one and itll have a small amount of flexibility too.

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## johnc

Its solid plaster, there is no board, anywhere. Generally you will get cracking if you use plaster board against solid brick as it has a different rate of expansion and will crack on the joints. Infilling with brick and rendering should minimise the risk of a crack appearing if it is on the same footing as the old work.

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## RickW

Sorry for confusing this thread, Question was why did you choose to brick this up rather than just wood frame and cement sheeting. As stated I have two doorways to close up and all builders i've chatted to said don't bother bricking just frame and apply sheet then plaster small gap.  
Great job so far by the way!

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## YoungBolt

Every tradie will take the quickest and easiet option.  
You dont need to brick up, but then you loose the benefits of a brick wall (heat, noise etc). Although A small opening wouldnt make a big difference anyway. 
pedantic home owners would probably want it bricked up. Personally Id have just built a frame.

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## David.Elliott

I've actually done both... timber/plasterboard where the footings could not support bricks, and bricks onto concrete floor...the PB method did crack after a while, the bricks/render have not...

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## RickW

good to know thanks. Yes I guess it all does come down to time, effort and cost, if they aren't an issue, bricking up it the way to go 
sorry back to you @macgyver, how's the progress gone the last few weeks?

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## Macgyver

Came out pretty good in the end... well... as I approach the end. 
Bathroom side.  Bathroom reno progress at a stand still until I order tiles.    
Bedroom side.  Applied render to the brickwork, now currently skimming on  thin layers of plaster to bring it up to level.  Doing a thin skim every four or five days.  Next skim should be the last required to bring it flush.  Will probably paper tape around the former doorway perimeter and try blend it into the existing wall at that point.  Hopefully that might temper any hairline cracks in the future.

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## Gras

Thanks for all the helpful ideas on this thread. Ive had a similar project here in Perth - internal door between laundry and second bathroom that was never used. Im at the white set plaster stage. However my query relates to the floor. Im taking up the old tiles and the floor (concrete) is very uneven with what appears to be three layers. Old tile cement layer, a sandy cement layer and then a very ordinary looking concrete layer. See photos.  I imagine I should take everything off down to the concrete and then treat it in some way??  Self levelling mixture maybe??

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## YoungBolt

The sandy base is screed. If there’s a fall in tiles, then underneath is screeded to create a false floor.

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## YoungBolt

Make a mixture of 1 parts cement, 3 parts sand to make a consistency of mortar. Spread it to make it level. Then you put your tile adhesive on top. I’d use a rubber based tile adhesive for its flexibility

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## Gras

Thanks for your reply YoungBolt.  I decided to get a pro in to re-screed a new floor.

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## autogenous

> Came out pretty good in the end... well... as I approach the end. 
> Bathroom side. Bathroom reno progress at a stand still until I order tiles.    
> Bedroom side. Applied render to the brickwork, now currently skimming on thin layers of plaster to bring it up to level. Doing a thin skim every four or five days. Next skim should be the last required to bring it flush. Will probably paper tape around the former doorway perimeter and try blend it into the existing wall at that point. Hopefully that might temper any hairline cracks in the future.

  Gyprock on the brickwork would have been easier  :Biggrin:

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## autogenous

Some floors are cement screed ony n houses prior the 1990s in WA. I have never seen cracked tiles though. 
Ive stripped out a few bathrooms now. Every now and then the brother inlaw cons me into strpping out a bathroom.

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## Kieran989

@Macgyver how did the rest of your white set turn out??

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