How to add studs to a brick wall

[Sara Johnson]

Hi folks! My husband and I are in the middle of gutting and remodeling one of the bathrooms in our 1917 brick triplex in Chicago. The tub/shower sits along the exterior brick wall. Unfortunately the original setup was not waterproofed very well so we ended up removing the studs from that wall because they were all rotted out. Does anyone have any experience in furring up a brick wall for durock? We are thinking either construction adhesive on the wood with penny nails hammered through into the mortar to hold the boards place while the adhesive is curing, or to drill Tapcon masonry screws through the boards and into the brick while being really careful not to over-torque and bust out the brick... We don't have much experience with brick and would love any and all advice you have on this. Pictures added for reference (don't worry we plan on reframing the shower wall once we get new copper plumbing in, but first we need the studs in so we know where the bathtub will sit)