Creating a Faux Brick Wall with Joint Compound

by admin

 



It always feels good when a particular home improvement project is complete. After finishing the kitchen cabinet painting project, I doubt anything I do from here on will have the same impact on my satisfaction scale. However, the faux brick wall comes pretty close.




This close up of the wall shows how authentic the brick looks.



Here's how I achieved this faux brick wall.

Applied one coat of sealer/primer to the VOG (Vinyl-Over-Gympsum) wall.




Created a template with 3/4" masking tape.





Spread a thin coat of joint compound over the entire template, making sure to leave tabs of the masking tape revealed. This gives something to pull, and then peel off the masking tape. 




Here's what that looks like.





Now the faux brick wall is ready for painting. 




While they were still wet, I painted each individual brick with Folk Art acrylic paints in various colors. Also, after the painted bricks were dry, I went back in with an old table knife and added joint compound between the bricks to give the look of mortar. This is something I haven't seen anyone else do. I'm thinking about painting the "mortar" in a color that gives it more of an aged appearance. Maybe ivory, or pale gray. What do you think?




At the end of this post I've added some Youtube videos that show the process in detail, in case you're interested in learning more about creating a faux brick wall with joint compound.

By the way, the entire cost of this project, including the decorative paints, was about $20.  A definite statement in my kitchen for very little money. And, honestly, this was a pretty easy and fun project.




Hugs,





Youtube faux brick wall videos:



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