BRICKS

[Boatwrench]

I was wondering....

This afternoon as I happened to drive by the old SP railyard I noticed the old brick engine shop was gone. What remained was a cement foundation and floor and pallets of bricks.

The cost of used bricks is higher than new bricks.

New bricks feel less massive, lighter than the bricks from old buildings.


Is the quality of the bricks really that much different?

What has changed in the process? The ratio mixtures of the aggregates?

Are bricks still made here in North America or are they brought in from overseas?

 

[kastein]

Used bricks are also valued for their aesthetics - you'll see a lot of buildings built with them for decorative purposes.

 

[old_man]

Most new bricks have molded in holes while the older bricks tend to be solid. New bricks are sometimes mixed so that they have air in them in order to cut down on the shipping weight.

 

[woody]

Ha! Lots of bricks (and pottery) are made in our region, due to the abundant clay soil and sand. Triangle Brick is a biggie You could Google Earth Shearon Harris nuke plant, and a couple miles S on the same side of US-1 HWY you will see one of their plants.

What old_man Tom says probably nails it... I have a source that retired from a brick plant (now working a second gig in asphalt QC) I can pick his brain if you really want to know more. I got it one day, had to flee lest my head explode with brick trivia.

The older bricks are probably lots more rugged, but are heavier. They also may have "history" if that is a concern (it is to some folks.) As kastein notes, there is an aesthetic element too... Same can be said for old reclaimed lumber and timbers.

I'd bet they entrain air in the newer varieties to lessen the drying time and the firing time (fuel cost) as much as to reduce materials used - the raw stuff + water + power being local & cheap(?)

Where I grew up, we had granite cobblestones. Dad made a walkway and pathways around the house using reclaimed cobblestones from 'back in the day' Boston city streets. Heavy suckers...but they'll last awhile.

 

[kastein]

I've also seen a lot of modern bricks that are more like miniature cement blocks. For some reason I can't stand the look, I much prefer old fired brick.

Fortunately I have a whole chimney to take down that is ~120 years old and most of the brick which is in good shape will be reused to build the new one.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

I've run into plenty of situations where I've sh** bricks, looks like I need to tap in on this goldmine

 

[bjoehandley]

I've run into plenty of situations where I've sh** bricks, looks like I need to tap in on this goldmine

:thumbup::roflmao:

 

[AIbandit]

Lol Grimm, this thread told me more than I ever wanted to know about brick production :thumbup:

 

[ehall]

lego brick

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZkMZLspd_Q

 

[Alienspecimen]

Not sure if this applies to this instance, but in the old country, all houses are brick...Trick is that brick is used as a building material only. Leaving brick exposed is looked down upon. No aesthetic value whatsoever, all brick is covered by decorative mixture of colored cement or others.

The fact that the new bricks are lighter may have something to do with the fact that the brick is pretty much a stone and one needs to improve its insulating properties. In the old times holes were made, because air is a better insulator, thats what the old brickmakers told me...nowadays porous materials combined with holes ensure better insulation from the elements and also better penetration of the material that "glues" the bricks?...I am really guessing here...

Best

Boris

 

[old_man]

We had a brick house that burned down as a kid. One of my jobs was to clean the surviving bricks and we used them to build a fireplace in the new house. the variation in color and the roughness and misc mortar made it look cool and it was a conversation piece.

 

[bigalpha]

Stuff like decorative adobe and similar materials have a hard time lasting in the humidity of the South.

 

[rightseatsis]

Several years ago my company dismantled 2 of our old boilers,they were built in the late 1920's, the brick in them was almost white from 60+yrs of use. That brick was very valuable because of the color and we were paid well for them.

 

[rightseatsis]

Several years ago my company dismantled 2 of our old boilers,they were built in the late 1920's, the brick in them was almost white from 60+yrs of use. That brick was very valuable because of the color and we were paid well for them.

 

[speedsixman]

I was a construction supervisor on a project about 20 years ago where we tore down a 100+ year old mental hospital. The old bricks were fairly soft and broke fairly easily, and the old mortar was mostly sand and lime with little if any cement content.
Most of the bricks fell out with very little of the old mortar attached and needed very little cleaning to re-use. Unfortunately, the demolition contractor didn't sell any of the brick, but crumbled it up by driving a dozer over it so they could use it as landfill to build a new office building on.

Myron