How to Engrave a Brick

Published: May 29, 2009
Updated: Nov 20, 2021
2 minute read

Things You Will Need

  • Computer
  • Printer
  • Word processor or design program like Photoshop
  • Carbon paper
  • Pencil
  • Protective eyewear
  • Engraving tool with a diamond wheel point tip

Engraving a Brick

  1. Size the image or text you want to engrave to the size of the brick. Use your word processor or design program for this. Most brick is 4 inches tall by 8 inches wide, so you want to size whatever is to be engraved to fit within 3 inches by 7 inches; this will give you at least a 1/2-inch margin all the way around the brick. If you are engraving lettering, larger-sized letters are much easier to engrave (and see) than small letters, and the same is true of images.

  2. Print the design to be engraved once it has been properly sized. Place a piece of carbon paper behind the printout (ink side down).

  3. Place the image printout and carbon paper on the face of the brick you want to engrave. Then, take your pencil and run it over the outline of the design.

  4. Remove the image print out and carbon paper. If you placed them correctly on the brick, you should now have outlines of the image transferred to the brick.

  5. Put on your protective eyewear.

  6. Turn on the engraving tool and start to carve out the design from the brick using the image outlines as your guide. Brick is hard material, so you may have to periodically exchange tips.

The Drip Cap

  • Most companies that engrave bricks use sophisticated and expensive computer-driven laser engraving tools.
  • If you are engraving lettering, larger-sized letters are much easier to engrave (and see) than small letters, and the same is true of images.
  • Place a piece of carbon paper behind the printout (ink side down).
  • Place the image printout and carbon paper on the face of the brick you want to engrave.
Micah Rubenstein

Micah Rubenstein has been writing professionally since 1985. He was the editor of the online publication GrailWorld Magazine, the host and producer of the weekly "Message In Music" radio series and a former professor at Kenyon College in…

Sponsored
HomeSteady Logo

HomeSteady is the ultimate guide for all your household needs, from cleaning and HVAC to electrical, DIY and maintenance.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.