Open Monday to Fridays 9am to 4pm
(Closed Public Holidays)
Elephant Bricks will be closed from Dec 22nd through to Jan 12th
CHOOSING THE RIGHT HERITAGE BRICK
Sandstock Bricks
The term sandstock gets misused a lot, in particular it often gets applied to many mass produced bricks that have a textured (e.g. stamped) surface, but these are sandstocks in name only, they are not true sandstocks.
Sandstocks are often referred to as convict bricks, this is partly true, many convict bricks are indeed sandstocks, but not all sandstocks were made by convicts, many early commercial brick makers made sandstock bricks.
So what actually is a sandstock brick?........most simply a sandstock brick is a handmade brick made by pressing clay into a brick mould dusted with fine sand (the sandstruck process). This process results in compression marks or an elephant skin texture to develop on the face of the bricks. These compression marks are further developed during air drying before they are fired in the kiln. The true characteristic texture of a genuine sandstock brick is unmistakable.
Historically sandstocks bricks were common in South Australia and NSW, unlike Victoria and Tasmania in which waterstruck bricks were more common.
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Waterstruck Bricks
While very popular to this day in Europe, waterstruck bricks were used extensively in Victoria, Tasmania and some parts of NSW (along the Victoria border region). The technique is believed to have originated in England and involves using very wet clay hand pressed into moulds lined with water......hence sometimes referred to as slop moulding. Early versions where indeed convict made but the technique was also used by early commercial brick makers.
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Red Rubbers
This brick type was used extensively across N.S.W and South Australia, these are a sandstock brick with the unique characteristic that they could be "rubbed" together and/or easily cut to produce brickwork with extremely thin joints, often considered the hallmark of high-end brick work.
HERITAGE BRICKS
HERITAGE SANDSTOCK BRICKS
(HERITAGE REDS)
Trade Price: $2200 per thousand (ex. GST)
Retail Price: $2300 per thousand (ex. GST)
Heritage restoration requires the right products to achieve a seamless integration. We make a genuine sandstock brick, by this we mean it is made using the sandstruck process in which a clot of clay is hand pressed into a mould dusted by fine sand. Quite simply, if it is not made in this way it's not a sandstock brick and is inappropriate for heritage applications requiring sandstock bricks. The result is a brick with characteristic elephant skin creasing. We offer standard sizes of 70mm and 65mm but can also make custom sizes.
PLINTH STRETCHERS
Plinth stretcher featuring a chamfered face at a 45° angle. Plinth stretchers are used for detailing work, sills, creating plinths or making changes in the depth of a wall.
SINGLE CANT / PLINTH HEADER
Single cant also known as a plinth header, featuring a chamfered face at a 45° angle. Plinth headers are used for detailing work, sills, creating plinths or making changes in the depth of a wall.
DOUBLE CANT
Double cant featuring two chamfered faces at a 45° angle.
SINGLE BULLNOSE
Single bullnoses are used for detailing work and for creating sills.
DOUBLE BULLNOSE
Double bullnoses are used for detailing work and for creating sills.
OVILLO
Specialist profile brick often used to create ledges and column tops.
COVE HEADER SANDSTOCK
Specialist brick used for creating decorative arches.
STEPPED HEADER BRICK
Decorative profile brick used for brick corbeling and brick feature work.
HERITAGE WATERSTRUCK BRICKS
"FEDERATION WEATHERED RED"
Trade Price: $2200 per thousand (ex. GST)
Retail Price: $2300 per thousand (ex. GST)
Tonal variation spanning from deep reds and oranges along with minor reduction blackening. As with the Federation Red, a smooth waterstruck brick characteristic of early bricks  found throughout Victoria, Southern NSW and Tasmania.
Heritage Rockingham Bricks
Originally a 19th-century manufacturer of pottery the name is now synonymous for unique shades of red-brown glazed colourings. Rockingham colours range from honey brown, chocolate brown through to red brown (puce) and black browns. Rockingham coloured bricks, originally produced through a process known as salt glazing, found widespread application during the 1930's and 1940's as specialised coping and plinth bricks, often seen as feature bricks for window sills, brick quoins and brick fencing. We produce a wide range of Rockingham bricks including (but not limited to) plinth stretchers, single and double bullnose bricks and standard bricks.
