Bricks!

[malcolm]

I need to choose bricks for the garage. We've got a nice 1800 to 1850ish brick barn that has very nice bricks and I'd like to copy it, but I can't seem to find any nice brown/ yellow/ pink/ red mixes (even handmade) that wouldn't look better on a cardboard executive house.

This is what I am trying to replicate. The yellow and pink mix with red roof looks lovely in the sunshine.

I'm looking at building the garage on 9 inch solid brick walls. I found some hand made bricks from a company that went bust that looked like a good match but test data has been lost and the structural engineer whose favourite words were underpinning, damp injection and steel posts wanted test data for the bricks. I have invited another structural engineer a week on Wednesday to see if they all talk like that.

Still, need to choose bricks for the garage and have another try at submitting the damned form from the council to try to discharge some conditions.

Here is the Victorian part of the house the garage will be closest to. I'll need to remove the paint as the bricks are spalling badly and might just keep it in brick if the powers that be allow.

Any ideas for brick suppliers or colour schemes most appreciated.

I have no idea how any of you can do conservation. My current idea for a gulley to lower ground levels at the side of the house will cost £250 for the guy with the digger and £2000 for the archaeologist to watch while the soakaway is dug out. I can only work on the organising side of things for an hour before I get too stressed to go any further. Thank goodness I'm not listed. I'd just watch the place rot.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Ironic isn't it, since we live in a county which was renowned for its brick making at Stewartby!!!
I believe there is a reclaim chap in Harlington and there is a reclaim yard at Salford (nr MK) and you could try asking Mark Legg who runs the Ampthill Antiques Emporium, Bedford Street Ampthill-- he may know somebody. However, there must be somewhere over your way, towards Hitchin for example.

 

[Penners]

If you can't find the bricks that you're looking for in a reclamation yard, you could consider having them made specially.

Here's one handmade brick maker that I know of, but I dare say there will be others closer to you:-

http://www.bulmerbrickandtile.co.uk/

 

[Penners]

brick making at Stewartby

Stewartby has now, of course, been roofed over to make an enormous Amazon Warehouse.

 

[malcolm]

I don't think I can use reclaimed bricks as they won't have the certificate of strength numbers. Then again I've yet to find a brick that is less strong than a concrete block. Perhaps I should wait until the new structural engineer visits.

It's just possible I'm being too fussy. In the past they seem to have used anything they had to hand and not attempted to match. They probably only look nice to me because they have weathered for a hundred years and mine are likely to start off new.

These are the ones I like but no certification - http://www.reclaimedbrickyard.co.uk/products/new-bricks/new-imperial-multi-s.htm

 

[stuart45]

If you google Freshfield Lane bricks you may find something. Sussex stocks like those and West Hoathly's were similar to your's, depending on the batch.
Matching bricks is usually a difficult task, as you can't always tell till they are in the wall.

 

[MatthewC]

I don't think I can use reclaimed bricks as they won't have the certificate of strength numbers.

I must be missing something - why are you so worried about certification re reclaimed bricks if you are building a garage (presumably single storey)? My local reclamation yard sells and stocks thousands - and the mixture of the old textures (and colours if you choose) is what I think makes such a wall look good.

Also, how come you need an archaeologist if you're not listed? Are you in a conservation area?

 

[malcolm]

Only explanation I can think of is the world has gone completely mad. Garage needs building regs because it is on the boundary for reasons of space to fit such a large folly. I like steep pitched roofs and the garage has storage in the roof. Apparently that means it needs a structural engineer who wants brick strength to cover his back. On the plus side it looks like a lot of the reclaimed bricks actually do come with this information.

Archaeologist is more difficult to understand. It's a conservation area and there was a dig next door (2m away) when they started the new build. They found 0.5m rubble and then a dark bit of soil which they thought might have been some ancient trench but weren't sure. Wasn't anything in it. Looking at another £4000 archaeology if I want a garage and a soakaway. I'm surprised at how much budget all the bureaucracy eats up and I'm still months away from being allowed to start doing anything. I've re-planned the work in phases to allow it to stop when I run out of money.

I reckon the bricks on my barn are London Yellow Multi Stock. There was an awful attempt to recreate that look on the other side of the building in the '60s. Fortunately we have more choices of bricks available now.

 

[Penners]

it needs a structural engineer who wants brick strength to cover his back.

Dear Mr Structural Engineer - It's a garage FCOL! If the Romans could build the Trier Basilica of Constantine out of brick (presumably without a single brick strength certificate) in the 4th century, then I imagine Malcolm could stand a fighting chance of building a wee garage without it crumbling to dust.

