Do Faux Brick Panels Damage the Walls?

Interior

• Interior types of faux brick typically are plastic panels shaped and colored to look like a segment of brick wall. Up close, plastic brick panels fool no one. They are inexpensive, so some people use them to cover interior walls rather than opt for more costly alternatives, such as wood paneling.

Potential Damage

• If the installers only use nails or screws to install plastic brick panels over drywall, you can use joint compound to fill and cover the light damage. If the installers use construction adhesive, the damage might be severe enough to warrant replacing the drywall. Drywall has a delicate paper facing that tears easily. Glue bonds to the paper, so scraping it off results in significant damage.

Solution

• While multiple thick coats of joint compound might hide the damage, chances are blisters will form due to the loose and torn paper facing. In this case, the easiest option is to rip out the old drywall and install fresh boards.

Exterior

• Thin-brick panels are a common type of exterior faux brick. Up close these appear to be normal brick but they actually are steel panels covered with a veneer of brick faces. Workers use screws to mount the steel panels, which have templates that help align the bricks. Workers then use adhesive to mount the thin bricks to the steel panels. Grout fills the spaces between the bricks, completing the illusion. The process is less labor-intensive than real bricklaying and requires less skill, so it is less expensive.

Potential Damage

• Mounting thin-brick panels likely won’t damage your home’s exterior any more than other methods would, such as installing wood shingles or vinyl siding. Also, any exterior covering you choose to replace the faux brick will cover the light damage. For example, multiple screw holes won’t be a problem if you decide to replace your faux brick exterior with concrete stucco.