The manufacturer of the decorative product will have install directions available. You need to follow them to the letter, including any possibility of an iron lintel that may be needed for brick veneer.

As to sealer, brick shouldn't be sealed. If you are looking to make it easier to clean, then choose something else as your material. It's rough texture will always be difficult to clean.

Thank you Green Designs......

Already thought through the cleaning issues, but thanks for your concern.
Brick can very well be sealed.

Looking to see if someone would share their experience on this matter if they have tackled this kind of project, getting the methods/products they used and how it turned out.

Thanks.

I'd use mastic before thinset. That actually should be in the manuf. instructions. Mastic sticks better/faster than thinset.

The manufacturer's instructions should be followed if you want any type of warranty to be in effect.

And while you can seal brick, it very often causes a lot more problems than it prevents.

I got these bricks from a friend, no warranty. If I bought from a manufacturer I would definitely follow the instructions, but I don't have any.

I am very curious and want to learn about the problems that sealing brick can cause. I do want to make a well informed decision.
Much/all of the issues I have read about concerning sealing brick had to do with exterior installations where moisture got into the brick.

If you would....
Please share the problems you are referring to so I can understand this.

Thanks.

First, is it real brick---sliced off regular bricks? Or a man made product?

It is possible to Google both to find general instructions on use/sealing/etc.

Sealing external bricks eliminates the natural ability of the brick to transfer moisture and often traps moisture inside the bricks---leading to early problems.

Sealing interior brick is usually not as much of a problem.

If the brick is real brick, use mortar. If it is man made, a sanded grout or mortar might be used. The filler materialm is less important indoors.

Thank you.

Yes, it is real brick. 1/2" thick slices.

I did Google this subject several times but was getting all the sealing information for exterior bricks and I understand that view very well.

Thank you very much.

That is the general direction I was thinking but as I am no expert I was looking for some more information.

I Googled 'Sealing interior brick' and got lots of hits.

The best explanation out of the first several is below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sealing interior brick

I take great exception to the advice posted at that link. Who on earth would put a topical acrylic sealer on brick? "Getting it shiny"???? Really? Shiny brick? Yech! The whole point of brick is it's a matte textural surface with integral color variations. You don't want to mess with what makes it actually attractive by making it look like fake 1970's "brick".

If you must seal brick, then use an impregnating sealer, like you would use on marble or granite. Miracle 911 comes to mind. Impregnating sealers won't peel off a few years down the road like a topical one can. It won't change the surface, and it won't make it easier to clean anything that gets into the texture. That's not what a sealer does. It prevents stains from penetrating into the porous surface. It has zero to do with topical dirt finding it's way into crevices in the texture. That will happen with any rough textured wall cladding, and if you just have to accept that's part of choosing that surface.

As far as applying to the wall, it will depend on what type of product that you have. "Brick veneer" is a term that covers a wide variety of material. It can be a full depth brick that needs a brick ledge and brick ties in order to be applied. It can be sawn half brick which also needs a foundation to support the weight as well as mortar and brick ties. It can be super thin brick, that is applied like tile with thinset to a cement board or lathe and scratchcoat substrate.

I'm sure that the person who gave you the brick can tell you what brand they might be so that you can look up the manufacturer on the net and find out their recommendations.

Thanks for the information.

The bricks were sliced by a friend at 1/2" thick. Real bricks.

No installation instructions, the only brand that could be tied to these is friend.

Definitely not going to use anything that would disrupt the matte finish.