Considering doing brick ourselves - No idea what we are doing

Submitted by PersephassaThePurple t3_ybvzgk in DIY

Hello!

We had a shed built on our property and recently ran into an HOA issue with the previously chosen siding, and now the shed must be bricked to match our home. Our first quote was $9800 ($4500 being labor costs), so we are exploring install thin brick/veneer ourselves - we have done flooring and other smaller home projects but this is pretty foreign territory still. Most videos I'm watching are commercial or professional contractors, so I am hoping someone can talk to me like the siding-newb that I am.

The builders mentioned adding a backing board, which I don't think they did (though I could be mistaken) - it is wood with a weather protectant wrap on it now.

My questions:

  1. It would seem we need cement board over the existing wrap - is this a "backer board" that I am hearing about? Are there additional layers (scratch board) needed in addition to a cement board, or can we apply mortar directly to this?
  2. For those who have done this before, is it worth spending extra money for something like the Brick-It system, which has metal tracks you attach to the wall and use adhesive with?
  3. After mortar, we need brick joint - do we need anything other sealants? We are in Northern Florida, which gets a lot of wind and rain during certain times of year.
  4. Any other things to keep in mind with installing brick veneer on exterior walls?

​

Picture of the current shed:

​

https://preview.redd.it/nn3ach1i2nv91.jpg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=76d6bb553090ce510c4552f550478f1e223518d3

2

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

ThoraciusAppotite t1_itjq7qw wrote

How long do you want this to last? There's a dimple lathe product for using with thinbrick that I saw on Matt Risinger's YouTube channel that will give you a ventilation gap but may be overkill for this shed.

Brick is going to look goofy as heck on that floating shed, but HOA is gonna HOA.

8

PersephassaThePurple OP t1_itl26ou wrote

Well, we will only live here for the next couple of years being having to move - though I would hate for it to fall apart on the next family.

We are planning to wrap a skirt around the bottom as well as do some landscaping around it (there is now a ramp also), to hopefully make it not look so weird... hopefully.

3

coffeeinmycamino t1_itku3v0 wrote

Probably cheaper to move somewhere without an HOA. That's never going to look right on a shed like that, and I'm surprised you'd get that far in a build before finding out that this is exactly the sort of thing HOA's like to involve themselves with.

7

PersephassaThePurple OP t1_itl1ono wrote

Unfortunately, not in the market here and with interest rates being what they are. We will be moving in two and a half years (military), but now know we won't being going somewhere with an HOA.

2

sparkselicious t1_itnvb1j wrote

Go to JAG or the Army equivalent and request legal services. HOAs usually lose their lawsuits.

2

night-otter t1_itj7wof wrote

cement board

fascia bricks (1/2-3/4" thick)

construction glue (weather proof)

mortar to fill in between the bricks and look like real bricks

Going to be lots cheaper than having a mason do it for you.

5

PersephassaThePurple OP t1_itjblbo wrote

Thank you!! Glad to see we weren't off on the steps.

1

night-otter t1_itkbvup wrote

I helped a friend redoing the fascia bricks on his fireplace. That's what I remember he had as the materials.

He had already put on the chalk lines, so it was just put glue on the brick, stick it to the cement board, check the spacing, hold for 30 seconds. Repeat around 100 more times.

Probably lots more times for 3 walls worth.

Check out the how to shows (like This Old House) they should have videos about how to actually do it. Look for ones that cover outdoor fascia.

4

PersephassaThePurple OP t1_itl1w0d wrote

This is really helpful, thank you. I'll be looking for The Old House for some visual aids. We've done tile work before and it seems similar, just a PIA.

1

tired_and_fed_up t1_itjghzf wrote

https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/siding/vinyl-siding/novik-reg-hand-laid-brick-look18-5-x-48-polymer-siding-panel/10005205/p-1444449676878-c-5838.htm

I understand you need brick but do you need literal brick or just something that looks like brick like "Brick Vinyl"?

5

PersephassaThePurple OP t1_itjihrx wrote

So we did try for brick vinyl but were directed to a section outlining no vinyl. I am, however, considering looking anyways and see if we can find something that looks real enough it won't be questioned.

1

SmileFirstThenSpeak t1_itj6bac wrote

There are other options besides vinyl and brick. Are you saying that your HOA requires brick on a shed?

