Time for some brick news. ATTENTION ATTENTION, there is more to brick than rectangular faces. Above is an example of shadow brick, window sills. You can also see other features that appear to be shapes, but are not. The boarder around is the shadow brick and the rounded brick under the window is the window sills, these are the shapes. The boarder on the side of the windows are regular brick turned on ends, this is called a double batt. Two headers of the brick encase the window. On the corners of the home they used regular brick and pulled the brick forward and raked the joint a little. These are called coins. You could use different colored brick, complementary in color, to cause a stronger contrast to show the coins more.

Other common shapes used are step treads, arches (circular-jack- elliptical-gothic and on), hinge brick, water tables, wall copings, and special design pieces. If you plan on using shapes place the order a couple of weeks early so the brick and shapes can be delivered on time.

The moral of this story is to think outside of the rectangle.

Stone Accents

Here is a great example of mixing brick, stone and hardie board. The one thing to remember about using stone accents is to make sure the front of the home is balanced. If you add stone to the right front side of your home, make sure you add the stone to the left front side as well. This is called a bump out. The builder did an excellent job by adding the corners, this helps to give the full stone effect. Also, when the stone is not touching the ground it helps to have the stone sitting on another solid product, like brick. If the stone was sitting over top of another product, siding or alike, your mind will tell you," something is not right here, what is it????" When designing the outside of your home, use your front profile view from your plans and shade in the area that you plan to stone and see if the drawing feels balanced. You could also do the back and sides if you plan on stoning those areas as well.

Teger Stone, Fireplace

Here is great example of upgrading the inside of your home. This is a job that was done by Teger Stone. JT has spent a lot of time learning the intricate details of laying stone. Notice how the corners are toothed in with the stone mantel. I have seen this job in person, and the focal point is incredible. The accent lights on the top part create a lot of warmth with the earth tone colors and the wood floor. JT has been laying stone in he Tidewater area for several years, and I highly recommend his skills for any job. Great job JT!!!!

Field stone

Here is a nice field stone with very tight joints. The surface of the stone is very flat, and with the tight joints the stone does not have a lot of depth perception. However, in person this is a very nice looking product. I would probably use a grout bag and add same color mortar in the joints to give a more monolithic look. The joints became my focus point on the wall. The right side of the window has a stacked stone versus the left side with the random pattern. The window looks plane. If the window had a pre-cast header or even a stone arch this would show case the window a lot better. The applicator did spend a lot of time special cutting to help give the tight fit. So why not spend time on the windows? This is like putting good wine in a dirty bottle.

Stone Corners

The picture shows a 90 degree turn with stone running into brick. The stone is a very nice looking earth tone color and contrast with the earth tone tumbled brick, this is a very nice combination. If you notice the larger flat stones mixed in with the ledge stone, these are called spotters. The window has a nice trim stone arch, this will help to showcase the window. The application of the stones are good and level. This is critical for ledge stone use. If the stones follow the slightest wave, it kills the whole look. The only thing I would change on this job is to run the stone around the corner about 16 inches. This will give the full stone effect instead of giving the appearance of a veneer. Also, the down spout should be relocated.
Over all the color combination of the stone with spotters and the brick and the mortar color, this is a stop and view home. Made me stop.