Clay body brick

The brick to the right show an example of a red body brick (top ) and a buff body (bottom). The amazing thing about the red body brick is the stark white face. The red body is typically used fro residential construction. The red clays are typically found through out the US. A thin layer of coloring is applied to the red body before firing. The colors range from white, gray, black, browns, and just about any color in between. Typically the color range can be broken down into whites, browns, grays, pinks, reds, orange (terracotta). It's not as though a consumer can contact a brick manufacture and ask for a green brick.

The buff brick (bottom) is typically used for commercial jobs. Notice the body color is the same as the face of the brick. This is through the body color. If you chipped the top brick you will see a red spot, if you chipped the buff brick you will see the buff color. Other than price, this is the big difference between the two. Some people refer to the buff colored brick as "add mix." Most of the buff brick are manufactured in the mid US. However, there are a couple of buff producers in the Carolina's. I was a Plant Manager for a plant in Mississippi a couple of years ago, and it was then that I learned of the buff material. Basically the buff material used for brick manufacturing is of a low grade kaolin clay. The high grade Kaolin are used in Rolaids and fine china. Also, kaolin is known as a treat such as ice cream in the Appalachian region. Yes, people consumed the stuff, NOT ME. Depending on the size of the deposit of the kaolin, surface mining or pot mining will be the process to reclaim the kaolin. Thousands of years ago the Gulf of Mexico would flood up into Tennessee. Then the waters would recede and the buff clays would be washed down from Tennessee and deposit down through Mississippi. The clay deposits would be in pockets. This would happen several times, which caused a layering effect. It is amazing the layers you can see in the mining pits. The fossil hunters love the mining areas. Anyway, I could go on, if you find this interesting go visit a student from a university and ask about this process, they will talk forever. They very seldom get some one interested on this topic. I did enjoy the information. Thank you Ole Miss.