You can match bricks for an extension, but how closely depends on the age of your house, how much the wall has weathered and how much care goes into the mortar and bonding. For most post-war homes in Birmingham and Solihull, a close match is realistic. For older or discontinued bricks, you may need to blend or tint. This guide shows you how to get the best result and when to ask for help.
TL;DR
- Take two photos in daylight, one close-up and one from a few metres away, and send them to a free brick matching service before you order anything.
- Always compare physical samples against your wall, outdoors, in different light. Never choose from a screen.
- Mortar colour, joint finish and bond pattern change the look as much as the brick itself.
- If your home is in a conservation area, the look of the new brickwork can decide whether you need full planning permission.
- Settle the brick question during design, not after the budget is fixed.
Table of Contents
- Why a close match matters
- What actually makes bricks look the same
- Step by step: how to match your bricks
- When no perfect match exists
- Planning rules: when matching is not optional
- What it costs, and where brick fits in the budget
- Choosing who lays the bricks
- Our perspective
- Planning an extension in the West Midlands
- FAQ
- Sources
Why a close match matters
A rear or side extension is usually the biggest change you will make to your house. Brickwork is the most visible part of it. A mismatch is hard to fix once the wall is up, because you cannot easily undo a wall that has been built, pointed and signed off.
There is also a practical side. In sensitive areas the council can treat appearance as a planning matter, so the brick you choose can affect approval, not only how the finished house looks. We come back to that below.
It helps to be realistic about the goal. Your existing wall has aged for decades. Sun, rain, moss and smoke have changed its colour. A new brick is fresh from the kiln, so even a perfect specification will look a little brighter at first. The aim is a wall that reads as one house now and settles together over a few years.
What actually makes bricks look the same
People usually start with colour. Five things matter, and colour is only one of them.
- Colour range. Few bricks are a single flat colour. Most have a mix of reds, oranges, browns or yellows, and the spread across the wall matters more than the average.
- Texture and finish. Wire-cut, smooth, sand-faced, stock and handmade bricks catch light differently.
- Size. Modern metric bricks are not always the same dimensions as older ones. A small difference in height shows up as courses that do not line up.
- Bond pattern. Stretcher bond is common in homes from the mid-20th century onwards. Older houses often use Flemish or other bonds. The bond affects how the wall reads from the street.
- Mortar and pointing. Mortar colour, sand type and joint profile (flush, weathered, recessed) change the wall's tone dramatically.
A wall can use the right brick and still look wrong because the mortar is too pale or the joints are cut differently. When you talk to a builder, ask how they will match the pointing, not only the brick.
Step by step: how to match your bricks
1. Look at the house before you phone anyone
Walk round your house in daylight. Note where the extension wall will be seen from the street, and where it will only be seen from the garden. You may decide to spend more effort on the visible elevation.
Look for a spare brick source on site. Some houses have a few bricks left in a shed, or a section of wall, such as an old outbuilding or an infilled doorway, that could be sampled by your builder.
2. Take the right photos
A good photo brief makes the biggest difference to the quality of the match. Specialists ask for at least two images: a close-up about 30cm from the wall to show texture and colour variation, and a distance shot from 2 to 4 metres to show the bond pattern and weathering. Use natural daylight, not flash.
A few extra tips from our own experience of site visits: shoot on an overcast day if you can, because direct sun flattens colour. Include a coin or a tape measure in one frame for scale. Photograph more than one part of the wall, because the brick near a downpipe will have weathered differently from the brick under the eaves.
3. Use a free matching service
Several UK brick suppliers run free human-led matching services. In outline, you submit photos through an online form, receive expert analysis within about one working day, and can then get physical samples to compare on site within 2 to 5 days. That is the research the service publishes about itself, so check the current turnaround when you apply.
Why a person rather than an app? One supplier explains that it discontinued its own matching app because software could not judge things like mortar colour and weathering as well as an experienced specialist. If you are wondering whether an app can do this for you, the honest answer is that it is a poor substitute for samples and a trained eye.
Another service worth knowing about is a matching and identification service aimed at extensions, repairs and renovations, which also covers cases where the original brick is hard to find.
4. Compare samples on the wall
When samples arrive, do not judge them on a table indoors. Hold each one against the wall, outside, in morning, midday and evening light. Wet one sample, because rain changes the tone, and check what the brick looks like when damp.
A single brick can mislead you. Ask for several of each, so you see the variation within a batch. If possible, lay out a small panel of six or more bricks with sample mortar.
5. Decide on mortar and pointing
Once the brick is close, mortar becomes the next lever. Ask your builder to build a sample panel, a square metre or less, with the proposed brick, mortar mix and joint finish. Compare that panel with the old wall before the main build starts. It is much cheaper to change a panel than a finished elevation.
If your existing pointing is tired, think about repointing the visible sections of the old wall next to the extension. A fresh joint beside a worn one makes any new brick look out of place. Note that repointing is a separate cost: Checkatrade's Birmingham page gives an average of about £910 for repointing jobs, though it varies with the size and complexity of the work.
When no perfect match exists
Older houses are where things get harder. Bricks may be imperial-sized, handmade, or from a works that closed long ago. You then have three realistic options.
| Option | What it involves | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Closest modern match | A new brick chosen from current ranges, with matched mortar | The original is common and not heavily weathered |
| Blending | Mixing two or more modern brick types on site to copy the mix of tones in the old wall | The old wall has a wide colour range |
| Tinting | Professional staining to shift the colour of new bricks | The nearest brick is close in texture but off in colour |
Suppliers describe tinting and blending of different modern bricks as standard ways to approach a wall that cannot be matched directly. Specialists also point out that a seamless result often means layering techniques: the right brick first, then possibly mortar matching, surface tinting or blending batches, rather than expecting one catalogue product to do everything.
