Glue for Brick

To be able glue to brick requires a brick adhesive. There are lots of different adhesives available so what is the best brick adhesive? We’ll explain why Adiseal adhesive & sealant is the best brick adhesive for sticking different items to brick including wood to brick, metal to brick, stone to brick & plastic to brick. It is suitable for both interior applications as well as an exterior brick adhesive.

Which adhesive to use on brick

Many different adhesives are able to glue to brick but might not provide the best bond. A product needs to adhere well to both the brick and other item. If it’s being used outside then it needs to stay flexible, UV resistant & waterproof. To achieve a strong long lasting bond, the correct brick adhesive needs to be used.

Why Adiseal is the best adhesive on brick

Some of the reasons why Adiseal adhesive & sealant is the best product to glue to brick include:

• Adiseal is the record breaking strongest adhesive & sealant. It proved it’s the best in an independent adhesive strength test by Ultimate Handyman.
• Adiseal stays permanently flexible so it will absorb any vibration and allow any items to expand & contract without the construction adhesive becoming weak.
• Adiseal is waterproof so it is also suitable for use outside. It works in dry, wet & even underwater.
• As long as the surface is clean of any dust, grease, paint or any other dirt, priming the material should not be required.
• It does not stain or bleed into stone or masonry.
• Adiseal has very high gap fill properties.
• Has high initial grab meaning temporary supports may not be required while the construction adhesive cures. Adiseal Hi-Grab has even higher grab than the standard product, see below for details.
• With Adiseal, the concrete does not require sealing prior to applying Adiseal.

In the independent adhesive strength test by Ultimate Handyman, Adiseal was over 3 times stronger than the nearest competitor. In fact it was so strong that the screws holding the test rig down started to rip out forcing the test on Adiseal to be stopped.

Instant Grab

Adiseal adhesive & sealant has high initial grab but for even more grab use the Adiseal Hi-Grab adhesive. The final bond strength of both construction adhesives is similar. In the example below we have demonstrated the initial grab of the adhesive on brick and wet brick.

The Adiseal Hi-Grab product is useful when you don’t have time to use temporary supports. Items stuck to a vertical surface are likely to slide down the surface until the adhesive dries. With the Hi-Grab construction adhesive, the grab is instant, eliminating the need for temporary supports. This can save time and labour costs.

Whee there is no need for an extra high instant grab adhesive, the standard Adiseal adhesive & sealant product is recommended for bonding applications. The reason for this is because the Hi-Grab product is a very thick product so requires a lot higher force to push the items close together.

Problems with epoxy adhesives on brick

Although it would be possible to stick something to brick with an epoxy adhesive, it won’t provide the best long lasting bond. Some of the problems of epoxy on brick include:

• Epoxy adhesives are not flexible meaning the bond will become weaker over time. Air temperature & moisture changes cause items to expand & contract putting extra forces on an adhesive. If the adhesive is not flexible it will become weak & brittle, then eventually break. Wind can also put force on the adhesive and cause cracks making it weaker over time.
• Epoxy adhesives also come in 2 separate components which require mixing. To achieve optimum epoxy adhesive properties, the 2 components need to be the correct ratio therefore require careful measuring. They also need to be mixed thoroughly together. If these 2 are not done then the optimum properties of the epoxy may not be achieved.
• Epoxy adhesives have lower initial grab than Adiseal, meaning temporary supports will usually be required whilst the epoxy adhesive cures. This increases time & money with extra labour cost.

Problems with mastic adhesives on brick

Just like epoxy adhesives, mastic adhesives can also glue on brick but won’t provide the best long lasting bond. Some of the problems of mastic adhesives include:

• Mastic provide a weak initial bond in the first place. A mastic adhesive might be suitable at sticking light items indoors but will fail at more heavy duty applications.
• Another problem with mastic adhesives are they are not waterproof. This means they are not suitable for use where they might be exposed to water.
• Mastic adhesives are not flexible meaning the already weak bond will become even weaker over time. As explained above this can happen due to temperature changes, moisture changes, vibration and wind.
• Mastic adhesives also have a low initial grab. Temporary supports will be required until the adhesives dries. This increases time & labour cost.

