Thin Brick Exceeding Expectations

At the beginning of this project I was thinking I'd use whatever they liked. My expectations were modest. Even after seeing the corner pieces I was slow to warm to the thin brick.
 



After first appearing a washed out looking grey to me, I was surprised to see it begin to take on a rich nutty brown even before pointing. 
                                                   

Back-cutting and          
notching allow the 
corners to wrap
deeper into the
fire box.
 

   Once the ends had wrapped
a full brick thickness beyond the face, their apparent lack of support was spoiling the effect.
                                                                          

The face now supported strongly by a hearth that seems to have always run half a brick deep into the wall, seems quite solid.

The "Ironworks" (thin brick) came from Alabama Brick Delivery and will be pointed with Argos Lite Beige mortar and                                                            struck concave.

                       
While checking the copy above last night I noticed that I had stumbled the running bond-ness of my last minute under pin. Duh? I got embarrassed and reverted the post to a draft till I could correct it and update the picture. 

Instead, today when I arrived the plan had changed again. Apparently the corner pieces made the front too wide for the already purchased mantle. Once the corner pieces had been cleaned, beveled, and installed in the fire box opening, the under pins didn't seem to matter much anymore.

   
Oh well, "Keep moving forward". I've cleared the firebox opening, set the ledger bridge in place and I'm set to top out and point up tomorrow. Woo-Hoo!

                                On the next to the                                        last cut I finally tried  
                               out the nippers for a cut.
                               First a squeeze on one                                    edge then a harder one                                  on the other side. My                                    last cuts were neat and                                  quiet. 

 Even without the corner wrap around pieces the under-lap faux  foundation sells the face bricks as bricks that have plastered ends. Oy, whatta look!

                               
Still not dry enough to reveal its final color, it's already selling the brick look with it's concave struck joints.  The deeply back beveled corner bricks look like the ends of bricks. Each one had to be trimmed as well as back beveled because of the sharply angled sides of the firebox.

  
This 33 or so square feet of thin brick would have taken about an hour to grout. It took 3 hours to point and strike. I don't know if I'd do it again, but I like the look.