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Repairing, replacing or extending a brick wall is something that everyone has to do at one time or another. Sometimes it is a small job, such as replacing a couple of bricks that have been damaged, and other times it is a big job, such as building an extension to your home. Finding new bricks that exactly match those originally used is preferable, but this is not always possible.

So, why is brick matching not an easy task? First and foremost, bricks are made from clay, and the clay deposit that the brick came from can become depleted and / or the characteristics of the clay may change as the mining pit is extended. The other reason is that the original style of brick used may have ‘gone out of fashion’, so to speak, and has been discontinued.

It is possible that you may get lucky and find perfectly matching bricks at your local brick merchant. However, for the most part, the solution is not so easy to come by. Hopefully, one day there will be a national database of brick colors and textures but, for the time being there is not, so you will have to do some investigative work.

The first thing that you should do is take some high resolution pictures of the original bricks, as matching from memory is impossible. You should email copies of these photos to every brick merchant in your city. Try to remember what year you bought the original bricks, and who you bought them from, as the more information you give the brick merchants, the better the chance of them being able to help you.

If perfect brick matching is not an option, then a color match is the next best thing. Do not let a brick salesperson talk you out of this strategy. It might take a little bit of looking around, but finding an identical color match is definitely possible. Always opt for color matches over texture matches. Texture differences in bricks can be seen up close, but not from a distance. Color differences in bricks can clearly be seen from any distance.

Do not rush the brick matching process. Take your time and get some samples that you can take back to your home. Up close, you will, of course, always be able to see some differences; what is important is how visible differences are from a distance of over 10 feet. Do not make the final decision on yourself - ask for a second opinion from a family member or neighbor.

Remember to also spend some time ensuring that the mortar that keeps the bricks together matches too. Examine the sand particles in the existing mortar; paying attention to the size and color of them. You will probably have to age the new mortar to match the old mortar. To age the mortar, you will need to use a brick cleaning chemical.
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Find Out More - Brick Matching

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