Finishing for our facing bricks
Each facing brick undergoes unique production. Once the raw materials are put together, we form balls of clay in the desired sizes, then fire them. We can add a finishing touch as a final flourish to give you exactly the look that you want. Discover the possibilities.
Cementing, the alternative to keiming
The development of our cemented stones is inspired by an age-old technique known as ‘keiming’. Keiming is the process of covering brick facades with a thin, white layer of chalk for a rustic appearance that works especially well with rural buildings.
You can get the same effect with cemented stones from our Rainbow Snowdust range. These products are given a layer of chalk in the plant. The stones can be pointed afterwards to give the same appearance as a keimed facade. Alternatively, they can be bonded for a surprisingly modern result.
We were looking for a combination of a soft grey with a robust character. We found what we were looking for with Rainbow Snowdust: grey but with a lot of nuance in both colour and texture.
Braising
For unique facades with grey tints
Braising involves treating the fired stones in a special braising kiln. This is not to fire the bricks again, but to influence the colour. Due to the intense, low-oxygen atmosphere of the kiln, the gas in the oven extracts oxygen from the stones. Et voilà – the iron oxide colour changes to give the stones their typical grey colour.
The precise tint is ultimately dependent on the type of brick in the braising oven. White stones become light grey. Braising gives yellow, orange, red, and brown bricks a grey to dark grey tint. And a base brick with multiple colours discolours to various grey tints. These colour casts can often be intense and rich in character and are well suited to creative architecture.
Ageing
The appearance of a reused brick with the quality of a new one
You can give your home that authentic look by adding old bricks to your facades. But reused stones are often difficult to find and can be expensive. Plus they never come with a quality guarantee. Thankfully, this isn’t a problem – the ‘aged’ selection from Vandersanden offers the same look without compromising quality. With our proprietary, patented forming procedure, we can create facing bricks that are scarcely distinguishable from reused stones.
How does it work? After the drying process, the unfired facing bricks are given extra pigments on the visible surface before being tumbled to give them that aged look. Only then do they enter the kiln. This ensures that the ‘ageing’ looks entirely natural. Aged facing bricks are usually combined with a rural architectural style, but can also work well with modern styles for an original and creative twist.
Tumbling
The budget-friendly cousin to the aged facing brick
Not every brick in our range beginning with ‘Old’ (in Dutch: Oud) is produced using the ageing procedure. Oud Warande and Oud Capitool are tumbled facing bricks. What’s the difference? In contrast to aged facing bricks, these bricks are tumbled after firing. With Oud Warande, we add cement pulp to the drum for extra colour effects. When compared to their aged cousins, tumbled bricks are slightly more rugged in their structure, but have the same authentic, timeless appearance.
Engobing
For facades with original colour combinations
By varying with clay and sand types, our seasoned brickmakers are able to create all manner of different colours. If the colour combination that you want is unavailable, we can switch to a different technique known as engobing. Engobes are colourants that comprise primarily clay minerals and oxides. By mixing them with water, we can create a liquid mass that we spray onto the unfired bricks as a thin layer. These engobes are then sintered firmly onto the surface. Engobe spots can cover the surface of the brick fully or in part. And last but not least, they come in all of the colours of the rainbow.
Impression
Extruded bricks that stand out
Extruded bricks usually have a smooth surface and straight corners. The Impression series is a little different. The visible sides of the clay bar are impressed with different motifs, resulting in a striking rugged surface and a subtle gloss. In addition to the blue/purple Amsterdam and brown/purple Praag Impression, you can find anthracite bricks such as the Brilliant Black Impression.
Extruded with ‘Application’
Extra character to break through the rigidity
Our German brickworks in Oberlausitz, close to Dresden, specialises in the production of extruded facing bricks and pavers. We have recently developed an entirely new technique that we use to enrich the surface of facing bricks –
this involves adding a mixture of engobes and cinders to the clay bar. Doing this adds special colour nuances that contrast beautifully with the smooth base of the extruded brick. A glossy effect as a finish. Greifswald, Chemnitz, and Brandenburg are the first developments using this technique on dark red, brown, and black bases respectively.