2

PersephassaThePurple OP t1_itjbiz8 wrote

Yes, they require it match the architecture and design of our home (brick or stucco, in our case it's brick) as well as have shingles. We tried for brick-look vinyl, which they don't allow.

1

usedTP t1_itm7wmh wrote

Is that building site built and attached to the ground or is it something that is on skids and could be moved? I've built potting sheds and shops that were site built but not connected to the earth so they weren't permanent. This kept them from being taxed but I wonder if the HOA might make a distinction.

2

PersephassaThePurple OP t1_itnzyxz wrote

We could try to argue it's mobile/non-permanent which would get us out of the brick but then it isn't permitted to be visible from the street and must be 7.5ft from the fence/house... which we can't work out with a pool in the yard (inground). I was definitely going to try that!

2

[deleted] t1_ititz57 wrote

[removed]

1

PersephassaThePurple OP t1_itiyw62 wrote

Unfortunately we have the president of the HOA on our case who has referenced a "no vinyl " policy in the handbook (which we didn't know of until recently). And he lives two doors down.

I would be a okay with it - we had initially planned for vinyl until the president stopped by. Maybe we will poke around and see if we can find any that are passing enough...

1

Safetycounts t1_itm7dh2 wrote

Try https://www.lowes.com/pl/Brick-veneer-siding-Siding-stone-veneer-Building-supplies/4294684428?view=List or https://www.anticoelements.com/110-chicago-faux-brick-panels or https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09BK5VNS2/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?pd_rd_i=B09BK8FYJX&pd_rd_w=txij4&content-id=amzn1.sym.98eae024-ddf8-4aae-a3d1-746298cd5013&pf_rd_p=98eae024-ddf8-4aae-a3d1-746298cd5013&pf_rd_r=ANDAB08YD1YC34R5WG8G&pd_rd_wg=5yy8q&pd_rd_r=4983292d-de41-458b-bc88-8bd57e395b14&s=miscellaneous&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExMEZFVklMWDIyMjU1JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzA5MDc3M09KVFhXTjNXNzZOMiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNjEzOTU3MzA2NFU2WUJHRTlRRiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbF90aGVtYXRpYyZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1

1

sparkselicious t1_itnv3ik wrote

Sue your HOA it’ll be cheaper and you’ll win.

1

Tek_Freek t1_iuj2qh9 wrote

I have to admit to being gobsmacked that you live in an HOA area and built this without talking to the architectural committee.

1

PersephassaThePurple OP t1_iuj8lxn wrote

Well, what is done is done - all we can do is move forward. We now have approval and have ordered materials - shingle was finished this weekend. This was our first experience with an HOA, we had asked when buying the home for some sort of documentation about guidance here and were told by the realtor and seller that there wasn't any - searching for our HOA returned nothing and the email address we reached out to bounced back.

1

Tek_Freek t1_iuji3hs wrote

Then it's on the HOA not you. The one we moved into in Las Vegas gave out manuals, had an orientation meeting, and a group meeting of all new homeowners. An example of a well run HOA. The woman who runs it emails information constantly to the members - about 12,000 of them.

We no longer live there. We got tired of the landscape (desert), the heat, and the rapidly shrinking Lake Mead. That part of the country is in for a world of hurt - sooner rather than later.

We are moving to another over 55 HOA in Williamsburg, VA. We can hope it's as well run as Sun City Summerlin is.

1

PersephassaThePurple OP t1_iujnnin wrote

Yeah - I think had we (rather, my husband) felt like dealing with it we could have made an argument and taken it to the attorney on base here.

That sounds like a much better run group than this! There are only only 30-40 houses in our neighborhood and I still don't even know who the president is. We have followed up a few times to get added to the "HOA FaceBook" to be made aware of things... but so far that's crickets. We only found out any of it by a neighbor stopping by with a "finalized" copy of the guidance book and asking why we hadn't submitted to the AC.

We have a time clock here of just 2.5 more years, but we will be making sure we do our HOA research before leaping on a house next time around - or avoiding an HOA entirely depending on where we are stationed. Funny you mentioned Summerlin, as that area is one I'm researching for the next relocation. I'll keep Sun City in mind.

1