How to Lay an Indoor Brick Wall

Prepare the wall. Cover drywall or a wood wall with a waterproof membrane fastened with a construction stapler. Install metal lath over drywall or a wood wall. Fasten it to studs in the wall with 1 1/4-inch shingle nails hammered every 6 inches or with an air stapler. Make sure there is a sturdy base at the bottom of the wall, preferably concrete.

Design a pattern for the bricks. Lay them with either 2-inch or 4-inch faces out on an interior wall in a bond pattern, with joints between bricks overlapped or varying horizontal and vertical rows. Snap a chalk line as a guide to keep the wall straight. Mix mortar in a large container. Start laying bricks at one bottom corner. Using a mason's trowel, "butter" the first brick with mortar on the bottom edge, back and end. Set the brick in place.

Add other bricks, making sure to press them firmly into the metal lath backing and to keep them level and straight. Check with a level every few bricks. Work across and up the wall in a triangular pattern. Keep the mortar fresh, and if it starts to dry out and get crumbly, discard it and mix a fresh batch. Don't use too much water to thin it, as this will weaken it.

Finish the joints between bricks with a metal finishing tool, which has a convex end and a flat end. Press it into the mortar joints to form them into a concave shape or a flat shape with the flat end. Do this before the mortar sets. On a long wall, finish the joints every few courses of brick so the mortar does not dry. Dampen the tool with water if mortar starts to dry.