It's extremely hard picking brick/stone from a sample that you're probably looking at from two or three feet away. Tell me, how many times do you look at a house by standing two or three feet away from it?

That's why it's absolutely essential that you see homes with the brick or stone you're considering. A picture is not sufficient.

If you can't find homes with your selections, have the mason build some sample walls with your possible choices. I usually don't do this, but the mortaring ideas of a recent client were so dreadful, the mason insisted on doing the walls for free to demonstrate the errors of their ways.

Bring the elevations and plans. That will enable the sales person to estimate the number of bricks you'll need.

Brick is either clay or concrete. Both have their technical pluses and minuses. But I would pick strictly based on the look you want.

Hopefully you have a trusted designer/architect or colour consultant to make suggestions. Brick salespeople can be knowledgeable, or duds with no sense of colour or style whatsover.

Stick with a well-known brick brand. Or you can always go for Belden Brick, considered the highest quality.

Pricing. The more you buy, the better price you can get. And be sure to comparison shop!

I don't know your house design, taste or budget. But I would suggest getting away from the boring and bland. (I built too much of that myself over the years.) Besides choosing your brick, keep in mind mortar colour, and natural stone and cast stone highlights.

Poke around and you'll see some great examples of creative design on this very site!

Just a couple things to add. My mason had me drive around and select the brick from a house that we liked, not from a sample board. He then sent a salesman out to match the house to a sample. The salesman knew what brick it was just by looking at it. He then showed us a sample to confirm our choice.

The other thing is to ask about the glazing or color of the brick and how it's made. My parents home has white brick that looks like it has some sort of red clay base to make it. The white outer color looks great but any little chip on the face and the red shows through. When I picked out our tan/brown brick, I made sure that the inner color matched the outer color.

I knew you guys would have info. that I'd never have picked up elsewhere.

rwd: I'd never have thought about the inner/outer color thing.

worthy: The photo is totally stunning! Got the Belden name. We're trying to use "only the best" everywhere and I'm afraid our budget isn't going to allow for that (after the Icynene, infloor hydronic heat, redundant heating and A/C systems, tile floors throughout--jeez, we're tapped out!) That's why I'm wondering if I can just exclude certain types of brick, or some other cost factor, before I brick shop.

We're in Georgia; lots of clay-based brick here. Our earth is mostly red clay. There are some areas in the south with lighter cream clay soils. We were thinking of a light red, but love the pale grays and beiges. I was thinking in terms of local brick-making that the reds might be significantly cheaper. Does that sound right?

Is there a Boral Brick showroom near you, pink? The folks at the one here were VERY helpful when we were researching. We were thinking of using brick when we were designing the house, but in the end we decided to use stone instead.

There is a pretty big difference in the prices. The 17th Century line was my favorite, but it was mucho $$$, so we steered clear of that one, but there were some beautiful choices that fell into our price range. The prices did vary depending on size (modular, queen, king), but we also noticed that the more traditional red colors were quite a bit less than those with heavy pink/burgandy or brown/gray undertones. I hadn't thought about why at the time, but your reasoning makes a lot of sense!

persnicketydesign: yes, our closest showroom is Boral. And the Belden brick that Worthy said is the best is carried there. (Don't know that we can afford "the best", but we'll see.) I was afraid those brown/gray ones would be pricey, esp. here. I think they're more affordable out California way, where I understand some communities are mandating them because they look more "organic". Well, here in GA, red looks more organic!

If I had time, and we don't need them till next summer, I could just create handmade ones right in our back yard, baked in the sun. It's apparently never going to rain here again, so no problem.

Am I remembering correctly that you live in GA down toward Savannah?

We're in the burbs of Augusta. Not quite as dry as where you are, but I think I can help you make those bricks!

Haven't had a drop of water in weeks...and there hasn't been a truly decent rain for months. *sigh* They've had to close several of the ramps at the lake because the water levels were too low for the tournament fishermen to get their boats in the water. They also quit watering at the Golf Hall of Fame. You know it's REALLY bad when Augusta gives up on anything that has to do with golf. LOL

On the bright side I guess there won't be any hold ups during constuction due to inclement weather. :o)