Matching bricks

dizzyscot

Hi all,

I am having my integral garage converted into living space. The garage door is being replaced with a window and will be bricked up underneath. The builder went to collect the bricks today and told me that he went direct to the brick manufacturer and got the exact same bricks, but that there is a noticable difference in the colour. Obviously I knew they would not be an exact match considering the house is 14 years old, but I am concerned that it'll look awful. Is it fairly common for manufacturers to alter the colour of bricks slightly over time? Is the builder right in saying that not much can be done about this?

Thanks in advance,
Diz

Doozergirl

Erm, not really.

It's all about finding the best match. There are so many different bricks, it's usual you can find a near perfect match. Did you have info about the brick to start off with, for the builder to know exactly which type it was? Are the inclusions the same on your two types of brick? The texture of finish as well?

We have found some bricks are discontinued, even with relative new builds, but that's not 'fading', that's them not being made any more. I'd be disappoinred if they called a brick by a particular colour but had changed it. I'd expect a new colour name, iyswim.

It's not unusual to spend half a day driving 60 miles round trip to the two specialists we know of. Your average builders merchant only stocks a limited number so you can't physically match side by side without travelling.

A picture might be good!

flashg67

I saw something on a Sarah Beeny show about a 'brick dye' used to match bricks to surrounding ones - might be worth a google. Looked pretty good from what I recall.

dizzyscot

Thanks so much for replying. The existing bricks are a buff/yellow colour going more orangey towards the centre. The new ones look darker/more orange. It's really quite hard to say when they're just sitting in a big pile on the driveway. I'm not sure whether they'll dry out a bit and lighten in colour. I lifted a few out to compare and one looked fine and another a fair bit darker.

I am concerned because the builder specifically drew it to my attention, obviously not wanting to build the wall and for me to then be unhappy. So I accepted it but am scared he'll brick it up and it'll look awful and I'll have to look at it every day! He has assured me that it is the exact same brick so I think texture should be the same but I'd need to look closely again tomorrow.

It does seem unusual to me that the same bricks are a noticably different colour, despite there being subtle differences in batches. So I'm not sure whether I should stop him from laying them tomorrow and insist that he find a better match, or if that would be too dramatic. Sorry for rambling - I'm finding this whole process quite stressful, worrying about things going wrong!

Diz

P.S. Sorry, I don't have any pics. I could try to post some tomorrow.