A Review of our Brick Flooring – One Year Later
Almost exactly a year ago we installed the brick flooring in the mudroom, laundry room, and half bathroom. When we installed it I knew I loved the look, but had no idea how it would actually function and hold up in real life. Would it be easy to clean? Catch all the dirt? Can you mop it? Will it hurt to walk on with bare feet? Will it stain easily? Adam and I didn’t know the answers to any of these questions, but we decided to install it anyway and see how it went.
Evidentally a lot of you have the same questions, because a few times a week I get messages and emails asking how we like the brick floor. Now that we have lived with it for a while I can answer those questions, so let’s dive in and see if this is something you want to do in your home.
If you had to do it again, would you choose a brick floor?
So, would we do it again?! The answer is easy…HECK YES. Not only does the floor look amazing, but the maintenance is a breeze. No regrets.
How hard is it to clean? Can you mop a brick floor?
Our brick floor gets really dirty. The mudroom is the entrance our family uses the most, and with a few acres of land and four boys dirt is constantly getting tracked in. The floor, since it is uneven, catches everything. This means that there is consistently loose dirt and debris in the grout lines, but it also means that the floors in the rest of the house stay cleaner than they did before we installed the floor. (I also really recommend our rug, it works great and has held up well.)
The good news is that it sweeps up easily. I remove the rug and sweep it maybe once a week (and our Roomba runs over it daily) and the floor looks brand new. So far none of the mud, grime, or spills have stained the floor, and I give the sealer we used all the credit.
This sealer works incredibly well….without the sealer I’m not sure I would be writing the same review. Liquids and grime stay on the surface, and mopping it is no problem at all. Even the bathroom and around the toilet is unscathed…and things happen in there (if you’ve ever potty trained boys you know what I mean). I plan to reseal the entire brick floor soon, because I don’t want to take my chances with it wearing off. This sealer goes on really well (like water) and reapplying every so often should be a quick chore. Also, the sealer is truly matte, it has no shine whatsoever. I wanted my brick to look naked but be well protected, and that is exactly what we got.
What products do you use to mop/deep clean brick flooring?
Mostly, I just use a broom. But when it feels like it needs something deeper, I mop it with a warm water and vinegar mix. I don’t really measure, I just add some water to the laundry room sink and add a splash of vinegar (maybe a cup of vinegar to a gallon of water?) Vinegar is a great cleaning solution, plus it is crazy cheap. For tougher grime you may need to use a toothbrush, which I only had to do once…when one of my boys broke an entire jar of applesauce on the floor, and I didn’t discover how far the splatter traveled until it had dried all up in the grout. Fun.
Does the brick floor stain? Chip?
Like I said above, there has been so staining whatsoever. As far as chipping, I can’t be confident in saying that it hasn’t. The brick pavers had plenty of chips before installation, so I wouldn’t even notice if it did chip. I can tell you that if you drop something delicate in it (like, say, a jar of applesauce) the item is way more likely to break than the floor.
How does it feel on your feet?
As far as how it feels on your feet, we have no complaints. Obviously walking on a plush carpet is much nicer, but the bricks certainly don’t hurt. I also get asked if the unevenness ever causes us to trip, but it doesn’t. If you are putting a similar brick floor in a highly used space (like the kitchen) I would definitely recommend a rug or something soft in your main work area.
So that about does it! If I missed anything or you have additional questions, please put them in the comments!
Click here to read the original post about installing the brick floor
And here is a source list for the materials we used –
It’s Lovely…Millie…
Thank you for the awesome review. I love the look and warm colors of the brick and it goes great in the mud room.
One of the reasons I love your blog so much is that you do followup posts like this! The floor looks lovely and you’ve given us all a detailed “what to expect” description of how it wears and how to maintain it. Thank you. If a house full of young kids isn’t the ultimate wear-test, I don’t know what is. :)
Thank you! I think the follow up is as important (if not more important) than the initial post, and I agree that my house is a very good tester of all the things, haha. I have a long list of things to follow up on too, so there is more to come!
After long time, It is quite different type blog and interesting.
Great blog, the floor looks great. Curious what thickness the brick were? We’re brick manufacturers and make a similar product but don’t know what thickness is the most popular. Right now 3/8″ is but people order 1/2″ a lot too.
We will be doing a floor just like this, except with a darker grout. The light grout looks amazing but we did our upstairs bathroom with a light grout and I find it always looks dirty. Maybe I will try your highly recommended sealer. Thanks for the review!
You’ve done an incredible job! A brick mason is impressed. Excellent technique
Love the brick floors!! Would it be difficult or annoying for a wheelchair to roll over these?
How does the brick do with your washer and dryer? I worry about the uneven brick messing with the way they sit?
I love the rustic look and feel of a brick floor. I do like to clean my tile floors with a steam mop, it is faster than a regular mop and gets cleaner. Costs a bit more though. Thanks for the inspiration, and will consider using bricks instead of tiles when we extend our house.
