Watch this before doing Brick or Masonry

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Huge thanks to our Show sponsors Polywall, Huber, Dorken Delta, Prosoco, Rockwool & Viewrail for helping to make these videos possible! These are all trusted companies that Matt has worked with for years and trusts their products in the homes he builds. We would highly encourage you to check out their websites for more info.

[donna]

My favorite home-building related channel.

[RonaldMedia]

This is how we build in The Netherlands for 90% of the time. So many ways to use brick. All sort of colors and sizes. Really love the look Matt.

[micahdavis]

Matt,
It has been fun following this project. As an architect I really enjoy watching these videos and hearing about the thought process behind the building science. Brick facades have a lot to offer in terms of longevity. The long term window detail that accounts for future changes is my favorite.

[conradswart]

Hi Matt, nice to see your brickwork.
Im a builder from South Africa and we build almost exclusively with brick and in coastal areas like Cape Town we build cavity walls with two skins of brick seperated with about 60mm of air cavity. We wash the mortar out of the cavity every day and we remove every 2nd brick on first exterior course to enable the mortar to be washed out before it sets. After completion we insert a brick again and leave a “weephole” simmilar to your brillo stuff but just a cleaned out “perp” the same size as vertical mortar bit. If mortar lands on brick ties it creates a moisture path to inside.
We only now realizing the importance of insulation although its not taken too seriously yet. The weather not as cold as by you but with rising energy bills its becoming an issue.
I love your attention to detail. Our building standards are no where near yours. Its mainly cause its not enforced and theres no barrier to entry of unskilled contractors which is sad as qualified builders have to compete with the cheaper rates of the fly by nights, giving our industry a bad name.
Anyway keep up your good work and informative video’s.
Regards Conrad, Johannesburg, Ebcon Construction

[sweetkellymay]

Matt's family in their super insulted house .. "Dad, it's a little chilly in here.." Matt.. "I guess it's time to light the candle.."

[rkalla]

At this point I feel like Matt's house is like R-239 and capable of sustaining life on Mars.

[ILikeFreedomYo]

As a mason I can appreciate the extra detail you put in there. I'm especially impressed by that massive air gap The only things I would add are deepening those ties and putting a 1/4" deep and wide cut under those sill brick as a drip edge to prevent premature mortar wear. Especially since your lime washing. You don't want water running down the brick making the finish wear inconsistent under those windows.

[johnfitzpatrick]

G, day Matt from Sydney, Australia.
* Australia standards
* first course of brick, remove every fourth and clean out mortar at each 4ft.
* more slope on still brick
* weep hole (perpend) at least one every 4ft on the lintel.
* 3/8 control joint at least every 6m

Thanks 🌏🇭🇲

[m]

The attention to detail is really amazing on these builds!

[MrTedflick]

Matt, you really pissed off a lot of bricklayers with this video. Good Lord! I love the channel though. Would love to hear you make another video with regard to the comments you got on this one.

[Ryan-oygi]

Matt, I hate to be “that guy, ” but the masonry ties must be embedded at least 1-1/2” into the depth of the veneer in order to meet code and this video clearly shows the mason installing ties that are barely touching the back edge of the veneer (check out the 4:50 mark in this video). That whole wall fails to meet code and those ties aren’t doing any work. Code issues on this project aside, I’d be careful about showing something so wrong in a video titled as if it should be a how-to reference for others.

[kevinbrewer]

I'm thinking about getting back into the Masonry field. A lot of people have been having a hard time finding quality job.

[shakejones]

Great explanation+presentation! Thank you for sharing! Well done mate 🙏🏻

[otakumagnet]

As a cabinetmaker and carpenter I cannot express my appreciation for doing things correctly and taking it a step further. So few owners are willing to do anything that increases time or manpower. Taking a few minutes to do it 'right' makes all the difference later. Fewer callbacks and happy customers mean more to me than saving 20 minutes per man per day.

[fckjg]

Hate to say this, your brick layers trained themselves. There is no way a skilled mason would allow such a poor job.

[barryhogan]

Irish& uk bricklayers are losing their minds watching these butchers not bricklayers

[rossmcleod]

Lime wash over the brick is a great idea. Helps pump moisture out of the brick and looks fantastic.

[zippydoodah]

I have to stop watching, as a retired UK bricklayer this is horrendous bye

[Bricky-gslp]

When looking for a quality brick mason look for a union contractor. If you notice Matt used a high dollar brick tie but when installed the tie into the brick lays less than an inch into the joint. Masonry standards call for the tie to come out 1 inch from the face of the brick. The way these are installed they will hold nothing. Also he uses all the proper flashing except at one crucial area, the window sill. There should be a flashing under the rowlock sill that is tied into the flashing that was installed before the window. Any moisture leaking at the window sill will then be diverted out to the front of the wall. Weep ropes should also be installed on the flashing to aid in the movement of water. I have seen the vents he used on the bottom of the wall cut in half and put into the joints of the rowlock. As far as the rowlock goes the masonry institute of America does not recommend its use as a wall topping or for sills. Limestone sills seal out moisture better and look better and in the end makes for a better product. Believe me rowlock will leak. The lintel at the top of the window should also have a metal drip edge and flashing covering the lintel and continuing to the building wall or in this case the insulation board. Any moisture getting into the wall cavity will then be diverted to the face of the wall. Vents and weeps should be used hear also. On the electrical boxes use a piece of plastic conduit from the back of the box and thru the wall. The conduit can be sealed to the wall and would allow for installation of the wire later. Also the toothings in the brick at the end of the wall will show up for years to come. Toothing should be avoided. Untrained bricklayers use them to gain speed but it is not the proper way to install brick. Also safety is always a concern on a construction site and using only one board as a walk board when on the scaffold is not safe and it is not approved by OSHA.
I like this channel and Matt does a really good job of building a house. I am a retired union bricklayer with over 40 years in the trade and i was taught by one of the most particular bricklayers you could meet. He taught me well and I like things to be done correctly. No cutting corners. Take pride in your work and you will always have something to be proud of. Don't just do it for the dollar. The old timers were artists and that needs to be carried on into the futute.

[JohnWeland]

Matt, I really hope there will be a final walk through before y'all move in and get comfortable. Been following this project for what feels like forever. Awesome job man.