Dating old bricks


Row of homes in East Baltimore with iconic iron-spot face brick. Documenting an ongoing project through a blog is often an exercise in pacing: Some less thrilling content might follow in the days to come, while we held on to the next crowd-pleasing post for a later date. These are not ordinary circumstances. Today is June 22nd, Presented without further comment is something we found on site today: Fear not, arithmophobes, though the following numbers are staggering, no math is involved.

All good numbers and all good news. The better news is that all of these numbers are going to increase with every project we take on: In our last BKAB , we talked about how the brick frog served as the canvas for early attempts at marketing and branding; brickmakers would mold their bricks to feature a last name, initials, or even a brand name. This post is not the fulfillment of that promise, but it does have to do with brick branding.

Or rather, it has to do with block branding. Laying block along 28th Street in New York City. Image courtesy of brickfrog. In this third installment of our informal series of long-dead writers praising Baltimore bricks , we now turn our attention to the work of John Thomas Scharf. Scharf was a native Baltimorean who had successful careers as a lawyer, politician, author and historian. As a staunchly Pro-Confederate read: His methods, however, have been praised as being exhaustive and meticulous, and his histories are still seen as belonging to the finest category of primary source material from his era.

A frog is an indentation in the bed of a brick. Some folks think that the term came into being because brickmakers thought the bumps in the mold used to make such indentations looked like crouching frogs. A mountain of bricks and not a frog in sight. This is the Friday Find to end all Friday Finds. The title of this post is a misnomer: It has been argued that when Soft Mud bricks have been made and burned properly they are possibly the most durable brick. However Stiff mud bricks can have defects or planes of separation which can affect the bricks durability.

However as Stiff Mud bricks are becoming increasingly cheaper to produce these are becoming the more popular. Both types of soft mud and stiff mud bricks can be repressed when they are only partially dried. This is done by placing the bricks in metal moulds and putting them under great pressure before burning. Pressed bricks however are machine moulded bricks where the clay being used is already nearly dry. This process can make a significant difference on the appearance of the bricks. Bricks made using this process generally are more difficult to compress. Dry pressed bricks however are now commonly used for face bricks.

Pressed bricks generally mean dry pressed bricks, but many face bricks are made by repressing soft mud bricks. These are extensively used in some regions. This type of product can made into practically and size or shape for any kind of use. Blocks made of terra-cotta are light and durable.

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Bricks and concrete blocks are some of the oldest and most reliable of building products. The history of concrete blocks dates back to ancient Greece and Rome, although they were not manufactured commercially until the early 20th century. Dating old brick and block is not a precise. Secondly, any attempt to date British bricks stylistically must allow for Recycled Roman material is commonly seen in Saxon and Norman.

For use in partitions the terra-cotta is mixed with sawdust which burns off in the kiln, but creates a more porous brick. Terra-cotta can be glazed or unglazed. Facing bricks are uniform in colour and shape and can now be made to any almost any specification, texture, colour and size.

For this type of brick the clay is extruded and cut by wore into individual bricks. This is a very cost effective way of producing bricks and is done by an automated production process.

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These bricks are readily available in a variety of styles and colours. Stock bricks ; are usually slightly more expensive than wirecut Bricks. These are a soft mud brick which are sometimes irregular in shape. Handmade bricks ; as previously discussed above, handmade bricks are very desirable and individual in shape and colour. This brick is one of the most expensive sorts of brick.

Fletton or London Brick ; is a brick made from clay extracted from the south east of England which contains traces of oil which is burnt off during the burning process in the kiln. Arch and Clinker bricks This term is used for bricks which are burned immediately. They are over burnt and sometimes distorted in shape. These bricks are of a higher quality and are generally the bricks that were in the centre of the pile of bricks which have been burned.

These bricks are top bricks as they have a higher overall quality and finish. Cherry is used as a term when the clay which has been used burns red. Salmon, Pale or Soft bricks. These are the bricks which were nearer to the outside of the kiln during burning which means they are slightly under burnt. These bricks are generally softer than the bricks taken from the centre of the kiln are therefore are of a lesser quality, although this does not affect the overall shape of the brick.

dating bricks

These bricks are generally used for the interior of walls. Waterstruck Brick This type of brick is a soft mud moulded brick. It uses alluvial clay which deposited at the end of the last ice age. The clay is pressed into mould lined with silicate. When the bricks are removed from their mould, they are left with a textured effect which can only be achieved using this method. This type of brick looks old and handmade even when new. Engineering Bricks Engineering bricks are called so due to their overall strength and water absorption. Traditionally used in civil engineering, these bricks are also useful for damp courses and structural design.

