The Brick Pit is expanding the possibilities of recycled brick

Each day, The Brick Pit recovers thousands of bricks from demolition sites across Sydney and beyond, carefully cleaning and sorting every piece by colour and condition. 

“Every recycled brick has a history and unique character,” shares The Brick Pit’s Ohad Fleiderman. “A secondhand brick, compared to one that imitates the look of a recycled brick, is much more authentic and beautiful.”

Brick is a building material that has been used for centuries. But with today’s structural constraints, weight requirements and often limited space, traditional full-sized bricks, whether new or recycled, are often overlooked, particularly in larger commercial developments and contemporary fit-outs. 

“Australians love the look of a brick wall, but sometimes it’s too hard logistically.”

The Brick Pit’s new recycled brick slip production capability is changing that. 

Seeing the potential for brick slips, Ohad and his team have taken the leap to invest in this new machinery which allows their recycled bricks to be used at a scale previously not possible. More than a new product line, it’s a new opportunity for architects, designers and builders to incorporate reclaimed brick into projects where traditional masonry isn’t possible. 

Read more: The rise of recycled brick in contemporary architecture

Thin sections cut from whole bricks, brick slips achieve the same appearance as traditional brick laying without the weight and thickness. Keeping within their belief of only using existing, often heritage materials, The Brick Pit’s brick slips are produced exclusively from reclaimed bricks, preserving their unique colours, textures and character.

The advantages of The Brick Pit’s recycled brick slips

Solving practical challenges

Traditional brick walls are heavy, requiring substantial structural support. On the other hand, the system The Brick Pit uses for its brick slips achieves the same look in a much lighter and efficient way.

“One big advantage of the slips is the weight. It’s much lighter than a brick. The second advantage is the width. When you use slips, it’s only 25 millimetres, 20 or even 15. It’s really, really thin.” 

The rail system is engineered to Australian standards and conditions, can be used consistently across a building’s facade, and allows for the appearance of brick cladding without the complications of full brickworks. Being lighter than traditional masonry, it can also integrate more easily with different structures. 

Preserving character

The Brick Pit’s investment in new cutting technology allows it to produce recycled brick slips in far greater volumes than previously possible. 

This makes it possible for those designing multi-storey developments and commercial projects to incorporate recycled brick where this previously wasn’t an option. 

Sustainability 

Choosing to only work with reclaimed bricks, The Brick Pit is already doing its part to reduce the nearly 40 per cent of global carbon emissions that the built environment contributes. 

By now offering recycled brick slips, each brick goes further – each reclaimed brick can produce multiple brick slips, allowing more surface area to be created from the same salvaged material. “We can have two slips out of one brick,” explains Ohad. The Brick Pit is also exploring ways to repurpose the remaining offcuts. “We want to make something useful with them, not to just throw them to road base or crushing or something like this. Maybe other professionals can use them.” 

More than replacing new bricks with those that have already proven themselves for decades, sometimes even centuries, in Australia's harshest conditions, The Brick Pit’s reclaimed brick slips opens a new opportunity for Australian buildings to be designed with circularity and the character of authentic bricks without the constraints of traditional brickwork.