What Brick Should I Use For My Extension?

There are a lot of bricks out there - all manner of shapes, sizes and colours, which can make it hard to choose one that's right for your building project.

If you're planning an extension, you'll already have an idea of what you want it to look like but you might not know what the actual bricks are called.

At the end of the day, the look is totally up to you - but it's highly likely that you'll want it to blend seamlessly into the rest of the house.

That's where our essential Brick Matching service comes into play. Designed to help you find the best solution with minimum fuss in super-quick time, it costs just £29.99 (inc. VAT) - which you'll get back if you decide to buy your bricks through us too.

Doing it the hard way

If you want to go it alone, prepare yourself for a long, hard slog. There are thousands of different bricks to choose from (we've got just short of 4,000 in our Brick Library!

To help you (we're nice like that!), here are a few things to consider in your search for masonry magic. (Honestly, though - just use our Brick Matching service, it's worth every penny).

Firm foundations

The bricks you use aren't all going to be picked based on looks. When you're starting an extension, you need to think about the foundations. For this, different bricks are often needed.

The popular choice for the first few layers of brick is the humble engineering brick. These are harder, denser bricks that also have a higher compression strength and lower water absorption, making them ideal for the part of the wall closest to the ground.

These bricks are strictly functional and relatively inexpensive - just don't expect any fancy colours or designs.

Engineering bricks are widely available in red and blue, so when it comes to choosing which colour to go for, you're best going for the closest colour to the rest of your build. You'll most likely want to get some of these at the start of your project.

Get the numbers right

One of the toughest aspects of building a brick structure is working out how many bricks you will need. Ordering too few can potentially delay your project; ordering too many is a direct route to throwing money down the drain.

Bricks are expensive, and the cost of your masonry structure can quickly add up - especially if you need to organise the disposal of excess bricks.

It's more cost-effective to get it right first time - and Brickhunter's FREE Brick Estimation service is here to help you do just that!

New or reclaimed?

A popular option when selecting bricks is to go down the reclaimed route. You don't have to buy bricks new and there is actually a fairly substantial market for reclaimed bricks.

These are a cheaper option and may even be preferable if you have an older existing property. If your property is fairly old or looks a bit weather worn, then picking bricks that share this worn aesthetic will ensure that the extension fits right in.

In living colour

A main thing people consider when building an extension is what colour it's going to be. Although intuition would suggest matching the new bricks to the existing property, you don't always have to do that (yes, we're even surprising ourselves!).

In some cases, a contrasting brick colour could look quite impressive on the side of the building. For example, contrasting a blue with a red might give you a striking contemporary look.

However, if you want to keep it simple, you'll want to pick something that looks virtually identical. Either way, you can trust us to help you achieve your desired look.

We're here for you...

Rather than struggling to navigate the frankly enormous brick market yourself, let us do the work for you.

We can help you figure out how many bricks you'll need, choose the right product for your build, then source them and help you find the best price - we'll even arrange delivery too.

Matching your bricks successfully is a major step towards achieving successful brickwork with a flawless finish, whatever the project - and our expert team is ready to help you now...