Removing Brick Fronts

Brick fronts are created by attaching thin brick veneer onto a surface, creating the illusion of thick solid bricks without having to pay the price or use the expertise of bricklayers for the veneer placement. This veneer can last for decades with little maintenance but the material is not as strong as it would appear. Removal of a brick front is laborious but not very difficult. With a chisel and mallet you can break the brick front away, clearing the surface beneath for whatever alternate covering you desire, from siding to tiles to a new layer of veneer.

Safety goggles
Work gloves
Chisel
3-pound sledge
Wire brush
Water hose

Instructions

- 1
  Put on a pair of safety goggles and work gloves as protection from brick shards.
- 2
  Position the chisel tip onto the mortar surrounding one of the brick veneer pieces in the center of the surface along the top row of the bricks.
- 3
  Strike the head of the chisel with a sledgehammer, using a light to moderate amount of force in order to place a crack through the mortar in the joints that surround the piece of veneer, loosening the brick. Start with light tapping on the mortar, increasing in force until you find the right amount needed to make the break cleanly and then proceed with that amount of force for the remainder of the brick front.
- 4
  Remove the loosened piece of veneer with a prybar and then move onto another brick on the facing, repeating the process with the chisel and mallet. Clear the bricks from the top row to the bottom, breaking through the surrounding mortar and then pulling each from the subsurface.
- 5
  Go over the subsurface with a wire brush to remove any remnants of the mortar used to hold the bricks in place. If the mortar won’t scrape away, then use the chisel and mallet to break it into pieces that will.
- 6
  Rinse off the surface with water using a hose to remove any mortar residue, and then allow the subsurface to dry.

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