What is Chicago Common Brick?
BLDG PROJECTS is proud to announce our collaboration blog series about the many types of masonry materials available on the market with Patti Swanson from Bricks Incorporated, one of our favorite suppliers.
A Chicago Common Brick is a rougher, less pristine brick found on buildings' sides and backs. Clay from the Chicago River was used to make them, and when they were fired, they turned a variety of colors, including salmon pink, buff-yellow, black, and deep orange. The unpredictable color variety in each batch made them undesirable and very cheap to build with back in the day, but today these bricks are beloved for their beautiful colors and aged patina. Chicago common bricks were used in building much of Chicago. Chances are, you're surrounded by them if you’re in Chicago right now.
Here are some facts about Chicago common bricks:
Chicago common bricks are no longer made. The common bricks you can find for sale today are all salvaged and reclaimed from local demolition sites.
The last brickyards making Chicago common bricks were shut down in the 1970s by changing environmental pollution regulations. Many of the places along the river where brickyards once existed have been filled in and built over (both Horner Park and Lane Tech High School were built on the sites of former brickyards).
Since the colors of Chicago common brick varied greatly when they were new, and many reclaimed materials have been exposed to the elements for over 100 years, each batch of material available today is totally unique.
Common brick varied greatly in color depending on where it was made, but almost every geological region of the United States produced some kind of cheap common brick from local clays. In St. Louis or Philadelphia, common brick was much more red, while in Milwaukee, you will find ivory and white-colored common brick!
Most common bricks were made before the existence of, and widespread adoption of, ASTM manufacturing standards. They are more porous and softer than modern bricks, so it’s important to use gentle, restoration-grade brick cleaners on them and repoint mortar joints with soft, lime-sand mortars.
All authentic Chicago common bricks are solid clay, front to back. These days, the vast majority of new brick is made with circular “core holes” cut out from the middle.
There are many new products for sale today that are designed to replicate the one-of-a-kind look and feel of true Chicago common brick. Some look very similar to the real thing, while others just take inspiration from its variable sunset hues and tumbled edges.
With thin brick veneer “tiles” growing in popularity, many reclaimers (like Bricks Inc) even cut down full pieces of Chicago common brick to a ½” thickness and sell it that way. Any unused portion of the brick leftover after cutting is given away for free to local contractors, who use these scraps to fill in old basements and shore up foundations.
Chicago common brick lends history and local character to new construction projects. You can find this unique reclaimed material cladding the walls of famous Chicago restaurants that have spread nationwide (Lou Malnati’s, anyone?), laid as pavers for the back patios and sidewalks of historic homes, beautifying the facades of new homes built in old neighborhoods… and in countless other places!
You can contact BLDG PROJECTS to begin the design of your masonry building — and when it’s time to pick a batch of reclaimed Chicago common brick for exterior or interior applications, the team at Bricks Inc. will be happy to guide you through the process and show you what’s available.
WHO IS BRICKS INCORPORATED?
BRICKS INCORPORATED started operations in 1968 as a wholesale, demolition, and salvage product supplier. Ten years later, they started selling new bricks alongside their reclaimed materials. You can find them in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, where they have remained for over 45 years and are a family-owned small business with an interest in the development of their city.
