Exterior: Step Two

Ta-daaa! I have made a start on the brickwork and I can say that I'm extremely pleased with how it looks! It looks rather uneven (which is purely down to my inexperience) but I actually quite like the effect as my house isn't going to be pristine anyway. Also, I am yet to sand it down.





I must say, it is easier than it looks and although I will only be showing photos of a small part, I have actually finished both side walls now and the look much more even. I will put the new photos on tomorrow when the walls have dried :)

It's definitely not perfect, but I'm happy with it for my little, creaky old house.

Now, for all of you who are maybe interested in doing brickwork like this...here is a list of tips that I have discovered whilst doing mine:

PERFECT BRICKWORK

1. The stencil is different at each end. Sounds obvious, but I didn't realise until I was on my third panel. One side is tailored to be used for the edge of the wall (silly me!).

2. Always, always, always test a new batch of brick compound with the stencil on a spare bit of wood- it's surprisingly tricky to get it right first time. See picture for an example...(the one on the left was my first attempt at the mixture, which as you can see, would have gone horribly wrong if I didn't test it first).

3. Keep a towel or newspaper underneath the house because a lot of the brick compound falls off as you are spreading it.

4. If you have a cat (or a dog) you will get hairs in the mixture, but don't worry- they don't show! (haha).

5. Unfortunately, you can subtly see the join in my walls and that's simply because I haven't followed the 'big brick, little brick' format, I have simply finished one block and moved the stencil up to do the next. Try and make it so it follows a pattern.

6. The stencil adhesive and the instructions promised me that I would only need to reapply the spray-glue every now and again but I had to do it every time I did another section. This is probably because you're also advised to clean the stencil between uses so if you're doing a large house, bear in mind you might need two adhesive glue sprays.

7. The brick compound goes a very long way.

8. Don't glue your windows in before you do the brickwork. I have now set myself the lovely task of working around the window frames.

9. Really important- always start at the sides or back of your house because you may make little mistakes or need time to perfect your technique. This way, by the time you work your way to the front, it will be fabulous!

10. Finally, and worth taking note, the brick compound dries a lot lighter than when it's applied. You may be able to tell by the photo below:

It also dries very patchy and makes you think, "**#!" but don't worry!- it soon looks all lovely and even.

I will add the new photos soon!

Jess! :D