Common Brick Myths
1. If I pick a brick off a sample panel, picture or existing home my brick should be exactly the same?
No, your home will not look the same. Brick are like babies, there are no two exactly alike. Yes, they should be reasonably close but not exact. Bricks are made in quantities of hundreds of thousands. They are made out of raw materials provided by Mother Nature (clays). There are hundreds of variables involved in the manufacturing process, therefore the expectation of exact matches is not reasonable nor possible.
2. Brick are supposed to be free of any cracks, chips or imperfections.
No. It is impossible to produce a brick, transport the product, move to scaffold and install without chipping, scraping and maybe even cracking some of the brick. Bricks are not manufactured as a perfect product. Expect to have some of these imperfections. After brick are properly placed in the wall they cannot continue to crack and chip. For further detail on imperfection, see ASTMC-216.
3. When brick are delivered, there are not supposed to be any broken brick in the bundles or pallets.
No. It is acceptable. The standard for the brick industry allows the manufacturer a 5% breakage allowance. (If more than 5%, contact your brick salesperson) Because brick are hard and made of clay, it is impossible to transport without breakage. (See ASTMC-216 for further details)
4. After my house was completely bricked, I've decided that I don't like the way it looks (imperfections, slight color range, etc...) and that it should be torn off and replaced.
No, the brick should have been inspected and approved or disapproved prior to installation. Although the brick may not look exactly as expected, they will still meet every other expectation and will be functional for many, many years to come.