Types of facing bricks

There are several types of facing bricks used in construction, each offering different aesthetic and performance benefits. Facing bricks are used on visible external walls where appearance, durability and finish are important.

What is a facing brick?

A facing brick is a type of brick used on the external surfaces of a building, where appearance is important. These bricks are chosen for their colour, texture and finish, as well as their durability.

The most common options include wirecut bricks and handmade stock bricks, which vary in texture, colour and application across residential and commercial projects.

Choosing the right type of facing brick for your project can be a complex decision, balancing aesthetics, performance and cost. For specification-led projects, our team can also provide brick support for developers when comparing facing brick options, finishes and availability.

Our guide explores the two types of facing brick, the options available and what brick is best to use.

Wirecut bricks

Wirecut facing bricks are widely used across the UK for modern housing developments due to their consistent shape and clean finish.

The wirecut method is the most popular method of brick production. With it, you can manufacture a high volume of bricks quickly. Sometimes, up to around 20,000 bricks an hour!

The clay is driven through an extrusion head to form a long column, which is then cut into smaller sections. These are further cut into bricks of the desired length using wire, which is where the name originates. One distinctive characteristic of a wirecut brick is that they tend to have holes running through the bricks.

These bricks require less energy for drying and firing and are also lighter and easier to handle. This manufacturing process produces hard, dense bricks with a more consistent size and shape, sharper corners and a more contemporary appearance.

Wirecut bricks can vary drastically in appearance. Our pressed pre-war common bricks display deep reds, oranges and the distinguished dark ‘overburns’ from the firing process. This manufacturing technique leads to a naturally weathered texture and appearance of burnt clay brick. They are hydraulically pressed to remove any shape imperfections and a great choice for developments in keeping within the local region.

Smooth red

Compare this to our smooth red extruded wirecut bricks that have a uniform appearance and glazed finish. Smooth Reds are a popular facing brick for new builds and extensions, especially in the Midlands and the North, where their colour closely matches much of the existing housing stock. For our huge range of high-quality British wirecut bricks for sale, you can also view our wider facing brick range. We offer a wide range of Wirecut bricks, with options to suit a variety of construction and design requirements.

Wirecut facing brick example

A stunning property built using Wirecut The Brick Specialists Banded Pre War Bricks, which were popular in the North West at the turn of the century. These smooth wire cut speciality bricks come complete with the distinctive pale clay flashes seen throughout the brickwork of towns and cities of the region.

Handmade stock bricks

Handmade bricks have a more traditional or reclaimed appearance, offering a softer and warmer brick aesthetic, without compromising on technical performance. Hand-making involves the forming of the clay by hand, coating it in sand and throwing it into a mould. These soft mud bricks are suited to older brickwork styles to match surrounding buildings and regional variations. They are ideally suited for conservation areas to emulate colours and sizes of older brickwork styles for your building project.

The charm of Handmade Stock Bricks

Brimming with character, our handmade bricks have a truly lived-in look and texture, with authentic shades of red and orange, firing overburns and clay flashing adding to their appeal. This makes them perfect for everything from renovations, restoration projects or being at the heart of new-build developments. Handmade bricks have a rougher, open texture and feature a more bespoke look with a range of colours as well as sizes. This reflects in the price. Consequently, they cost around four times as much as machine-made.

Our handmade bricks also have an indent or ‘frog’ on the top of the brick. The frog reduces the amount of material used to form the brick. This makes it easier to remove from the moulds and gives the completed wall better shear resistance. Due to slight variations in chemical composition, no two bricks are identical. This can lead to slight colour differences. However, certain styles will feature clay flashing or overburns which some customers view as a desirable effect.

Types of handmade stock bricks

We have a huge selection of handmade bricks that vary drastically in appearance. Replicating authentic reclaimed bricks, Ashbourne’s feature distinctive lighter tones thanks to the bleaching properties of the lime mortar which was used to lay them. Each brick is cleaned and reconditioned but retains its all-important character and texture.

Another option is The Smoked Red, imitating the appearance of lived-in urban brickwork. These handmade bricks are beautifully soot-weathered to blend in with neighbouring homes and walls.

Handmade brick example

This distinctive country house extension required a match that blends consistently with the original 20th-century brickwork. After careful consideration, we picked our reclamation blend to match the main house perfectly.