Building or renovating a home requires making a lot of choices. One of the first and most important choices you’ll make is to choose a façade brick. This choice will have a major impact on the final result of your project.
After visiting showrooms, perusing reference photos and seeing model homes, you have finally come a decision. Congratulations! You have settled on a façade brick! But… what happens when your façade bricks arrive and they don’t look anything like the ones you chose?
It is absolutely normal, especially for dipped bricks, to have a different colour than the end result upon delivery. These bricks are dipped in a cement bath for a nice even colour.
Our bricks are always produced to order, meaning they are still ‘wet’ when they are delivered to your construction site. Moreover, the façade bricks are dampened with water for bricklaying and pointing. As a result, the colour of the basic brick may still be slightly visible upon delivery. Once the moisture has evaporated or wicked and the bricks have fully dried, the final colour of the bricks will become apparent.
What’s nice about these façade bricks is that they are produced from natural materials, meaning all the bricks in our range are different. The porosity of the various types of stone varies, among others determining the speed with which the façade bricks wick and the final result.
Note that this blogpost refers to the wicking of the cement on the dipped façade bricks. These may also become wet because of the rain, even after the lime has dried. Façade bricks absorb water, which means they may temporarily become wet and darken, like any other façade brick. Once the moisture has evaporated again, they return to their original colour. As such, your home evolves in tune with the weather conditions, making your façade more lively and more interesting.
What to do when your façade bricks have arrived, however, is a good question. In dry weather, we recommend waiting before laying them. The bricks can dry faster because façade bricks have a larger surface that is exposed to dry air. During humid, rainy periods, we recommend laying them as soon as you can. This prevents the water from seeping into the open joints and moistening the bricks. The general rule of thumb is to wait at least 3 and no more than 6 months.
Another reason why your façade bricks may look different upon delivery is green or white efflorescence. Green or white stains appear on the surface of the bricks.
Manufacturers of façade bricks know this phenomenon all too well. It is difficult to predict when efflorescence will occur. This depends on various aspects, including the weather. This does not affect the quality of the façade bricks. In our experience, efflorescence is always temporary.
One way of avoiding efflorescence is to open the packaging of your façade bricks immediately after delivery. Make sure that the bricks are protected against the rain, however.
Naturally we are at your service, after you bought your façade bricks, offering advice and answering any questions you have. You can always contact us in case of doubt. If necessary, we can visit your construction site to offer custom advice.