reclaimed bricks

reclaimed bricks North Chicago Bricks, a renowned producer of Chicago-style bricks, is dedicated to offering exceptional quality clay bricks. These bricks reclaimed bricks directly imported from the Dominican Republic to Miami, Florida, ensuring authenticity and top-notch quality. They perfectly capture the aesthetic but come with the benefits of being brand new and undamaged. North Chicago Bricks prides itself on providing these high-quality bricks at unbeatable prices, making them an excellent choice for customers seeking the timeless look of Chicago bricks without compromising on quality or cost.

Classic Clay Bricks: Our standard clay bricks are identical in material and craftsmanship to the revered Chicago brick. With dimensions of 2 3/8 x 4 x 7.5 inches, they’re perfect for robust and stylish construction.

Thin Bricks & Corners: For more intricate designs, our thin bricks, measuring 1 3/8 inches in thickness, offer the same quality in a sleeker form. We also provide corner pieces, ensuring a seamless fit for any project.

Much of Chicago is built from Chicago Common bricks. If you're in Chicago, you're probably near some now. Chicago Commons are the rougher and dirtier bricks on the sides and back of many of Chicago's buildings. They're made from the clay from the Chicago River and when fired they can turn a range of colors, like buff yellow, salmon pink, or deep red. Chicago bricks age beautifully and take on a beautiful patina.

History

Before the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Chicago was built mostly of wood. The fire burned down over 17,000 buildings and, after another fire in 1874, citywide building codes were changed to ban new wood buildings. The rebuilders of the city in turn dug into the clay of the river and areas surrounding the city to make bicks.

The clays used to make Chicago Common Bricks are chicago style brick of lime, iron, and tons of little stones and particulate. Depending on the makeup of the particular batch, the bricks burned to a different range of colors, often colored in spots (called flashpoints, where the bricks touched in the kilns). These bricks were called Commons because they were rougher and deemed unworthy of gracing the street facing facade of the building. That purpose was left to nicer “face bricks” made with the smoother, cleaner clays from areas like Pennsylvania and St. Louis.

So, Chicago bricks were tucked away on the back, sides, and interiors of buildings. You can still spot them there!

In 1871 there were 5 brickyards in Cook County. By 1881 there were 60. By 1915, 10% of all brick made in America was made in Chicago. Chicago was transformed from a city of wood to a city of brick.