Old brick vs New brick

[atgcpaul]

My cousin (actually his contractor) is remodeling his house and is interested in reusing brick that was removed from a partial demo.

Other than the size of the bricks being different, he noticed that if you dip the old and new bricks in water, only the new brick seems to absorb the water--see pic.  He says water practically sheets off the old brick as if it were sealed.  He's in the Austin, TX area if that matters to the brick's makeup and the original brick was removed from a house built in the 1970s.

The old brick seems smoother than the new brick. Maybe they used more pressure to form it than the new one?

Paul

   

[jamesglenn]

My cousin (actually his contractor) is remodeling his house and is interested in reusing brick that was removed from a partial demo.

Other than the size of the bricks being different, he noticed that if you dip the old and new bricks in water, only the new brick seems to absorb the water--see pic.  He says water practically sheets off the old brick as if it were sealed.  He's in the Austin, TX area if that matters to the brick's makeup and the original brick was removed from a house built in the 1970s.

The old brick seems smoother than the new brick.  Maybe they used more pressure to form it than the new one?

Paul

It is possible the old brick had a sealer installed at some point while it was still on a building. Brick walls are designed to absorb water and drain it within a cavity behind the brick, however sealing the brick is done to minimize the water intrusion and possibly prolong the life of the brick.