How Have Our Brick Floors Held Up? A Complete Review Of Our Indoor & Outdoor Brick Floors
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Ever since we installed brick on our porch and laundry room floors in our Nebraska house, the comments, questions, and concerns about their durability, longevity with cold winters, and overall feel underfoot have been rolling in. “How have the brick floors held up?” is the most common question I receive. And while we have since moved from the house where we installed the bricks, I can share how they performed for the 1 1/2 years that we lived with them.
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Our bricks are made by Old Mill Brick in the color Rushmore and we purchased them through Home Depot. For the outdoor porch, we used their Brickwebb product which has 12 bricks glued to a mesh sheet for easier installation. For the laundry room, we used individual thin bricks.
How Have The Bricks Held Up Outdoors On The Porch?
The bricks are made from genuine kiln-fired clay brick and are designed to last. Coming directly from the Old Mill Brick website:
“[Old Mill Brick] uses authentic kiln-fired clay brick, which is inherently durable and known for its long-lasting qualities. The kiln-firing process strengthens the brick, making it resistant to wear and tear. The materials used in Brickwebb are resistant to extreme temperature fluctuations. This makes it suitable for areas that experience significant seasonal temperature variations. Brickwebb’s use of genuine kiln-fired clay brick ensures its resistance to various outdoor elements. Whether it’s rain, snow, UV rays, or fluctuating temperatures, the materials used in Brickwebb are built to withstand these challenges.”
Where we lived, we experienced extreme seasons, and within each season we experienced extreme temperature swings. In the year that we had our outdoor brick, temperatures dropped to -20°F in the winter with intermittent snow. In spring, temperatures fluctuated from 80° to 30° within a 3 day span. And in summer, temperatures reached 95° regularly.
Despite all the extreme temperatures, we didn’t have a single issue with the bricks. No cracks or chips, and no bricks came loose.
How Have The Brick Floors Held Up In The Laundry Room?
The main question I receive about the durability of the bricks in our laundry room is whether or not they crack. We used our laundry room/mudroom heavily and not a single brick cracked after installation. We even rolled our heavy washtower over the bricks during the renovation and I was nervous it would cause damage, but no bricks cracked or chipped.
How To Prevent The Bricks From Cracking
Because these are genuine kiln-fired clay bricks, they are inherently durable. Meanwhile, faux bricks made of cement are more susceptible to cracks.
That being said, improper preparation and installation could cause issues. For example, for floor installation, if there are air bubbles in the mortar under the brick, the brick could crack due to an unstable base. Additionally, for flooring applications, Old Mill Brick only recommends installing their brick on a cement or wood base. If installed properly, you shouldn’t have any issues with cracks.
Follow Old Mill Brick’s installation guides to ensure proper installation! See a detailed installation guide here and a quick overview on installing brick floors here.
How Do The Bricks Feel Underfoot?
The brick style and grout application will play a major role in how they feel underfoot. For example, some bricks from Old Mill have tumbled edges with rounded corners and others are cut straight. Some are more porous with holes and others are smoother. As for grout, you can overgrout so that it’s level with the top of the brick or the grout can be slightly dipped leaving an indent between bricks.
Our bricks are tumbled and porous with a slightly dipped grout line. The bricks themselves feel raw with somewhat of a sandy feel. The indented grout lines were what I noticed the most underfoot. While I wouldn’t say it was uncomfortable to walk on, I wouldn’t enjoy walking on it barefoot a lot. A laundry room, mudroom, and sunroom are perfect spaces for these floors, but a kitchen or main living area would be tiring.
That being said, if we had done a higher grout line that was level with the top of the brick, that would’ve improved the feel underfoot.
How Do You Clean The Brick?
For our indoor brick, I simply vacuumed the floors and it did the job well. You could also sweep, but it can require more effort. I wouldn’t say I particularly enjoyed cleaning them because the large grout dips made vacuuming slightly annoying. But I didn’t dislike it enough never to use the product again. In the 1 1/2 years that we had the floors, I think I mopped once…maybe twice. It’s a grippy surface so mopping isn’t as easy as traditional tile, but it’s certainly not a hard task.
For the porch, the brick really didn’t need cleaning. Rain washed away most dirt that accumulated from shoes and an occasional hose down kept the brick looking pristine. The grout color we chose on the other hand was high maintenance. The cream grout stained from wet leaves and left yellow spots. I scrubbed the grout with soapy water several times but the sun was the most successful stain removal.
Any other questions I missed? Ask them in the comment section below!
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Thank you so much on your update about your brick floors. Your blog and videos on social media are very helpful and informative. I can’t thank you enough. Keep up the great work.
I’m thrilled to hear that! Thank you Nicole! 🙂