Installing metal lathe on a brick chimney

How to install metal lathe around a brick chimney. To start, we pressure washed the brick to remove any loose mortar, moss and debris that would inhibit the mortar from sticking. On this job we removed the top of the chimney and capped it off with a stepping stone. Used 2 ft x 8 ft sections of metal lathe and anchored it with 1-1/4 HardieBacker screws directly into the grout joints. Applying screws approximately 8 inches apart. Prefit your lathe and bend it to conform to the chimney corners, make any cuts as necessary. Start fastening lathe on outside edge starting from the middle and work up and down that edge and then pull tight around the corner adding additional fasteners in the same way. Depending on your span you may need to add additional fasteners in between. Even though this fireplace is only 16 in by 16 in I still applied fasteners in between. After completing one side of the lathe on the lower section I continued on the opposite side before working on the upper section. I had replaced areas that had deteriorated mortar joints with fresh mortar to make sure screws would adhere. Make sure grout has had a few days to cure before attempting screwing into grout otherwise the grout may just pull out.
Please leave comments if you have any further questions on installing metal lathe.