Egg carton brick tips

[otterine]

Many people have asked me how I get my bricks so uniform, but I assure you they are not perfect. I've written up a blog post showing how I do what I do when it comes to egg carton brickwork: http://www.otterine....ton-bricks-plus

[biomom]

Very timely post! I was just building egg carton stone walls for my townhouse garden. No matter how many times that I seal my stones (with mod podge), when I apply wet Andi mini-mortar mix, my bricks get damp and the mix is hard to wipe clean from the bricks. They end up having a more greyish tinge than I intended.

Any suggestions, Brae?

[otterine]

Yeppers...check out this post: http://www.otterine....rick-foundation

I used Delta Ceramcoat satin varnish...I don't know if that makes a difference. Also, any grouting will change the color you painted to a certain extent, so go brighter before sealing or touch up the paint after.

[heathermac]

Perfect timing! I've used egg cartons for stone work but wanted to try some bricks. Thanks so much!

[Broccolianddip]

WOoooooOO!! As everyone else has mentioned, perfect timing!! Just moving onto cutting bricks this weekend!! Also do you use paper templates or glue directly to surface? or did I miss that part? lol

Thanks so much

[mybrainhurts]

When I was putting grout on my brick foundation, I got so irritated with smearing the mix over everything and having to wash all of it off. I switched to putting the mix into a ziplock baggie and barely snipped a hole in one of the corners of it. That was nice because I could just put some tape over the hole and walk away if I needed to take a break in the middle of grout work.

Now, I used slightly tinted spackle for my grout so your miles may vary but the hand cramps from controlling the baggie were well worth it for me. Much much less messy when it was done.

as for template or such.. I drew vague pencil lines to follow and glued mine directly onto the surface. When I was working with a slightly more rounded surface, I dampened my fingers so that I could bend the bricks rather than break them since some of them can be a bit stiff.

[otterine]

Unless I am going for an obvious pattern, I don't use paper templates and glue directly to the surface. When bending bricks, they can split, but a little glue under the raised surface takes care of that.

[EAB]

I did egg carton stonework on my elf house, and I was nervous about grouting. I went to the art supply store and bought texture medium. I mixed it with my acrylic paint to thicken it up, added retarding medium so it wouldn't dry out in ten minutes, and painted it on between the stones with a small brush. I didn't have to touch the stonework itself, unless I accidentally went over the edge. If I did, a damp q-tip took care of the mistake with no trouble.

[Broccolianddip]

Thanks again everyone! I think I'm going to do a test mini brick mini project, lol. That way I can get more familiar with the procedure before I go ahead and glue to my DH! Also, are we doing this before or after the house is glued together? lol. I never know how much I am supposed to finish before I actually glue.

[otterine]

Before or after is up to you. If you are going to brick around the corners, it will have to be after. In the case of the Heritage foundation, I did the main house foundation after it was glue together. For the bay window foundation pieces, which are joined by connectors, I did the pieces before they were in place. I just marked where the bricks had to stop so the pieces would fit into the connectors.

[mesp2k]

My house comes apart so I'll have to cut the corners

on the foundation :w00t: then coat them with a hardener or som'n?

Or apply hardener 1st then cut? :waycon:

[-defunct account-]

Thanks Brae, was a good read over morning coffee I'm slowly collecting cartons now (have about 20). I still check freecycle now and again, so far no luck. I'm thinking Chicago has a much bigger "pool" than I do

[L Swearengin]

ok???? who forgot to mention don't sneeze while dry fitting the little buggers???? My first attempt at the egg carton stone went on the floor. LOL

[KathieB]

:lol: I can't recall anyone else dry fitting egg carton bricks or stones. Personally, I cut or tear a bunch and then just grab them one at at time and fit them in, just as I would if working with real life bricks or stones. It all works out in the end.

[havanaholly]

Dry fitting stone or brick? I've done templates to be glued into place later, but never dry fit!

[Sable]

Some people need the extra visualization before making it permanent. I'm one of them. Dry-fitting anything helps to verify fit and quantity and confirm color and shading. I have trouble visualizing in my brain, I need to see it. My most recent marble and slate tiled floor must have been dry fitted 20 times before I began to make it permanent.

[Selkie]

In her horse barn, Twinkle did her brick floor dozens of times before gluing it down. She must have tried every color arrangement and brick pattern in the universe.

[kat57]

I'm with Sable and Twinkle-trying the tiles or stones or bricks or even planks in place can let you know if you need more than you have prepared by a miscalculation and it helps you decide if you'll actually like the 'look' you've chosen! To each his or her own way,right?

[kellee]

Thank You so much for the great tutorial. I love the moss and the old weathered paint.

I will be doing The Franklin in all egg carton brick. I started cutting them out a while ago, maybe I'll bring a tv tray into the living room and do that in the evenings.

I'm also going to brick the foundation of the Victorias Farmhouse, and a few others.

Kellee

[havanaholly]

I've been merrily cutting strips of garnet sandpaper into bricks for Washington's downstairs exterior walls.

[minigrandma10]

Thanks Brae for restarting this subject. I love egg cartons and luckily i can still find them. Thank you goes out to all the contributors too.