How to Select the Best Recycled Bricks
Are you planning to conduct some masonry repairs to your older home? Read on and learn some of the considerations that you should have in mind as you shop for recycled bricks for the project.
The Raw Materials
It is helpful for you to find out what raw materials were used to make the recycled bricks that you are considering to buy. The raw materials of those bricks should be the same as the raw materials that were used to make the bricks on your house. For instance, the clay used should have been extracted from the same region as the clay used for the bricks on your house. This similarity will ensure that the recycled bricks blend in with the other bricks at your home because the similarity in the raw materials will mean that the two sets of bricks will have the same colour.
Water Absorption Rates
You may also need to look into the rate at which the recycled bricks absorb water. This information can be obtained from the supplier of the recycled bricks. Alternatively, you can buy a sample and have it tested at an appropriate lab near you. Select recycled bricks with a low water absorption rate. Such bricks will be able to last longer without crumbling due to moisture ingress.
The Shape and Size
The recycled bricks should resemble the existing bricks on your home as closely as possible. This resemblance can only be possible if you pay close attention to matching the shape and size of the recycled bricks to those that were used on your house. Use a tape measure to get the exact dimensions of the bricks on your house. You can then select only those recycled bricks that have the same dimensions.
The Texture
Some recycled bricks may be the same shape and size as the bricks on your house. However, those recycled bricks may be distinguishable from those on your property due to a difference in the texture of the two sets of bricks. It is therefore important for you to match the texture of the recycled bricks to the texture of the bricks that were used to build your home.
The task of ensuring that the recycled bricks that you buy are a good match for your project requires you to pay attention to a number of characteristics, such as those discussed above. Ask an experienced person to help you in this process of buying the recycled bricks in case you will be unable to examine those bricks thoroughly on your own.