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InteriorBrickFlooring

Therearetwowaystoinstallbrickinaninteriorapplication.Thefirstisamortarlesssystemwherethepaversarebuttedtogetherandthesecondisamortaredsystemwherethepavershaveatraditional3/8”mortarjointbetweenthem.

MortarlessPaverFlooringSystems“Mortarless”flooringprovidesauniformandcontinuousexpression,softlyblendingwithroomfurnishingsandemphasizingotherarchitecturalqualities.

Picture1:MortarlessPaverFlooringSystemSealedwithPlex-A-Seal

Asthenameimplies,nomortarisusedinthissystemandjointsnormallyfoundbetweenbrickarereducedtofinethinlines.Inadditiontovariationsavailableinthecolorandtextureofbrick,manypatternsmaybedevelopedbyvaryingthebondingofflooringunits.Mortarlessbrickflooringmaybeplacedonconcreteslaboronawoodflooringsystemasshownindetailsbelow.BrickmustmeetphysicalpropertyrequirementsofASTMSpecificationC902.Sizeofbrickrequiredwilldependupontheparticularbondingpatterntobeused.Patternssuchasbasketweave,herringboneandvariationsofthesebondswillrequirebrickwithlengthdimensionsexactlytwicethatofthewidth(LTW),suchas4”x8”.Forrunningandstackbondsthebricklength-to-widthproportionisnotcritical.Thicknessofbrickusedonconcreteslabbasemayvaryfrom1-3/8”to21/4",butamaximumthicknessof13/8”isrecommendedforwoodflooringsystemsinordertokeepweighttoaminimum.

Tocompensatefortheadditionalweightofbrick(approximately15poundspersq.ft.)itisgenerallyrecommendedthatthespacingofthefloorjoistsbereduced25%or16”oncenterto12”oncenter.Installationdetails:Buildingpaperisfirstplacedonthesupportingbase,withedgesbuttedratherthanbeinglapped.Twolayersof15lb.Feltarerecommended.Brickarethenplaceddirectlyonthefeltinthedesiredpattern.Unitsshouldbeplacedtightlytogether,exceptwhenbrickmustbeshiftedslightlytokeeplinesstraight.Placingmortarlessbrickcanbedonewithsemi-skilledlabor.Infact,itisanidealprojectforacarefuldo-it-yourselfer!Clean,drysandisthenplacedonthebrickandsweptintoalljoints.Finesilicasandisbest.Surplussandissweptoffandsealermaybeappliedwhenflooriscompletelydry.Jointsandmaybeeliminatediftheflooristobesealed.However,moresealerwillberequiredtofillthejointsandachieveaglossappearance.

Sealers-MortarlessPaverFlooringSystemsSealingofMortarlessBrickFlooringaccomplishestwopurposes.Thesealingmateriallocksorsealssandinthejointsandprovidesanimperviousfinishtotheentirefloor.Sealerscanbeclassifiedintotwotypes:SolventBaseSealersandWaterBaseSealers.SolventBaseSealersareextremelysensitivetomoisture.Brickflooringunitsmustbecompletelydrybeforeapplyingsealersofthistypeandremaincompletelydrytoavoidwhite,cloudydiscolorationand/orpeeling.Adequateventilationisrequiredwhenapplyingtheseflammablematerials.Duetotheconcernsofventilationandflammability,wedonotrecommendsolventbasedsealers.WaterBaseSealersarenotassensitivetopresenceofmoistureassolventbasesealers,butbrickflooringshouldbedrybeforeapplyinganysealer.Donotuseinanyareasubjecttoprolongedorconstantwetting.Anexampleofawaterbasesealeris:Plex-a-Seal–awaterbaseacrylicmaterialproducedforanddistributedbyKleinCo.,Inc.,POBox80415,Atlanta,GA30366.Thisproductissoldbymanybrickmanufacturersandceramictiledistributors.Maybeappliedwithsoftpaintbrush,orcottonstringmop.Arollermaybeused,butcaremustbetakentoavoidbubbles.Donotoverwork.Applythincoating.Multiplecoatingsdevelophighergloss.Followlabelinstructions.MortarBedPaverFlooringSystemsMortarbedflooringisplacedwithconventionalmortarjointsseparatingindividualflooringunitsonaconcreteslab.Mortarjointsmaybedesignedtoblendwiththeunitsincolorandtexture,ortopresentacontrast.Ineithercasetheindividualbrickbecomesapartofabroadpatternwithrhythmanddirection.Manypatternsmaybecreatedwiththecarefuluseofbrickandmortar,brickcolor,textureandsize,jointingandsurfaceappliedfinishes.MortaredBrickFlooringshouldbeplacedonarigidconcreteslabasshownindetailabove.BrickmustmeetphysicalpropertyrequirementsofASTMSpecificationC902.Bricksizeshouldbemodular(35/8”x75/8”)withthethicknessofbrickvaryingfrom13/8”upto2-1/4”dependingonthresholdlimits.

