How to choose the right bricks for your home
Bricks are more than just something you use to build your home. It completely sets the style and tone of your home. The bricks you choose matters in many ways as the bricks you decide on, will be what transforms your home.
Your house bricks are the number one decision when it comes to building. It’s the first thing you’ll always see when you look at your home. Bricks will only be one part of your exterior, so they should be able to blend in and complement your existing exterior elements seamlessly.
More than just bricks
When you’re designing your new home, there will be many design decisions you need to make. Flooring options, hardware, colour palettes, window treatments, cabinetry and more. All these choices come together to build your dream home.
Your brick choice is what will set the tone of your home and will bring together the rest of your choices to complement this style. Your bricks are what will give your home its first impression, from people you have over, to people driving by.
Choosing your bricks first if the most important step. If you’re having a hard time on deciding, put together a ‘mood board’ of your favourite buildings, trims, bricks and interior designs. As your mood board develops over time, the style of home that best reflect your aesthetic and lifestyle become more apparent, making it easier to make design choices.
Unique brick style
A unique brick style will provide an impressive look to your home. It will set your home apart from others around you.
Many people don’t give the necessary time and effort on their brick selection. Investing a bit more in your bricks, both time and money, is something you won’t regret.
At Australian Paving Centre, our premium brick range includes unique architect brick styles –
Consider size, colour, texture
The colour of your brick is very important, but so is the size and texture as it will change the way your bricks look. Bricks come in much larger range these days and don’t just come in the old yellows, reds, browns and creams.
The colour palette of bricks has increased along with the finish and sizes – from smooth finishes, exposed aggregate, refined and highly polished surfaces. You can also choose standard sizes, split, double height, linear and super linear.
Choosing the right size for your home may depend on different factors, such as the proportions of the house, the style of your exterior and the purpose of the bricks. Consider all aspects of your brick selection.
Our designer brick range includes Bespoke, Premium and popular White bricks.
Sustainable house bricks
Sustainable building bricks are becoming an important choice for some people when it comes to their brick choice. Eco house bricks are made from high quality engineered sand, consisting of processed coloured recycled glass.
Environmentally friendly brick choices are premium bricks with a Green Tag certification. But that’s not all, sustainable bricks are stylish and come in a range of on trend colours and finishes. This means you can feel good about your sustainable brick choice but also have the home style you’re wanting.
At APC, we have a large range of sustainable and carbon neutral house bricks, all of premium quality and style –
Consider your location
The location of your home is also something you might want to consider when it comes to choosing your brick selection.
If you live by the beach, you may want to choose something that complements your coastal lifestyle. You’ll also need to ensure your brick is resistance to salt attack. If you live in the Hills or Country, you may want to look for a brick that goes well against your green surroundings.
Stacking patterns for your brick
You can also choose the way your bricks are stacked which provide different looks. A bond pattern is a style in which the bricks are layered. The most common bond pattern is the stretcher bond, which consists of full bricks offset by half a brick from one row to another.
Stacked and Flemish bonds are also popular and achieve an alternative look. If you are building a screen wall, you could build with a hit-and-miss brickwork which allows natural light to shine through.
Use of contrasting or complementary looks
Not only will you be selecting the elements of your bricks, you also need to consider the colour of your mortar. Do you want to use the same colour mortar as your bricks to blend in? Or do you want a contrast and show up the lines in your bricks with a contrasting colour mortar? For example, an off-white mortar would look striking between dark coloured bricks, adding contrast and highlighting the shape of each brick.
For a more unified appearance, you can match the colour of the mortar with the brick to soften the brickwork and provide a unified appearance. Common mortar colours include natural or grey, white or off-white, cream or buff.
Mortar joint finishes
The other thing you can consider is your mortar joint finish. You can choose round ironed, flush, raked or struck finish, depending on whether you want to highlight or soften the brickwork. For instance, create contrast and shadowing with a raked joint or minimise shadowing with a flush joint.
APC offers a range of quality brick and block products which include sustainable brick options. Our premium brick range are –
Stain Resistant – made with ‘Tech Dry’ water and stain repellent additive which is blended throughout the bricks. This ensures stain resistant and longevity of colour.
100% Colourfast – our bricks are 100% colourfast. The colour is blended throughout the brick and not just a surface coating.
Sustainable – Patented and Global Green Tag certified, our bricks are manufactured from high quality engineered sand, consisting of processed coloured recycled glass aggregates.
Size Accurate – APC bricks are made with dimensional accuracy which is one of the key features of our brick range. Clean straight lines are a feature of our bricks and superior to other brick products.
Exposure Grade – our brick range are exposure grade, salt attack resistant, strong and noise resistant. Their fire resistance is perfect for Australia’s harsh environment.
Energy Efficient – our bricks have a high thermal mass resulting in a cooler house in summer and a warmer house in winter which reduces household energy costs.
On Trend Colours and Finishes – APC bricks are available in a vast range of unique brick colours and surface finish textures including an exclusive range of crisp white bricks.
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