1918 to Present - The History of Gauged Brickwork - page 326

Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
e-mail: [e-mail]
Web: www.lambsbricks.com
Contact: Mr. R.H.S. Lamb
Bulmer Brick and Tile Company Ltd, Suffolk
Bulmer Brick and Tile continue their product development and currently mar-
ket two types of orange/red rubbing brick, pan-ground and fully-washed, as well
as a buff cutter; all of which can be supplied to standard or requested sizes.
Their 10-metre thick seam of London Bed clay, just over a metre below
ground level, is dug during late August-September using mechanical dig-
gers and left to over-winter. It is then pulled down into beds and soaked with
water for up to 24 hours. With additional water, it is then put through one of
three pug mills. For the 'fully-washed' rubber the clay is blended to require-
ment, washed, screened, taken through a filtering process, and then stored to
sour for up to four weeks. Sand can be added to rubbers, the amount being
dependent on the mix required.
The moulder sands his bench and draws down his warp of prepared clay and
throws it in to the dampened and sanded timber mould box. The excess clay is
then struck-off and the green brick turned out on to the pallet board ready for
removal to dry. A good moulder will mould 200 to 250 oversized rubbers a day,
depending on mix and size.
Drying takes place outside, at the hackstede, between March and October,
and inside with propane heaters and de-humidifiers, during winter. Rubbers
take about four weeks to dry and are only pitched one row high. Shrinkage is
10-12%.
Firing takes place in a coal-fired intermittent downdraught kiln with a cap-
acity of 12,000 bricks, of which 500-1,000 are rubbers placed in the centre of
the kiln. The fire is lit and built up over a total of four days, feeding coal every
1¼ hours during the two main days, reaching a temperature of up to 1,100ºC.
A three-day cooling period then follows. The overall loss is 2-3%.
Their two types of orange/red rubbers are pan-ground or fully-washed: both
produce a firm brick responding well to machine cutting or a softer rubber
for traditional hand cutting. In line with their development of the various rub-
bing brick range, Bulmer Brick and Tile Company, in partnership with Colin
Pinnegar, now offer the Bulmer Brick Cutting Services (BBCS), which seeks to
offer traditional and modern requirements, including working drawings.
They supply arches cut on the dry bench-mounted disc-cutting machine and
gauged brick elements cut by bow saw to profile and templet, and workshop