Restoring an 1850s Brick Facade: Matching Old Brick in a Restoration

Run your hand along an old brick front in Brooklyn and you can feel its age: edges softened by weather, faces that range from deep red to orange, mortar joints worn back from the surface. A wall like that is hard to fake. When part of it has to be repaired, the question every owner faces is the same: how do you add new work that looks as if it has always been there?

This fall, New York City started work on one of those walls. A firehouse in Cobble Hill, built in 1857, is being turned into a music school, and the city says the renovation will restore its historic brick and terra-cotta facade.

Maybe you own an 1800s row house or carriage house with a damaged front. You might be an architect planning a restoration and looking for brick that fits. Or maybe you are a mason who has been asked to make a repair disappear. This guide breaks down what the city has announced for the firehouse, why 1800s brick is hard to match, how restorers approach a match, and where reclaimed brick fits in a restoration. It is not preservation or compliance advice: your architect, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission if your building is designated, have the final word.

Table of Contents

• The Firehouse Project at a Glance
• What the City Is Restoring in Cobble Hill
• Why 1800s Brick Is Hard to Match
• How Restorers Approach a Match
• Where Reclaimed Brick Fits
• Mortar Matters as Much as Brick
• Architects, Landmarks and Who Decides
• Is Reclaimed Brick Worth It for a Restoration?

The Firehouse Project at a Glance

These are the basics as the Mayor's office announced them on October 6, 2026.

Note: this summarizes the Mayor's office release. It does not say what brick will be used in the restoration, and Chief Bricks is not involved in the project.

What the City Is Restoring in Cobble Hill

The firehouse has stood on DeGraw Street since 1857. In the release, Department of Design and Construction Commissioner Paul A. Ochoa describes it as built "when firefighters used horse-drawn carriages", and says the building "has a very special place in the hearts of Cobble Hill residents."

The plan keeps the old front and changes much of what is behind it. The city says the renovation will restore the historic brick and terra-cotta facade and convert the existing garage doors into glass windows, "bringing natural light into the building and increasing visibility for passersby and patrons." Inside, the project adds a courtyard, a new elevator, an accessible reception area, a finished cellar for rehearsal and recording space, and new mechanical, electrical and other systems to modernize what the release calls "the 169-year-old building."

That mix is common in old buildings: a new use inside, an old face outside. And it raises the question this guide is about. When an 1800s brick front is restored, how do you repair it so the repair does not show?

Why 1800s Brick Is Hard to Match

Brick from the 1800s rarely looks like brick made today. A few reasons:

• Color varies within one wall. Old walls often mix shades from deep red to orange, sometimes with darker bricks among them. A single new color can look flat beside them.
• Size varies. Old bricks are not all the same size, and their sizes do not always match today's common sizes. A brick that is slightly too tall throws off every course around it.
• The surface has aged. Edges soften and faces weather over many decades. New brick starts sharp and even.
• The mortar is part of the look. Old joints are often lime mortar, softer and lighter than modern cement mortar, and worn back from the face. New brick in the wrong mortar stands out even when the brick itself is close.

How Restorers Approach a Match

Every restoration is different, but the steps for matching brick are practical, and they work as well on a row house as on a public building.

• Keep every sound brick. The best match for an old wall is the wall's own brick. Bricks that are still sound can often be cleaned and reused, and only the damaged ones need replacing.
• Measure several bricks. Note length, height and depth, and the width of the mortar joints. Size comes first: color can be blended across a wall, but height has to line up.
• Look in daylight, from a distance. Photograph the wall close up and from across the street. A good match reads right as a whole wall, even if no single brick is identical.
• Try a sample panel. Lay a few candidate bricks with the planned mortar in a hidden spot or a small test area, and look at it in different light before ordering the full quantity.
• Blend, don't patch. Mixing replacement bricks from several pallets, and spreading them through the repair, avoids a block of one shade that reads as new work.
• Keep spares. A small stock of the same bricks makes the next repair much simpler.

Where Reclaimed Brick Fits

When the wall's own bricks are not enough, reclaimed brick can be the closest match you can get to old brick, because it is old brick. It already has the weathered surface and the color range that new brick has to imitate.

Our New York reclaimed bricks were made in the Hudson Valley; our guide to the history of brick manufacturing in the Hudson Valley tells the story of the brickyards there. Every brick is checked by hand, cleaned of old mortar and dirt, and sorted by type, size and color.

For the oldest walls, we carry Reclaimed NY Antique Bricks, described on the product page as early to late 1800s. The product page describes their colors as ranging from dark red and purple to orange, with a texture shaped by exposure to the elements. Their average size is 8" x 3.5" x 2.25", with 504 bricks to a pallet.

A few practical points:

• Send photos first. Photos of the wall in daylight, with your measurements, help you narrow the choice. You can send them through our contact page.
• See the bricks. Most of our reclaimed bricks are available as a small sample by priority mail. The Antique bricks are not, so for those, a visit to the yard is the best way to judge color and texture.
• Order enough to blend. Reclaimed bricks vary from one to the next. That is part of their appeal for a restoration, and one more reason to plan for blending and a few spares.

For examples on Brooklyn and Manhattan fronts, see our guide to reclaimed New York bricks for townhouse facades.

Mortar Matters as Much as Brick

Old brick was laid in soft lime mortar. Hard modern cement mortar can trap moisture and put stress on older, softer brick, so restorers usually use a breathable lime mortar with old brick.

For reclaimed brick, we carry one: Ecologic NHL 3.5, a natural hydraulic lime mortar for joints 3/8" and wider. A 38.5 lb bag lays about 30 bricks at 1/2" joints. It is for full bricks in walls, not for thin brick or floors. We explain why in why reclaimed bricks need different mortar than new bricks, and how in how to repoint reclaimed brick with NHL 3.5.

Joint width, color and finish all affect how a repair looks. Match them to the existing wall, and let your architect or mason set the mix for your building.

Architects, Landmarks and Who Decides

Restoring a historic front is not only a question of materials. Before you buy brick:

• Talk to your architect. They decide what is repaired, what is replaced and what the work must meet, and they write the specification your mason follows.
• Check whether your building is a landmark. If it is designated, contact the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission before exterior work. The Commission reviews exterior work on landmarks.
• Know what reclaimed brick is for. Reclaimed bricks aren't tested to current structural standards, so we sell them for non-structural use. Your architect or engineer decides where they fit in a restoration.

Is Reclaimed Brick Worth It for a Restoration?

For matching the face of an 1800s brick building, reclaimed brick can be the most convincing option. It has the size range, color and weathered surface of old brick because it is old brick. Set in a lime mortar that suits it, a repair can blend into the wall, and good material stays in use instead of going to a landfill.

The trade-offs are clear. Reclaimed bricks vary, so a careful match, blending and a few spares are worth the time. They are for non-structural use. And the approvals and the repair design come first, from your architect and, for a designated building, the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

To see the bricks, start with our reclaimed bricks guide, or visit our yard in Nanuet, NY. No appointment is needed, but if you call ahead at (718) 379-1232, we will make sure you get our full attention.