The quickest reliable route to matching new bricks to old is to measure and photograph the brickwork accurately, then get physical samples from a supplier or specialist matcher and test them in natural light. If a stock match exists, focus on getting the mortar and joint profile right; if not, reclaimed bricks or tinting will get you closer. Never confirm a full order until a sample panel has passed inspection outdoors.
TL;DR:
- Accurate measurements and photographs taken in natural daylight are essential for identifying matching bricks, with multiple shots capturing size, color, and surface details.
- Mortar color, texture, and joint profile significantly influence visual harmony; testing cured mortar samples in different lighting conditions prevents common matching mistakes.
- When exact matches are unavailable, blending bricks, using reclaimed materials, or applying mineral tinting provides effective alternatives, but each method involves specific costs and time considerations.
- Building a sample panel to assess brick, mortar, and shadowing in various lighting is the most reliable step before committing to a full order, often overlooked by homeowners.
- Proper documentation and outdoor testing generally reduce sample rounds, save money, and ensure the finished wall achieves cohesive color, texture, and aging characteristics.
Table of Contents
- What’s the best way to identify your existing brick?
- Why does mortar colour matter as much as the bricks?
- What are your options when you can’t find an exact brick match?
- How do you request, test, and confirm a brick order?
- What if there’s genuinely no match available?
- What do most homeowners get wrong when matching brick?
- Our take: why the sample panel is the step everyone skips
- How Com approaches brick matching on heritage homes
- Where to go for supplier samples and technical guidance
- Sources
- FAQ
What’s the best way to identify your existing brick?
Before anyone can find you a match, they need accurate information about what you already have. This is where most brick-matching attempts go wrong before they even start.
Start with dimensions. Measure the length, height, and depth of an existing brick, and note whether it follows imperial or metric sizing, since Australian brickwork spans both depending on the era of the home. A Victorian-era brick often measures differently to a modern equivalent, and getting this wrong means a technically “close” colour match still won’t sit flush in the course.
Photographs matter just as much as measurements. Suppliers and specialist matchers consistently ask for three shots: a close-up showing texture and surface finish, a long-shot capturing colour distribution across several bricks, and a sizing photo with a tape measure laid against the brick face, all taken in natural daylight rather than under artificial light, which distorts colour readings.
Beyond size and colour, note the brick type:
- Handmade, extruded, or pressed finish
- Surface texture (smooth, sanded, rough-faced)
- Any blended colours or streaking within a single brick
- Signs of salt deposits or weathering that soften the original tone
Pro Tip: Take your long-shot photo in the morning and again in late afternoon. Brickwork can shift noticeably in apparent colour depending on the angle of sunlight, and a supplier working from a single midday photo may send you the wrong tone entirely.
Why does mortar colour matter as much as the bricks?
Mortar isn’t a background detail. It’s a huge part of what your eye actually registers when it looks at a wall.
Mortar can account for around 18 to 20% of a wall’s visible surface area, which means the wrong mortar colour can make a perfectly matched brick look wrong, and the right mortar can make an imperfect brick match look convincing. Lime mortars, common in older Melbourne homes, weather differently to cement-based mixes, so identify which one you’re dealing with before any repointing begins.
Record the aggregate texture, joint width, and the style of the original joint (struck, flush, or raked), then ask your mason or supplier for sample mortar mixes to test against the existing wall.
- Note whether the original mortar is lime based or cement based
- Photograph a close-up of an untouched joint for reference
- Test repointing on a small, inconspicuous section first
Pro Tip: Mix a small batch of your proposed mortar and let it cure for several days before judging the colour. Wet mortar looks darker than cured mortar, and comparing a wet sample against a dry, weathered wall is one of the most common matching mistakes.
What are your options when you can’t find an exact brick match?
Once you’ve documented the brick and mortar accurately, you have four realistic paths to a close match, each with different trade-offs in cost, time, and long-term appearance.
- Supplier identification services. Many brick suppliers will identify your brick from photos and dispatch physical samples quickly, often at no charge for the identification step itself.
- Reclaimed bricks. These carry decades of genuine weathering and colour variation that no new brick can replicate straight off the pallet, making them the strongest option where texture and patina matter most.
- Blended stock. Combining two or more brick types can recreate the multi-tone appearance of an original wall, since blending maintains the original colour distribution far better than a single new brick type ever could.
- Specialist tinting and weathering. Mineral-based tinting systems can shift brick tone while remaining breathable, and techniques like tumbling or surface ageing simulate decades of exposure in a controlled way.
Each route has a cost and time trade-off worth weighing before you commit:
- Same-stock matches are cheapest and fastest but rare for anything older than a few decades
- Reclaimed bricks cost more and take longer to source, but offer the most authentic finish
- Blends need careful planning but avoid the flat, uniform look of a single new brick type
- Tinting adds cost on top of the brick price itself, and needs periodic reapplication over the decades
How do you request, test, and confirm a brick order?
