old and new London stock bricks help ?

happyhero

I had a wall built with old London Stock bricks that had been cleaned of mortar etc, some with a tiny bit of paint on or black on them and I have a load left over but not enough so I want to buy more to match for another project but I'm struggling.

I thought when it said hand made they would be the old reclaimed ones every time but now it looks like you can buy new made to look old type London Stocks that are hand made. Then I see you can buy imperial and metric, surely old ones would have been imperial only. Therefore you would have thought new ones would be metric but I'm confused. I tried Googling and I'm not sure I can even find new made to look like old ones not that I want them, I just wanted to compare sizes.

Also I've heard they wont match well if you buy "new made to look old" with "genuine old" ones as they are different sizes is this right? What are all the sizes?

If anybody can clear this up for me so I can go and get the right ones, I would be very grateful.

stuart45

What are the dimensions of the bricks you have left over?

happyhero

stuart45 said:

What are the dimensions of the bricks you have left over?

Not at home currently so I will measure and post tomorrow.

FreeBear

There are specialist suppliers that can (apparently) supply imperial sized bricks at a premium. You can even get Tudor sizes (for a price). One thing to watch for though.... Imperial sizes vary across the country, so whilst one may be 68mm high, elsewhere in the country, it could be as much as 80mm.

happyhero

stuart45 said:

What are the dimensions of the bricks you have left over?

Ok I have measured several to get a decent idea of their size as they vary slightly and they are 23cm x6.6cm x10.9cm.

I assume these are old imperials does that sound about right?

Would newly made ones look ok mixed with these do you think, because someone told me they wont?

stuart45

If you live in London the old ones are probably quite black. Companies do make different shades to suit the varieties. 
Best way with a different batch is to mix them up with the old ones before laying. On site you can sometimes see where different batches were used without mixing up from different pallets.
Just make sure you get that size when ordering. You may have some luck with reclaim yards, as the London stock is a common brick.
Just one point, the building trade works in mm not cm when talking to people in the trade.

happyhero

What are the pros and cons of the new yellow london stocks versus the original yellow London stocks?
I'm thinking of buying all new ones as the job is a new wall not adjoining the walls I have already made with genuine old bricks. I can sell the old ones I had left over. 
Does one look better than the other?

stuart45

Have you got a picture of the old wall?

starving_artist

You might get lucky on here https://www.enviromate.co.uk/marketplace

stuart45

happyhero said:

What are the pros and cons of the new yellow london stocks versus the original yellow London stocks?
I'm thinking of buying all new ones as the job is a new wall not adjoining the walls I have already made with genuine old bricks. I can sell the old ones I had left over. 
Does one look better than the other?

Looks are really up to the individual. New ones can be machine pressed or hand made. Machine pressed are a bit easier to lay, but IMHO handmade look better in the wall. New bricks will be F2 and S2 rated, old ones may contain salts washed in from the road and pollutants etc.