I live in Boston, MA and would love to put brick flooring in my kitchen. I was wondering if your feet get cold with the brick? Absolutely love the floor and shiplap!
I am CRAZY in love with this floor! We are building a farmhouse on 32 acres and I expect a lot of dirt to be tracked in. At 63 and 71 years of age, my husband and I are definitely insane for doing this, but you only live once, right? I also expect I will be less and less interested in cleaning as tine goes on. I’ve always wanted a brick floor and I think you may have convinced me to pull the trigger. Question about your Roomba-I had the first model that ever came out, years and years ago. It was useless. It just threw the dirt and small debris all over the floor. I am assuming they have improved the product because I hear a lot of people talking about them (or a different brand). Would you say yours performs well? I sure would love to have one if they really work. Thanks for the beautiful peak at your gorgeous floors!
This is AMAZING! I’ve been looking for a tutorial for laying herringbone brick. Is it hard to lay? How much space did you leave between each brick? I have so many question! ????❤️ Did you happen to do a tutorial for laying it? Thank you!
Dude! We used the same brick on our builtins accent wall and I was super impressed with the quality. We’re planning on using it for an accent wall around our kitchen banquette… Rainman may kill me because it’s sort of a pain to install on the wall. PS, I adore the herringbone!
The brick floor looks great after a year! It sure adds a lot of character.
Love your floors! Quick question. Did you seal you brick before grouting or after?
I put two coats of sealer on it after it was grouted.
There are pros and cons of brick flooring, but one thing I like most brick is a highly durable material that is not easily damaged by the rigours of a busy household and if properly place it adds visual warmth, texture, color and eye-catching pattern all at once. This is a great blog post for those who want to get inspired to install the brick floor themselves.
Did you pipe the grout or use a tool to scrape excess off.
I think i’m going to do this in my mud room, only problems is my washer and dryer are in there too. Good info, thanks for posting!
Wondering if you think the brick veneer could also be applied on an outdoor porch ?
(in cold weather by the way….. I’m in Canada / Toronto area)
Would like to use this on front and rear porches which are both covered….. floor is poured concrete right now…. haven’t decided about using brick as you’ve done or just go with more common Flagstone.
Thanks,
Keith
So very helpful! Thank you for the review – we are considering this flooring as an entry to our home.
Nice brick floor. I like it. Can you tell me, please how much money have you spent on it?
These are so perfect and you answered my every question throughly! Great job!
I love this! Thank you. I have been wanting to cover my patio flooring with this design and you just gave me a ton of great info. Thank you!!
About what size are the grout lines between the brick? Thanks!
Does your washer and dryer sit evenly on the brick or wobble like an uneven table? I just ordered Cafe Mocha and Castle Gate samples from Home Depot and am really considering this for our mud/laundry room. Thanks for all the detailed info!
This is awesome! We have put brick flooring in two of our houses now. We also love the natural matte finish. We have a great dane and it makes walking around the house so much easier on his legs. :) I recently was looking for another sealer, because its about that time. I’m excited to try this one.
I just want to thank you for taking the time to follow up and write this! I have always wanted brick floors in my home and we are renovating our new home after losing our old house to a fire last year. I have had so many people try to talk me into porcelain tile that looks like brick because “it’ll be easier to clean” but none of them look or feel like brick. I’m going to just do what my heart is telling me and install the brick in our back hall/entry, mud room and our main entry like I had planned. Also, thank you for sharing the information for your sealer because my husband and I have gone round and round with each other about what to use to seal it that won’t change the look! We have three boys and the idea of the brick knocking the sand and dirt off before they hit the wood sounds amazing! Thank you for your honest review! Its very helpful! So glad you love your brick! It looks beautiful!
Lots of great information here, thank you! We are about to install brick in our new kitchen. The only purchase we have left is the grout. Hopefully we can decide on a color. Living in a 1980S cabin where EVERYTHING IS WOOD, it’s a bit much. We’re leaving all of the wood natural on the ceiling, but we’re painting the walls to brighten it up and changing the floor on the main floor to brick. I’m hoping it looks great! Should be a great contrast with everything else.
Larkin
Hi there! Did you put grout all over the bricks or just the grout area? I see some of the pourous areas are filled in.
The grout was smeared over the entire surface and then wiped off the bricks. You can see photos here – https://wildfireinteriors.com/brick-paver-floor/
Great article! It offers a helpful review of brick flooring after a year and practical insights into durability, maintenance, and overall satisfaction. Thank you for sharing your experience in simple, easy-to-understand language, making it an informative read for anyone considering brick flooring for their space.
I so love this look! We want to do something similar in our laundry room. We have a stackable washer/dryer. Do you have any balance issues due to the unevenness of the brick floor?
The feet on the bottom of your washer and dryer should be adjustable, so even if the brick is uneven, you can easily level it out that way.
I’ve been wanting a brick floor for forever but have been hesitant. This is super helpful, thank you!