Turning theory into an actual order comes down to a tight, repeatable workflow.
- Send your documentation. Email suppliers your three photos, exact measurements, a mortar close-up, and a short description of the project (extension, repair, or full façade).
- Wait for identification and samples. Expect a match identification within one working day, with physical samples typically arriving within a few business days. Budget separately for custom tinting, since this usually sits outside the standard sample turnaround.
- Build a sample panel. Lay 40 to 100 bricks in a small mock-up panel with the intended mortar and joint profile, then assess it at different times of day before committing.
- Confirm quantity and order. Calculate your required brick count from the wall area, and add a contingency for breakage, cutting waste, and future repairs.
Good documentation isn’t a formality. Suppliers consistently report that clear daylight photos and accurate measurements cut down the number of sample rounds needed, which shortens your whole timeline. If you’re also budgeting the wider project, a renovation cost guide can help you sanity-check where brick matching sits against other extension costs.
What if there’s genuinely no match available?
Sometimes the original brick is simply out of production, and no supplier catalogue will produce an exact hit. This is where judgement matters more than persistence.
- Blend two or three brick types rather than forcing a single colour to do all the work
- Apply targeted tinting to selected bricks, then match the mortar tone to soften the new-to-old junction
- Consider a deliberate design break, such as a soldier course or feature band, if a seamless blend isn’t achievable
- Bring in a specialist for bespoke weathering or reclaimed panel work when the wall is heritage-significant
Pro Tip: Distribute tinted or reclaimed bricks randomly through the new work rather than in a neat cluster. Uniform old brickwork was never perfectly uniform to begin with, and a scattered blend reads as far more natural than a tidy patch.
What do most homeowners get wrong when matching brick?
The recurring mistake is poor documentation: blurry photos, missing measurements, or ordering a full pallet without ever laying a sample panel outdoors. Physical samples beat digital colour matching every time, and testing in situ before ordering saves far more money than it costs. On genuine heritage walls, breathable lime mortars and mineral tints tend to age more sympathetically than cement-based or painted alternatives.
Our take: why the sample panel is the step everyone skips
Most brick-matching advice online focuses on finding the “right” brick, as if colour matching were the hard part. It rarely is. The harder problem is that a brick which looks correct on a supplier’s sample chip can still look wrong once it’s laid, pointed, and viewed in afternoon shadow against a hundred-year-old wall.
That’s the gap conventional advice misses. A sample panel isn’t a box to tick before ordering. It’s the only stage where brick, mortar, and joint shadowing interact the way they will on the finished wall, and it’s the step most homeowners skip to save a week.
If there’s one thing worth prioritising above colour, size, or supplier reputation, it’s patience with that panel. Build it, walk past it in the morning and again at dusk, and only then commit to a full order. Every other decision in this process, from reclaimed bricks to mineral tinting, is really just an input into how that panel looks once it’s dry and standing in daylight.
— Jarrad
How Com approaches brick matching on heritage homes
Brickwork matching is ideally handled as part of a broader exterior restoration contract rather than as an isolated trade job, especially on Victorian and Edwardian homes where brick, mortar, and joinery must integrate into one cohesive façade. A good approach includes assessing the existing brick and mortar profile, coordinating supplier samples, and testing mortar mixes and tinting options against the actual wall before any full order is placed.
For an assessment, homeowners should have clear photos and rough measurements ready, along with a sense of the project scope, since brickwork matching typically sits within larger restoration contracts. Browse examples of completed work in our heritage painting portfolio, and get in touch to arrange a site visit where we can assess the brick, mortar, and surrounding render or timber together as one plan.
Where to go for supplier samples and technical guidance
For the practical next step, Brickhunter’s identification service and Brickworks’ matching tool both handle photo submissions and sample dispatch directly, giving you a fast starting point before any contractor gets involved.
Sources
- Fast expert online brick matching service – Brickhunter
- Brick Matching Tool | Discover Your Style – Brickworks Supply Center
- How to match bricks for extensions and renovations – Imperial Bricks
- How to blend old and new brickwork seamlessly – Brick Makeover
FAQ
What is the best way to match existing bricks?
Measure and photograph the brick in natural daylight, send those details to a supplier for identification, then test physical samples in a small panel before ordering the full quantity.
Is there an app to match bricks?
There’s no dedicated matching app in wide use; instead, most suppliers run photo-based identification services online, where you upload close-up, long-shot, and sizing photos for a manual match.
How much are 100 year old bricks worth today?
Reclaimed brick pricing varies widely by condition, rarity, and region, so there’s no single figure; a supplier or reclamation yard can quote based on the specific brick type and quantity you need.
Can you stain brick to match existing brick?
Yes, mineral-based tinting systems can shift new brick towards an existing tone while staying breathable, which makes them a more durable option than surface paint for long-term colour matching.