Handmade Bricks

Bullnose Bricks These special bricks are used when round edges are needed, for gate recesses, quadrants or arches. These are batches of bricks which are generally consistent in colour but do not match the product which is marketed. Dependant on their final use, the bricks are named accordingly. Radial Bricks either have one edge shorter than the other or vary in thickness.

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This type of brick is used for walls with curved edges. Arch bricks are used for arches as they have one end thicker than the other. Ordinary bricks or facebricks and have regular shape and colour used for the outside of building etc. Fire bricks are generally yellow in colour and used in places where they would be subject to high temperatures. Paving bricks are of uniform size and colour and have been made by burning hard clay or shale. Good brick to be used where toughness and water tightness is essential.

Brick Sizes Metric bricks are a little smaller than the old imperial one. New bricks can be bonded into old brickwork by slightly increasing the mortar bed joint. Brick sizes have remained fairly constant over the years: Brick cutting is the process of cutting bricks into the desired size or in most cases to cut and bond them together using an epoxy mortar to form angle bricks these are mainly used on bay windows and conservatories etc.

Used Bricks

Kiln Brick Burning After all bricks have been allowed time to dry they are placed in a kiln for burning which finishes off the brick to achieve the optimum strength and colour. There a few different types of kilns which are currently used to burn bricks. The Scotch Kiln is the most commonly used in the UK. This is a rectangular building which is open at the top and has side doors with fireholes built from fire bricks.

The kilns will contain approximately 80, bricks at full capacity. Raw bricks are arranged in the kiln leaving gaps in between each brick to ensure an even burn. It takes approximately three days to burn off the moisture from the bricks, at which point the firing is increased for the final burn.

It takes between 48 and 60 hours to completely burn a brick to achieve its maximum strength.

Details Deconstruction and Brick + Board are unbuilding Baltimore blocks, one brick at a time

As mentioned before the bricks from the centre of kiln will be of the highest quality whilst the ones from the edges are sometimes clinkered and unsuitable for exterior work. Used more frequently for handmade bricks and in small brick yards, this old fashioned kiln is only up to 15 feet high. Down Draft Kilns are generally of a beehive type shape with fire produced outside of the kiln and carried in through flues.

It is believed that all types of clay whether it be pottery or brick work, burn more evenly in a down draft kiln. For Terra-cotta brickwork this type of kiln is usually used. Continuous kilns are the most expensive type of kiln to construct. This type of kiln is a continuously fired tunnel in which the bricks pass through very slowly on a rail to achieve a consistently durable brick.

This is continuous conveyor belt with bricks being dried and added at one end while at the other end they are being burnt. This is a very efficient way of burning bricks.

Bradford unconsidered trifles

They also achieve a greater number of grade 1 bricks using this method. The colour of brick is influenced by the chemical and mineral content of the mixture but also how high the temperature was during burning. Bricks are generally red, but an increase in temperature can change them to dark red, purple, brown or grey. Bricks containing silicate depend on the colourant used.

The colour and place of manufacture is reflected in the brick names. Mortars To make any kind of brick work complete it must be plied together with mortar.

Dating Bricks | Bradford unconsidered trifles

The way in which the bricks are bonded together is vital to the strength of the overall structure. Concrete mortars contain aggregates of more than 5mm where as mortar contains aggregates less than 5mm.

Re: Handmade Bricks

All told, the 35 houses on the block of Eager Street contain well over half a million bricks. With thanks to www. Occasionally the clay is worked in a pug mill before being thrown into the machine. With clay bricks being the more popular, they are now manufactured using three processes soft mud, dry press and extruded. It takes between 48 and 60 hours to completely burn a brick to achieve its maximum strength. Good luck gathering your details.

General purpose mortar contains either Sand, lime and cement Sand and masonry cement Sand, cement and plasticiser Mortar is then graded between 1 and 5 depending on strength. For a course of bricks 8 courses high, your mortar should not exceed 2" in total. For rough stone work a mortar with rough sand can be used, but for pressed brickwork it must be very fine sand.