Problems with contact adhesives on brick

It’s possible to bond light sheet materials with a contact adhesive but it won’t be suitable for more heavy duty applications. Other problems with contact adhesives include:

• Temporary supports will more likely be required as contact adhesives have low initial grab.
• Where the surface is not even, there will be gaps between the 2 materials that require bonding. As contact adhesives do not have good gap fill properties, they will not be able to fill the gap. This will leave places where there is no adhesive between the two materials. As a result the bond will be weak.
• As bricks are porous, they will require sealing first so that it does not soak up any contact adhesive before the adhesive dries.

How to attach wood to brick

Adiseal will successfully attach different types of wood to brick. It will create a strong & long lasting bond in both interior & exterior applications.

Wood can soak up moisture in the air and expand and contract. For this reason a flexible adhesive like Adiseal is recommended to glue brick to wood.

For safety reasons when attaching extra heavy wood in vertical & overhead applications, mechanical fixings should also be used between the wood and brick in conjunction with Adiseal.

How to attach metal to brick

To stick metal to brick, Adiseal will provide a very strong, long lasting, flexible & waterproof bond. To get the strongest bond, it is vital to have clean surfaces where the adhesive will be applied to.

Oil can be applied to some metals to stop them from rusting. To get a good bond, this oil needs to be removed first before applying the adhesive. Adisolve is ideal at removing oil, grease, tar & many other stubborn deposits.

Scratching the surface of the metal can help an adhesive stick to metal better. If the surface of the metal is scratched then clean it to remove any lose debris.

Follow steps 1 to 4 as shown above.

For safety reasons on extra heavy metal items, mechanical fixings also need to be used between metal to brick in conjunction with Adiseal when used to bond items to vertical & overhead applications.

How to stick plastic to brick

Adiseal is suitable to glue most types of plastic to brick. As with metal, clean the plastic thoroughly to make sure any dust, oil, grease, paint or any other dirt is removed before applying the adhesive. Scratching the surface of the plastic will increase the surface area increasing the strength of the bond between plastic & brick.

Follow steps 1 to 4 as shown above.

Adiseal is also suitable when used to glue artificial grass to brick.

How to bond stone, tile, masonry, ceramic & concrete to brick

To stick these items to brick, follow the steps as shown above. As heavy items are more likely to slide away, temporary supports are more likely required than when trying to stick lighter items. The Adiseal Hi-Grab adhesive might be more suitable if you want to avoid using temporary supports.

Adiseal will successfully stick marble, granite, travertine & slate to brick as well as many other types of stones.

For safety reasons on extra heavy stone, brick, tile or other masonry items, mechanical fixings also need to be used in conjunction with Adiseal when used on to bond items to vertical & overhead applications.

Glue for brick

It is also possible to glue to brick using our Adiglue product. Although Adiglue is less brittle than super glues, it is still not as flexible or strong as Adiseal construction adhesive & construction sealant.

To demonstrate the strength of Adiglue on brick, we have stuck bricks together and also MDF wood as well. The bricks & MDF required sealing first with Adiglue Activator so that it does not soak up the Adiglue.

Glue to brick other items with Adiseal

Exterior brick adhesive

When trying to stick something to brick in exterior applications, this requires an exterior brick adhesive. Adiseal is an ideal exterior brick adhesive. It remains flexible, UV resistant & waterproof.

Tip: When using an exterior brick adhesive where there will be chance of water running behind the item, it’s recommended to apply the exterior brick adhesive in thin vertical strips. This allows any water to run down instead of building up on top of the adhesive. In cold temperatures, this water can freeze and expand. This can place additional pressure on the exterior brick adhesive.

Visit our detailed guide on adhesives for more information on adhesives.

Frequently Asked Questions