How to Install Brick Veneer Around a Wood Stove

Layer the installation surface with felt paper. Work from the bottom up, so the top pieces overlap the bottom. Cut them to fit with the utility knife and tack them on with a hammer tacker. Cut pieces of wire mesh to fit the same area and install the pieces in a similar fashion. Ensure the angle of the mesh is upwards so it “cups” the mud and molds it in place on the wall.

Mix up some mortar in the wheelbarrow with the shovel and use the flat side of your trowel to push the mortar into the wire mesh all the way up around the stove. You can simply cover the wire mesh with enough to encase the mesh in mortar and then smooth it off with the flat side of the trowel, or you can cover everything in around a half inch of mortar, let it sit for half an hour, then comb it with a notched trowel. Let this coat set for 24 hours.

Prepare fresh mortar in your wheelbarrow. Cover the back of each individual piece of veneer. Press them against the wire mesh and scratch coat of mortar from the day before. Work up from the bottom and stack the pieces. Use spacers in between the pieces. Cut pieces around the wood stove by striking them with the chiseled edge of the mason hammer. Let the installation dry for at least 12 to 24 hours.

Remove the spacers from the installation. Mix up some new mortar and fill your grout bag. Insert the tip into a joint between veneers and squeeze the bag to fill the joint. Let it sit for an hour and then run a grout jointer tool over the joints so that they contour to a uniform depth.