matching old brick

[jlandry]

I am trying to match some old brick for an addition to my house in San Antonio, Texas. It is pink broken faced concrete brick from around 1965(when house was built). Any ideas where I might look to find something that would match or be close?

[rwanders]

Google building material and/or architectural components salvage companies in your area---you may find some at demolition companies too. You may have to play around with your search terminology to find sources. Check with masonry suppliers---they may have some close matches they can order.

[dexter]

When we remodeled our own 30+ year old brick ranch a few years ago, I was not able to get a perfect match, but close enough, so we salvaged as many bricks as possible when we domo'ed the connecting wall between the old and new construction, after which the wife and I spent a weekend sorting, cleaning, and stacking the old bricks. I then made some rough calculations of the quantity that we were able to save, so that when we laid the brick for the new part, we mixed the old ones in at something like a 1 to 10 ratio, or whatever it was, and although I could point out a few differences, it could not have come out any more perfect. The other thing that you want to watch is the shade of the mortar. It takes a little trial and error to get the right mix of sand, etc., but it's worth the effort, in my opinion.

[jlandry]

Where did you go to find the brick?

[dexter]

Well, I hope that this won't get me in hot water with anyone on this site, but since you asked...

www.generalshale.com

[jlandry]

Thanks for the help. I will check them out.