Picture1:MortaredPaverFlooringSystemSealedwithPlex-A-Seal

Installationdetails:Typically,askilledbricklayerortilesetterisrequiredforinstallationofmortaredorgroutedbrickflooring.A3/8”to3/4"mortarbedorsettingbedisplaceddirectlyontheconcreteslabwithbrickbeingsetinthebedwiththedesiredpattern.Thevariantmortarbedservesasalevelingcoursetobringthepavementtofinishedgrade.Athin-set(3/16”)applicationcanbeusedifalevelsubstrateexistssimilartolayingtile.Paverplacementisoftenaidedbystringlinesandapatterngridinordertokeepconsistentjoints.Jointsarefilledbythecontractorasbrickareset,ormaybefilledatalatertimeusingagroutbag.Jointsaretooledwhenthemortarbecomesthumb-printhardaccordingtothedesiredstylewithconcavebeingthemostcommon.Keepingthebrickcleanastheworkprogressesisofprimaryimportance.Mortarstainsarenormallyremovedwithcleanersandgenerousamountsofwater–bothofwhichcanbedestructivetosurroundingelements,causestainingifmisappliedandcancauseefflorescenceinthebrickworkanddelayanysealingoperation.Therefore,greatcareshouldtakenduringthejointingoperation.Seebelowforinformationonbarriercoatingsandfloorsealers.

Sealers-MortarBedPaverFlooringSystemsMortarbedpaverflooringsystemsmustbecompletelydrybeforeapplyinganycoating.Sincewaterhasbeenusedinthesettingbedandmortarandincleaningthebrickwork,thereisagreatpossibilitythatthefloorwillcontainmoistureforseveralmonthsaftercompletionofwork.Coatingsappliedtoosoonwillinevitablyturnwhiteand/orseparatefrombrick.Severalcoatingmanufacturerssuggestthatconcreteandmortaredmasonryfloorsbefirstcleanedwithamild“acidwash”toremovelaitanceandtoneutralizethenormalalkalinityofcementmortars.Aftercompletelydrying(possibly8weeksinheatedorairconditionedspace)asealerisappliedgenerouslyovertheentireareaaccordingtomanufacturer’sinstruction.AllsealersdescribedpreviouslyforuseonMortarlessBrickFlooringmayalsobeusedonmortaredflooring.BarrierCoatingsforStainControl-MortarBedPaverFlooringSeveralproprietarybarriersorreleasecoatingsareavailableforuseasapre-treatmentin

preventingcementgroutsfrombondingtotheexposedfaceofbrickflooringunits.TheseincludeGroutGuard2manufacturedbyKleinCompany,Atlanta,GA.Followalllabelinstructionsclosely.Ordinaryparaffinwaxmayalsobeusedasabondbreaker.Recommendeduseofwaxisasfollows:heatwaxinpan,applyingwaxwhenthickaspossible.Applywaxtotopofbrickbyholdinginhandandpassingbrickoverpaintrollerthathasbeencoatedwithparaffin.Allowwaxtohardenbeforesettingbrickinmortarorgroutbed.Applyparaffinwaxpriortotheunitsbeingsetinthemortarbedtopreventwaxfromrunningdownthesidesofunits,whichcanpreventthebondingofgrouttoedgesofbrick.Aftergroutormortarhasbeenplaced,tooled,andcured,waxmayberemovedfromfaceofbrickwithjetofhotwaterorsteam.Acidsshouldnotberequiredforcleaningwhenthewaxsystemisused.ImportantNoticeSomeoftheproductsdescribedinthisinteriorflooringreviewinvolvetheuseofhazardousmaterials,operationsand/orequipment.Thisreviewdoesnotpurporttoaddressallofthesafetypracticesassociatedwiththeuseoftheseproducts.Itistheresponsibilityoftheuserofthissourcetoestablishappropriatesafetyandhealthpracticesandtodeterminetheapplicabilityofregulatorylimitationspriortotheuseoftheproductsdescribed.TheinformationandsuggestionscontainedinthisreviewarebasedonavailabledataandexperienceofthestaffofPineHallBrick.Thisinformationshouldberecognizedasrecommendationsandshouldbeusedwithjudgment.FinaldecisionsontheuseoftheinformationdiscussedhereinarenotwithinthepurviewofPineHallBrickandmustrestwiththeprojectowner,designer,orboth.