Thin Brick: An Industry Game Changer

Words: Scott McGillivray

Clay thin brick may be the single most versatile product currently on the market in the building materials industry. If you haven’t yet dabbled with installing it, give it a try! Not only is thin brick great for the DIY’er, but it is a smart selection for masons and contractors. Thin brick, sometimes called thin veneer, is a lightweight alternative to traditional full-bed brick. It is made by slicing genuine clay full bricks into thinner units, typically ranging from 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick. Because it is made from the exact same materials, it retains the aesthetic and practical appeal of traditional brick but is easier to handle, install, and transport due to its reduced weight. It can be installed in places where a full bed cannot, and it generally can be installed faster. It is becoming increasingly easy to access both in-store and online, and it offers some environmental benefits through its use of less material. Thin really is “in.”

This has made thin brick very popular among content creators who have begun to partner with masonry retailers to promote certain lines of thin brick. There, they install the product, document the process, and encourage other DIY’ers to try their hands at an install. These creators range from lesser-known, local personalities such as Krissy at @homewithkrissy on Instagram who installed thin brick on a wall in her basement entertaining space in a single weekend, to well-known TV personalities such as Scott McGillivray, who has been showing viewers at home how to install thin brick in areas around their home such as floors, accent walls, and fireplace buildouts in some of his recent TV episodes.

Installs Everywhere, Changes Everything
Because it is lighter, thin brick can go where full-bed brick cannot—anywhere from floor to ceiling is fair game.
Thin brick is increasingly being used as flooring material, especially in high-traffic areas of a home or business. Valyssa at @sunsetsistersandsweettea on Instagram recently partnered with the Brick Industry Association to promote her use of thin brick on her mudroom floor. “These floors are easy to clean, don’t show dirt/mud at all and are beautiful to look at,” she wrote in her sponsored Instagram post. “They are also so very durable, which was another must for our farmhouse.”
Beyond the appealing DIY-friendly nature of thin brick, this product is also a wonderful tool with which a skilled mason can showcase their skills and creativity. Multiple manufacturers within the industry have been approached by customers with a unique vision for thin brick. The Brick Industry Association’s website highlights one customer’s home kitchen that used Old Brick Originals by General Shale to create a barreled brick ceiling with intricate herringbone patterns outlined by soldier coursing.

Available In-Store and Online
Unlike full-bed brick, thin brick is readily available to DIY’ers and trades professionals alike, whether you prefer to shop at a manufacturer’s direct location, big box stores such as Lowes or Home Depot, or online from the comfort of your home. Many of these options offer same-day pickup, so you can begin work on your project anytime you want. Want to bring some color to a project while still getting all the durability of clay brick? Summitville Tile now offers glazed thin brick in various bright, artistic colors. The options are nearly limitless.

Faster Than Ever Before
For contractors installing thin brick in large quantities, many systems exist that are intended to speed up installation time and allow multiple bricks to be adhered to at once. For example, Old Mill Building Products offers Brickwebb, which is a system of thin brick pre-adhered to mesh sheets. The main sheets consist of roughly 12 thin bricks per sheet, and the corner sheets hold roughly eight brick corners.

These sheets come pre-designed in both running bond and herringbone patterns to speed up any project. General Shale also sees the need to emphasize innovation in this category and is committed to creating new tools to make your install easier and faster on the job site.

Natural Products, Environmentally Conscious
The brick industry as a whole is committed to sustainability, and clay brick is truly one of the most environmentally conscious building materials available. Originating as the very dirt beneath our feet, clay brick is manufactured through a process that has minimal impact on the earth. The General Shale mine sites used to source the raw material initially are reclaimed after mining to be returned to a similar or better state than they were before mining began. Plus, the longevity and recyclability of brick result in very low net energy consumption across the brick’s lifecycle.

Taking Back Wall Share
Thin brick is also beneficial for the brick and masonry industry, as it offers a whole new opportunity to take back wall share from inferior cladding materials such as vinyl and fiber cement. Thin brick is perfect for re-cladding homes that previously used those materials. For example, General Shale partnered with a young family in Jonesborough, TN, to reclad their hail-damaged vinyl home with thin brick after an unexpected storm. Due to its lightweight nature, thin brick is suitable for almost any home’s structure and proved to be the perfect solution to repair this damaged home.

Changing the Game
Thin brick really is a game changer in the building materials industry, offering unmatched versatility, ease of installation, and aesthetic appeal. Its ease of use makes it accessible to DIY’ers and professionals alike, enabling innovative applications in both residential and commercial spaces. Now widely available both in stores and online, thin brick can easily be applied in large quantities through several innovative installation systems. No matter the style or size of a project, thin brick caters to a variety of tastes and project needs, while also promoting sustainability by using fewer resources and reducing waste. Whether you're re-cladding a home, designing a statement floor, or tackling a creative project, thin brick proves that “thin is in”—delivering style, durability, and efficiency in one innovative package.

Thin Brick: An Industry Game Changer

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