Give me strength... :roll: :roll: :roll:

 

[Flyfisher]

Ah, but did they have 'no win, no fee' ambulance-chasing lawyers in the 4th century? :roll:

 

[malcolm]

I'm not sure the Romans had liability lawyers. Foundation for the garage will need a 400mm reinforced concrete raft to support a small Renault. Inside the house to move a 9 inch brick pillar (with no brick certs) one brick to the right will involve underpinning, several steel beams, and oddly an additional 12 inch pillar. I'm going for a second opinion from a structural engineer more comfortable with older buildings.

 

[Penners]

I'm going for a second opinion from a structural engineer more comfortable with older buildings.

Good thinking!

 

[Feltwell]

Who's insisting on the archaeologist?

I've built a large garage here with a mixture of reclaimed bricks, no nonsense about brick strength or structural engineers, and all done correctly with PP & Building regs - admittedly I'm not in a conservation area. It's within 1m of the edge of my plot. Building Regs chap wanted to see drawings for the floor beams (it's got a suspended floor) and the roof trusses, all provided no problem or charge by the suppliers, that was it.

Bricks took quite a while to source and have weathered in nicely now, pictures above & below were taken shortly after it was built. My house has a higher quality brick on it's front face, and a cheaper quality brick for the side & rear. The garage was built in the same way - bricks for the front face were from one demolished building only and are a good match for the front of the house, the bricks on the side & rear are a mixture of 3 different types yard in order to get as close as I could to the side & rear of the house. Not a great match but they don't argue and the variety of colours breaks the monotony of the wall up, especially the rear gable end which is very tall as the garage is built on a slope.

 

[Feltwell]

Just a thought - are you building your garage with a cavity wall? If you do, then it's the inside blocks that are structural and take the weight of the roof - the bricks on the outside just keep the weather out. Plus you guarantee a nice dry garage.

Thermalite blocks are incredibly soft & lightweight, yet it's these that are the inner leaf of my garage walls and that are supporting the weight of that large roof! They're plenty strong enough in compression so long as the load is spread, which it is by the wall plate.

 

[malcolm]

That looks really nice. I like the brick mix and the different bricks on the front and the whole thing looks good quality like they did in the old days. I wonder if different bricks on the front of mine would help complement the house from the front and the barn from the rear. Hadn't thought of that at all.

Archaeologist is one of the 20 planning conditions from the council.

Who made your roof tiles? They look alright.

I had hoped to build from 9 inch brick. It's a tricky space and the garage isn't really big enough to work on cars. I could go for brick or concrete on the boundary and brick or timber elsewhere but wall thickness has always been an issue. It might not be worth building at all but I need to send details before I can get on with the other stuff.

 

[Feltwell]

Your wall thickness won't increase much for a cavity. My walls are about 11" thick in total, the cavity can be kept narrow at 2" or so, so you'll only lose 4" of garage space. It would solve your brick strength problem and probably save you some money - you'll use a lot less bricks, and blocks are cheap.

You can make it look like a 9" wall from the outside by cutting the bricks, if you look at mine above that's what I did.

Reclaimed bricks are just a case of searching around - prices can vary a lot so do shop around. I got mine from a yard about 50 miles away in the end, and paid an extra £300 to get them delivered on an artic with a rear-mounted forklift. I had so many though that it needed a full-size artic due to the weight, and the forklift was invaluable to get them right up my drive. A rigid vehicle with a hiab and brick grab for a smaller load that could be dropped at the kerbside would be cheaper.

The roof tiles are a mixture, mostly Rosemarys and Dreadnoughts. Came from Ebay, transported direct from a house that was being demolished.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Stewartby has now, of course, been roofed over to make an enormous Amazon Warehouse.

Amazon warehouse is nearer to Ridgmont , however 3 kiln chimneys remain on the now disused Stewartby site, and a wind turbine has recently appeared in the Marston Vale nature reserve , so the sky line, now being free from the plumes of smoke at brick kiln firing times,--- looks quite interesting!!

 

[LadyArowana]

Stewartby has now, of course, been roofed over to make an enormous Amazon Warehouse.

Amazon warehouse is nearer to Ridgmont , however 3 kiln chimneys remain on the now disused Stewartby site, and a wind turbine has recently appeared in the Marston Vale nature reserve , so the sky line, now being free from the plumes of smoke at brick kiln firing times,--- looks quite interesting!!

A warehouse full of large warrior women and some renewable energy, what could go wrong :lol:

I like wind turbines, never understand why people are so opposed to them, other than the bird shredding aspect I suppose

 

[malcolm]

A concrete block wall with brick facing would solve a host of problems. Thanks Feltwell, I'll look at that. I'll see if I can get away with putting "Reclaimed London Yellow Multi Stock to match existing barn" on the planning conditions application.

 

[Penners]

Building Regs chap wanted to see drawings for the floor beams (it's got a suspended floor)

Presumably you're talking about a suspended floor to create a roof room, Feltwell, and not a suspended floor at ground level?