Brick Varieties That Match Paver Stones

Color

• No standards exist for brick colors. One manufacturer's Louisiana Red may be another manufacturer's Antique Sunset. Commonly used color categories are red, brown and gray. To these, manufacturers add subcategories such as burgundy and tan. Never rely on a picture when matching brick color, whether in print or digital catalogs. The safest procedure by far is to take a chip of the bricks you are trying to match (or a whole brick, if possible) and spend a day visiting the manufacturers in your area. Have your square footage on hand when you go. You not only have to match colors, you have to match with a batch large enough to do your whole job.

Texture

• Besides finding the right color in the right quantity, you have to match the face. For this reason, if you do not have a whole brick of the style you are trying to match, the chip that you use to match the color must include a face side. Face textures are as follows: handmade, drag, dimpled, smooth, wire and sand. The best way to identify what type of face you are dealing with is online using the search terms brick, face and types.

Reclaimed

• Reclaimed bricks are big business. When large brick buildings are demolished, reclaiming companies clean and repack the bricks and resell them. If you are trying to match paving bricks to an old brick building, reclaimed bricks are your best hope. Keep in mind, however, that the reclaimed bricks may have been sandblasted. Bricks are baked and, like other baked goods such as a loaf of bread, have an external crust that is harder than the inside. Sandblasting, popular in the '60s and '70s, went out of style in the '80s when it was found that sandblasted brick tended to crumble over time. If sandblasting was used as part of the reclaiming process, the bricks are only suitable for indoor use.

Brick Pavers

• The original brick pavers were not interlocking; they were the same bricks used in building. Assuming you are considering building a new brick home with matching pavers, there is no reason you can't choose a non-interlocking brick that is suitable for both jobs. The only caution is that bricks with internal holes should not be used as driveway pavers; holed bricks can't take the weight loads demanded of paving stones.