It is wavy and uneven. Exacerbated by perhaps too light a grout

More important? It was a BAD Idea , sorry to say. Too much, and unless you describe a plan for..... what's happening there? I'd rip it off, repair with drywall. Just not a good concept, sorry. Is this a first floor or a lower level. Rather hope the latter.

It is wavy in some areas but I really like it!! I wanted to do this as an accent wall as well!

The less contrast there is between the grout and the tile the better it’ll look—maybe. However, you shouldn’t have to do anything to camouflage professionally installed work. If it were me, I’d insist it be redone...by somebody who knows what he’s doing! So that means you need to be reimbursed for not only the money spent on this job, but the money it’ll take to put the wall back in its original condition. Unfortunately, your contract and the laws regarding this type of situation might require that you give this doofus a chance to fix it first.

There is a better way to install thin brick by using a metal grid system onto which you set the bricks. They are perfectly even and level.

Here's a link to the website of Brick-It, a company that uses this system:

https://brickit.com/systems

I had them install reclaimed brick in my home, and it came out great!

The verticals are off, the brick is really nice and it almost looks OK. Not sure if the warped wavy look would be obvious if this was a gallery wall with big and small framed art or posters to interrupt the brick pattern. You could test it by taping up sheets of paper or newspaper and taking a pic.

The spacing is between bricks is decent, but the rest of the workmanship is mediocre. You've got both vertical and horizontal waviness, and you've also got those different-sized partial pieces along the top. There's enough waviness that it almost looks like the wall is moving or out of kilter or settling. I know that that is just an optical effect, but it's disconcerting. I'm also not convinced that a faux brick wall works in a small space like that. If it were my house, I'd reluctantly conclude that it was a sub-optimal design decision, tear it out, and put up sheetrock. You probably paid a bit to have this done, but I'd suggest that you eat the cost: it's better to fix it now than be distracted by it whenever you walk into the room.

I agree with Judy. Get your furniture and any artwork in place and I'll bet the waviness will become much less obvious. Right now it sticks out because there's nothing else to look at in the space.

I'd be very unhappy with that job. I don't think any "fool-the-eye" trick could take my mind off it!

I really like the imperfect look and agree that it will look great once furnished!

Put shelving there & don't make it a focal area.

wow. you paid your contractor to do this wall? does he not own a laser level? or even a level?

sorry, unacceptable. (unless you were going for the hand-placed, one brick at a time look).

you should not have to 'camouflage' anything that you just paid to have professionally done.

Don't be mousy and be afraid to him out on this. It's your money. This could have easily been avoided if the guy followed level lines. He didn't. It's either a redo or a refund. your choice

and I disagree about, 'oh just get your furnishings in and it will look great'. How do we even know what the furnishings are or what look she is going for?

If you look is a shabby chic, messy sort of rustic look, then I guess it could work. (I'd prob paint it all white though)

If you're looking for more of classic or a modern type of look, then no, the wavy look will not work.

I think darkening the grout might get you 60% of the way there, and putting the room together might get you the rest of the way. Just depends on how much you know that tiny details keep bothering you...

I disagree with "it's either a redo or a refund". There ARE other options, as has been clearly expressed.

@IdaClaire why wouldn't she ask for a refund? People hire professionals because they want quality work done. It looks like this contractor didn't even use a level.

IdaClaire,,of course there ARE options. You are completely missing the point. She paid to have the wall done. Should she resort to the options because they were done crooked and wonky? Why? If I'm paying someone to install bricks on a wall, then why can't I have them done in a straight line? Do you see my point?

If she bought the house and the wall was already like this, then fine. Resort to the options. But she didn't.

If the wall was done for free by a friend or family member, fine. Resort to options. But it wasn't.

So I still stand by statement, 'either a redo or a refund' . It's either done correctly, or it's not.

If OP wants to accept and pay for poor workmanship and resort to 'options', that's her choice. It wouldn't be mine.

That is pretty wavy. Depending on the look you’re going for, I think you could mask it with an overfilled grout technique....

oh yes. make sure to have the same contractor do the grout technique. lol. for free.

IMO exposed brick walls are rarely perfect so if that is the illusion you wanted you got it IMO fake exposed brick will always be fake IMO leave darken the grout and start working on furnishing the room it will fade into the background and if you are planning a wash that will help.

I'm most assuredly not missing the point. Certainly she's entitled to ask for a refund. I assume she's not "mousy", but is likely astute enough to know how to handle the business end of this, whatever that entailed. She asked if it's possible to mask the wavy look and others have suggested ways to do just that. Perhaps a couple of you have missed the points that others have helpfully made. There's more than one way to handle this, and obviously some here like the look of this wall. We have no idea what the payment arrangement was for this job and it's really none of our business.

Beth, it was rude of you to mock the excellent idea above about the grout. I don't understand why some of our pros sometimes act so ungraciously.

I like that the wall looks imperfect. It brings to mind rooms that are added on in older homes, loft spaces, etc. Character. :)

Good ideas here on decorating it. I like what nidnay posted ... I think it would look amazing.

Please update us with what you decide! I love brick and stone walls in rooms.

How in the world does someone--even an amateur homeowner--not snap chalk lines to guide them or at least step back every few courses to check and measure? Sheesh!

