How to Lay Brick Flooring for Home Interior

Brick floors hold up well in hot or wet rooms.

Brick floors hold up well in hot or wet rooms.

When kitchens used large, wood-burning fireplaces or wood stoves to cook, the floors and hearth areas were typically covered in brick. Besides being durable, brick is also fire-resistant, keeping falling embers or popping wood from setting the house on fire. Today, brick floors are used to create an Old World, cozy feel in any home.


Unless you're planning to cover all the floors in your home with brick, brick pavers are a better option. They are usually 1/4-inch thick, which makes it easier for you to transition from the brick floor to other flooring in your home, such as carpet or hardwood. True brick on the floor raises the level by several inches, making transitions difficult. Brick pavers are the same material as regular-sized brick, only made shallower for easier floor installation.

Floor Preparation

Laying bricks is similar to laying ceramic tile on your floor. One of the differences is that bricks are usually smaller than floor tiles, which are often at least 12 by 12 inches square. The smaller size of the bricks makes them more susceptible to laying unevenly over floor imperfections. Level the floor as much as possible by sanding away glue or residue ridges and tapping nails flush with the subfloor surface. For a highly uneven surface, place an underlayment, such as plywood or cement board, over the subfloor.


Before purchasing your pavers, calculate the square footage of the rooms where you want to lay the brick floors. Measure the length and width of each room, then multiply those numbers together. For a 10-by-10-foot room, the square footage is 100. Add the square footage of all the rooms together for your total square feet. Check the coverage chart on the box of brick pavers to see how many square feet the box covers. The chart usually offers multiple grout size options, so choose how wide your grout lines should be. Many manufacturers offer online calculators to help you determine how much you need before you leave for the home improvement store.

Installing the Pavers

Just like with ceramic tile, you should start laying your pavers in the center of the room. Divide the length and width measurements in half, then snap chalk lines where you measure the centers of each side to be. Start laying your pavers in one of the corners where the lines meet. Spread the mortar on the back of the paver with a notched trowel and place it on the floor, pressing slightly. Create even rows with the pavers, cutting the end pieces to fit with a wet saw. Plastic spacers can help you keep the grout lines even.

Grouting and Sealing

Grouting bricks is easy but messy. For thick grout lines, use a trowel to scoop grout into the lines. On smaller grout lines, use a grout float to fill the lines. Both methods leave excess grout on top of the bricks, which you can remove with several swipes of a damp sponge. When the grout has dried overnight, you can seal the brick and grout to keep the porous materials from soaking up spills and staining. Choose between penetrating sealers, which need to be applied every few years but maintain the natural look of the brick, or polyurethane, which coats the outside of the brick with a shiny finish.

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