Heritage Brickwork Restoration - Marcus Clark - Whitstable, Kent, UK

Gauged Brickwork by Heritage Brickwork Restoration - UK

Gauged Brickwork

Gauged brickwork was introduced to England from the Netherlands in the sixteenth century, and reached its height during the Georgian period. Gauged brickwork displays incredibly tight joints, resulting in clean lines and curves, which gives buildings striking definition. Gauged brickwork requires the very highest standard of finish and exacting standards of craftsmanship.

Gauged brickwork is a method whereby bricks are cut and rubbed to fine tolerances. The bricks used for this purpose are known as 'rubbers' and consist of finely sieved brick earth fired to below 900 degrees, vitrification temperature. As a consequence rubbers are relatively soft compared to a standard brick.

Rubbers may be cut by means of a bow saw and rubbed by means of a rubbing stone. Once the desired dimensions are achieved rubbers are soaked in water and dipped into a lime putty and silver sand mortar prior to being laid. By this method joints of less than 1mm can be achieved. Gauged brickwork can be carved to create beautiful embellishments. This is a highly skilled and time-consuming process.

Heritage Brickwork Restoration are proud to be able to offer this extremely skilled service thanks to the training of the world renowned brickwork historian Dr Gerard Lynch.




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