OP, Google for images of old brick walls. There are many depictions of wonderful old walls that remind me very much of yours. I think yours is actually quite lovely, in keeping with the look that is aged and a little on the imperfect side. If it were my wall, I'd try embracing it as intentional. I do think you can make it work beautifully.

And Judy's example is perfect.

Nothing wrong with “fake” brick accent walls inside the house :) The bricks now are beautifully made, cost as much or more than full thickness brick without the weight & bulk.

We did this in a basement along a long concrete block wall separating the garage from the living space. This is a tight hallway leading to a stair, the solid block wall was unsightly, there was not room for a 3-5/8” brick wall, the 1/2“ brick worked out great, looks and feels exactly like the exterior brick on the house:

the bricks are 1/2” thick, very well made and go directly on the wall on similar to tile.

Elsewhere in the basement there was a huge central mass of exposed concrete block foundation supporting 3 masonry fireplaces with no room for full thickness brick because of the 36” door clearance. Where there are exposed outside corners the bricks are corner pieces shaped like an L to turn the corner to look real.

Before grout

before thin brick:

Where this chimney mass is exposed on the bathroom side we did not want brick, so furred out the wall and put drywall. That took up more space than doing thin brick.

I had planned to “art gallery” both walls and put up halogen spots, so far they just highlight the brick walls.

When I have lived in some East Coast areas (Boston, Jersey City, etc.) with exposed brick, it's seldom perfect and I was completely ok with that. Maybe diff b/c I inherited the brick and didn't install myself, but I don't think it's terrible.

Right now the imperfections are the only thing you can focus on because there is nothing else to view. You can always adjust the color and the mortar later, try setting up the room and see if it continues to be an issue.

The visual problem I have with all the waviness is that it’s new construction, which is different from old buildings with exposed brick where the brick is a real and integral part of the structure and imperfection is common and natural-looking.

If you look closely at the areas that appear to be wavy, you can see that the installer needed to adjust placement at times because the bricks aren't all the same size and shape. Attempting to place in a perfectly straight line would sometimes mean the top of one brick could hit the bottom of a brick above it, due to size and shape differences. I think it looks fine and definitely more authentic than the 1970s, fake brick paneling in which every "brick" was exactly the same. I guess some people prefer that. I don't.

I know Bethie loves me....we are buds :)

You could embrace the imperfection as long as you don't think it will bother you every time you look at it, mask it somewhat with a mortar wash (assuming you like that look), AND ask for a discount on the work. Installing brick with wavy lines isn't in the same category as installing wallpaper in the wrong room. I've seen uneven brick work plenty of times and there's a certain charm to it in older homes, though for a new installation I would expect the lines to be straight.

We just had the exterior foundation walls in our basement rec room and kitchenette area bricked using thin brick and I love it. As others have noted, thin brick is fabricated from the same material as full-sized brick, so when installed and piped it's indistinguishable from thicker brick and doesn't look fake. Myrica4 your brick feature walls turned out beautifully!

Hope the OP will chime in with an update.

Just rip down the brick wallpaper. It isn’t used in a way that is realistic.

It isn't wallpaper, it's authentic thin brick.

In the right places, exposed brick looks right and uneven installation can be overlooked. Unfortunately with the small soffit at the top of the wall, the effect just does not work

It’s used as wallpaper. Inauthentic. It’s obviously a fake thin brick covering. It might as well have been wallpaper. That would have been straighter and easier to clean.

No two bricks are alike. I really had to strain to see what the problem was. Still don’t really see it. Bricks are not perfectly straight and even. Therefore, the rows will not be perfectly straight and even.

Let's not attack the brick wall itself. We use building materials (or faux ones) in a decorative function all
the time. That's the reason we even have the word "veneer". Not everybody has to like it.

I think the wall looks good in spite of--and perhaps because of--its quirkiness and would not whitewash it (almost always
yucky).

What did you have in mind when you decided on this, Kaw? If you didn't want the "Interesting Old Brick Wall" look,
then you need to tone it down or have it redone. And yeah, it could
definitely have been installed better.

(I realize that sometimes it is not worth the effort to have a fight with a contractor over a bad installation, even if they are totally wrong and we are totally right. And sometimes even if all parties agree a redo would be better, it makes more sense to work with what has already been done.)

Shady- Even if no two bricks are alike, a skilled installer (or mason, if it’s real brick) would make adjustments in the spacing so that that clear pattern of waviness would not occur. What was done was to install the brick veneer with a rather regular spacing without regard to the variation in size, and the lack of adjustment causes that visual pattern which ripples across the wall.

I love it. I think it will look absolutely fine once you get furniture in there.

Thanks all for the input and perspective. We told our contractor today we are unhappy with the installation and he agreed it was not good. He will redo. We also plan to grout and use a mortar wash to lightly distress. While I am definitely going for the imperfect look, I believe theres a difference between a distressed style and sloppy installation. Thanks again!

Great, kaw, it's very nice to hear that your contractor is amenable to change it, and that you came back to let us know the outcome.

Post photos when you're done.

kaw-

Great to hear, and thanks for the update.

Love distress, show us when done on this same page.