There is also a design answer. Sometimes the best match is a deliberate contrast. A timber-clad or rendered extension, or one with a clear change of material at a natural break, can look better than a near miss in brick. If you are weighing brick against other build methods, our guide to timber frame versus brick for West Midlands extensions explains how each affects build time. Bear in mind the planning point below before choosing a different material.
Planning rules: when matching is not optional
For most houses in England, many extensions can go ahead under permitted development, which has a rule about materials. Government guidance for householders says that in a conservation area, permitted development rights are reduced, and extensions that do not use materials of a similar appearance to the original house may need full planning permission. The same guidance says that cladding the exterior with stone, render or tiles often needs permission in those areas too, and that Article 4 Directions can restrict rights further.
Put simply: if you live in a conservation area, or your house is listed, contact your local planning authority before you commit to a brick. In Birmingham, Solihull, Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall or Wolverhampton, that means the relevant council. In conservation areas the council can weigh up whether the new work preserves or enhances the character of the area, which means brick choice is part of the case, not an afterthought.
If you want a broader overview of what rules apply to your plot, these guides cover the main cases:
- Permitted development for conservatories and extensions
- Side extension planning rules for single-storey work
What it costs, and where brick fits in the budget
Brick is only one line in an extension budget, but it is a line that can swing. A specialist or tinted brick costs more than a common facing brick, and a sample panel and matched pointing take a little extra labour. The right time to find this out is before your quote is fixed.
For reference, Checkatrade's Birmingham listing gives an average of £820 to £2,034 for general bricklaying projects, with wall installation averaging £1,386. Those are small-job figures, and an extension is a different scale, so treat them as a sense of local labour and material levels rather than a price for your build. The same page notes that a bricklayer can typically lay around 500 bricks a day on a standard job, rising to around 1,200 with a second bricklayer and a labourer, and that costs for laying 1,000 bricks are usually quoted job by job rather than at a fixed rate.
When you ask for quotes, ask how the brick has been priced. An allowance for a basic facing brick is not the same as a price for a matched brick. For wider budgeting, see our guides on why Birmingham extension quotes need a 10 to 15% buffer and extension cost per square metre.
Choosing who lays the bricks
The best brick can still look wrong in the wrong hands. Coursing, bond, joint finish and where the new wall meets the old (the toothing-in or a separate vertical joint) all affect the result.
When you hire for brick-heavy work, Checkatrade advises looking beyond the lowest quote: check insurance, ask for a portfolio of similar extensions, and confirm the bricklayer holds a valid CSCS card. Ask to see a finished extension on an older house like yours, not just a new build.
A short list of questions to put to any builder:
- Will you build a sample panel before the main wall?
- Who is responsible for ordering the bricks and checking they come from one batch?
- How will you match the mortar and the joint profile?
- What happens at the junction between old and new brickwork?
- Have you matched bricks on a house of this age before?
Our perspective
In our experience the brick conversation goes wrong in one predictable way: it is left until after the design and budget are agreed. By then the roof line, the openings and the money are set, and the brick becomes a problem to solve rather than a choice to make.
We treat it as part of the design. Because one team handles the design, the planning and building regulations paperwork and the build, the person who decides the brick is the same person who knows what the planning officer will ask and what the bricklayers will have to do on site. That matters most on older Birmingham and Solihull houses, where the original brick may no longer be made.
Our advice to homeowners is simple. Send photos to a free matching service early. Get samples and look at them outside. Insist on a sample panel. And if your house is in a conservation area, speak to the council before you fall in love with a brick. A good match is rarely luck. It is a few small checks done in the right order.
— Raja
Planning an extension in the West Midlands
If you are thinking about a kitchen-diner, a double-storey addition, a side-return or a wrap-around extension, we can take care of the whole job: design, planning, building regulations and construction under one team, with budget guidance before any site survey. Brick matching is part of how we design, not an add-on. See our extension services to talk about your house.
FAQ
Can you match bricks for a house extension?
Usually yes, to a good standard, especially on houses from the last century with common bricks. Older or discontinued bricks are harder, and you may need to blend or tint. Send photos to a free matching service and compare samples on the wall.
Is there an app to match bricks?
Apps exist, but they are not reliable for extensions. One supplier stopped offering its own app in favour of human assessment, because software struggles with mortar colour and weathering. Use photos with a human specialist and physical samples instead.
Where can I get bricks matched?
Several UK brick suppliers and specialist merchants offer free matching: you send photos, they identify close options, and they post samples. Your builder or architect can also help and may have a preferred supplier. Check each service's current terms, because minimum order sizes can apply.
How much does a bricklayer charge to lay 1,000 bricks?
There is no fixed rate. Checkatrade notes that prices for 1,000 bricks are usually quoted job by job, depending on access, bond and complexity. A single bricklayer typically lays about 500 bricks a day, so ask for a written quote that covers labour, materials and pointing.
Do I need planning permission if the bricks do not match?
It depends on where you live. In a conservation area, materials that are not of similar appearance can mean you need full planning permission rather than relying on permitted development. Check with your local planning authority, which may also have an Article 4 Direction in place.
Sources
- Brick Matching Service, Imperial Bricks
- Why We Discontinued Our Brick Matching App, Imperial Bricks
- Brick Matching and Identification, Brickhunter
- Find 14 Bricklayers in Birmingham, Checkatrade
- Permitted development rights for householders: technical guidance, GOV.UK