Castle Gate Thin Brick Singles - Corners (Box of 25) - 7.625 in. x 2.25 in. (5.5 lin. ft.)

This met and exceeded our expectations for a brick veneer. We used the ship to home option and all boxes arrived in great condition, although we weren't expecting it to arrive in a tractor-trailer! Installation was simple - we were installing it over an old chimney with brick that wasn't suitable for exposure - and we faced the chimney with OSB glued and screwed to the old brick then applied the brick with construction adhesive and 3/8" spacers. After pointing, the finished product looks great and we'll be using it in another room as we move through the house.

Easy to install (like tile). They look completely like full bricks after mortared. I had no damaged bricks in the 3 containers that I used (1 corner and 2 flat).

It’s exactly what I expect. And very easy to put in my kitchen wall. I’m so happy with this corner bricks.

Well packaged, no broken pieces. This real brick looks great.

The veneers arrived all intact. They install like regular brick (I used hardy board and thin set mortar). They look great!

Still waiting on samples of Rushmore and Promontory to arrive. It is difficult to tell how the bricks will look in a space based on online photos. I really wish they had samples in store. I ordered Little Cottonwood, and felt the variation in color lacked - it almost appeared purple in daylight. My second order was Castle Gate, which had much more variation in color, and more character. The Little Cottonwood had very straight edges, and the Castle Gate was more round/rugged/authentic. I personally prefer the Castle Gate round edges and wondered if this difference was on purpose to fit the style of each brick? I’ve attached a photo of both Castle Gate

The bricks are great and they go up easily. I did 3 sides of a wall so had two corners. The bricks go up easily with the tile mastic. To keep the lines straight I ripped 1/2 in. strips of wood that were longer than the wall (4 ft.) and set them on to of each layer of bricks. At about 8 or 10 layers I began taking off the wood strip and moving it up. I took off all wood strips within 30 minutes of putting on the bricks. Also cut the strips into shorter lengths as spacers between the bricks. This part of the project was easy and fun. The grouting was not fun at all! These bricks are old and porous! I knew that and sprayed a low luster sealer on them before I started. It absorbed and so did any speck of grout. I grouted with mortar mix using a "cake batter bag" which was grueling because the the grout kept falling out if I didn't place it perfectly and my hands were ready to lock up after squeezing the bag for 30 or 40 minutes. I learned how to make the grout stay and make the mix thinner so it flowed better by trial and error. Once the grout was in place I used a brick mortar tool to smooth it and give it that real brick wall look. Afterward I smoothed it with a dry paint brush. The problem with this method was the grout smeared all over the bricks. Thinking that I could wipe it off easily due to the sealer I didn't worry about it and wiped the wall off when I was at a stopping point about half way up the front wall. It looked clean when i stopped but the porous bricks had absorbed the grout and when it dried there was a gray film all over the the bricks that would NOT come off! I tried scrubbing with a bristle brush with dish soap, then laundry soap which was recommended on line. This helped a bit. But still looked dull. (I didn't use acid as this was an inside project.) I even tried simple green which did nothing. I got a better sealer and rubbed it carefully into each brick. Again it dried exactly the same. Finally I tried WD-40 - yes oil. I sprayed it in a bowl and rubbed it carefully into each brick with a rag being careful to avoid the grout. This worked and restored the original color. And it dried flat without any sheen. Whew. For the other sections i switched to a 3/8 inch tuck pointing tool that I cut to about 2 1/2 to 3 inches. After sealing the bricks multiple times I grouted with the bag and smoothed with the tuck pointing tool until the grout was in every spot it needed to be. If any touched a brick I wiped it off immediately. Once the grout was in place I smoothed with the paint brush. The brush is essential as it smooths all the lines and works the grout into the tight corners. It also spreads the grout onto the bricks. Again as soon as I noticed any grout on a brick I wiped it off with a clean section of the rag. This took substantially longer than using the brick tool but resulted in a clean wall that didn't need anything afterward. The front wall grout is different on the top than on the bottom but it is minor and no one has noticed. The sides were both done carefully with the tuck point tool. Over all we are very pleased with the way the wall came out. It really looks like an old chimney which is what we were trying to achieve in our house that dates from the 1880s.

They look amazing! I have received so many compliments.

We used this in our kitchen, 2 walls, a backsplash and some flooring. It looks amazing. Really gives character and warmth. We ordered over 500 pieces. Arrived on a pallet. Seriously guys, not one broken piece. Also, super cheap compared to stone store in town. Thumbs up!

I really liked the product color and quality. Unfortunately, two bricks were broken and I would have contacted HD regarding this but, fortunately, we were able to finish the project without needing the two broken bricks so I dropped the issue. I love how my kitchen island turned out with these bricks.