Source of reclaimed bricks

[paulb33]

Hi All,

Looking for 400 reclaimed imperial bricks for my chimney stacks. Likely orange / dark orange pressed reds. 11.5mm x 23.5mm x 73mm.

I'm prepared to travel nationally from South Wales, with a sample brick, to find a close match. Of course, I'd prefer just the one long trip….. So, where might be the best stocked yard in the UK to head for?

All recommendations very much welcome.

Thanks again.

Paul

 

[skier-hughes]

By me, South Staffs, there is a small yard, rayson reclamation, has quite a few bricks, very good prices, and if you send Glyn a picture and sizes he'll let you know if he has anything,
http://www.raysonreclamation.com/

Or thousands of bricks, prices are ok, don't know how good their email [picture service is as never used it.
http://www.cawardenreclaim.co.uk/

I shop at both.

 

[Feltwell]

Paul,

Due to the cost of transport bricks tended to be produced reasonably locally - to a certain extent they still are - so if you want reclaim I'd start with your local yards. By Victorian / Edwardian times the cost of transporting bricks had obviously come down with the railways, but it's still likely that your original bricks come from within 50 miles or so of where you are, providing suitable clay was available. If you're in South Wales then coal wouldn't have been a problem! Does your sample brick have a makers mark on the frog?

If you're struggling to find suitable reclaim, don't rule out new bricks. Some makers, like Furness, can do a good job of matching some originals.

http://www.furnessbrick.co.uk/

 

[paulb33]

Paul,

Due to the cost of transport bricks tended to be produced reasonably locally - to a certain extent they still are - so if you want reclaim I'd start with your local yards.

Points well made, Feltwell. Problem is, the bricks are very different to the local bricks. The owner/builder/architect was active nationally, well travelled (his wife was Swiss) and his materials were quite atypical for this area. I'm quickly finding that finding the right colour AND size is difficult. So, I may be headed down the custom made route…

Paul

 

[plasticpigeon]

What size are they. There is a nice yard near me that sells bricks 50p each and has odd sized eg 3 1/8" (same as on front of my house). I'm sure there will be some about. you could also try demolition companies.

 

[Feltwell]

Sounds like you might struggle. Have you any idea where the bricks came from originally? It's rare to have no maker's mark on a brick made that late.

Skier-Hughes lives fairly close to me, I've also used both those yards and would recommend them, Cawarden in particular has lots of bricks but I've always found them to be bl@@dy expensive! Good choice though. Failing that, hunt through Salvo - but for bricks, they're not always advertised, it can just be a case of trawling round the yards.

If you can come up with which brickworks they came from originally it would be a good start. When I did my garage, I spent ages hunting for the bricks. The bricks for the front - same as the front of the house - were made by "Dennis Ruabon", there were several Victorian brickworks in the Ruabon area all using the same seam of clay, a trawl round some yards local to there quickly turned up some that whilst they were made by a different company were a very good match. The lower quality bricks used for the side and back of my house were from a very local brickworks and were a nightmare to match, they varied in colour so much - I ended up using a blend of 3 different types from a Stoke-on-Trent salvage yard and they're still not a great match.

One final idea if you're **really** desperate - have you got any garden walls made from the same bricks? Would you be prepared to sacrifice them and then rebuild them in a similar colour but different size brick?

 

[paulb33]

Sounds like you might struggle. Have you any idea where the bricks came from originally? It's rare to have no maker's mark on a brick made that late.

One final idea if you're **really** desperate - have you got any garden walls made from the same bricks? Would you be prepared to sacrifice them and then rebuild them in a similar colour but different size brick?

All good ideas. No garden walls or outbuildings, sadly. But, I found one brick lying in the garden. See photo. Its badly weathered. The house bricks have a smooth, hard surface, which this one now lacks. Unfortunately, there's no maker's mark.

I think its just a case of matching it to salvage yard stock. Happily, the stacks are separated from the main brickwork by a limestone plinth and they're also offset. This makes precise matching less important (I'm hoping)….

 

[MatthewC]

The yard I use is Burgess Reclamation (http://www.burgessreclamation.co.uk/) and they have lots of types of Imperial bricks so send then your pics and see.

 

[paulb33]

The yard I use is Burgess Reclamation (http://www.burgessreclamation.co.uk/) and they have lots of types of Imperial bricks so send then your pics and see.

Thanks Matthew!

 

[Feltwell]

In the pictures those bricks look quite different - the lone sample brick looks very orange, whereas the wall looks far more mottled and pale. The perils of digital photography and then viewing the pictures on a monitor!

However - if your bricks are as orange as the lone sample, then I have definitely seen bricks very similar to that a while ago and I *think* it was at Cawarden.

 

[Keith Bowman]

They look a bit like semi-engineering bricks to my untrained eye: the hard, slightly shiny surface and the multiple holes in the lone sample (which could just be a random imported sport and not the same as the existing stacks) are similar to what I get sold as semi-engineering down here in Suffolk.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Those bricks are very yellowy orange, not like the red colour used round where I live. I've seen houses built of similar coloured bricks in Warwickshire near where I work. I'm certain you will find some, you just need to be tenacious. Make sure you get the right size too, I didn't realise mine were 3 1/8" at first I just assumed they were 3"! Is that a black cement???

 

[paulb33]

The kitchen spots make it look v orange. I've posted photos to various yards today, hoping to get something 'near enough'.

Yes, its a black cement I believe.

Keith: I can see bricks with the multiple holes in the base of the capped stack. It was this that connected me to the brick in the garden and not others lying around from various other sources (including a demolished greenhouse footing).

( Odd how I'm focused on this fun stuff on the scaffold…..and not the rot I uncovered in the roof timbers yesterday. :shock: )

Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[Feltwell]

Yes, its a black cement I believe.

I wouldn't be so sure. My pointing looks like that - we had to knock down an rebuild a badly leaning garden wall that was in the same mortar, and it was definitely lime, it was far too soft for cement. Taking the wall down revealed that the mortar had lumps of white lime in it.

How it was made I don't know - I'm guessing soot or coal dust must have been an ingredient. I've tried, admittedly not very hard, to find out how it can be matched in a lime mix, so far I've had no success.

 

[stuart45]

Black Ash mortar was common in that area, being a mining district. Tends to rot the ties in cavity walls.

 

[88v8]

Ronson Reclaim are pretty good on bricks
http://ronsonreclaim.com/bricks-2/

Nr Gloucester.
Not cheap. The owner is sometimes known as Robber Ron.

Ivor

 

[paulb33]

First yard back suggested these Hull Wire Cut bricks. 50p each plus VAT.

They seem to match well, but look possibly too chipped. "Well, they're reclaimed bricks..." was the yard's reply. Fair enough point, I suppose. :?

 

[Feltwell]

The one you've shown looks in pretty good condition, you'd be surprised what they look like when they're up. You do need to budget for 10%-20% rejection with reclaimed bricks though.

To give you an idea of a finished product, this is part of my garage wall, built 2 years ago with reclaimed common bricks that I would say were generally slightly worse condition than the one you've pictured.



Clearly on a chimney you'll see even less of the fine detail of the finished job!

 

[paulb33]

looks nice! And, I see what you mean. Its just my bricks have clean, sharp edges… Perhaps I'm being fussy..

 

[plasticpigeon]

Carry on looking, I'm sure you'll find some. I have found that bricks with sharper edges are often facing bricks (that is the case on my house, facing bricks with sharp edges at the front, rougher shaped common bricks at the back, I hope I have the terminology right). What height are your bricks?