1918 to Present - The History of Gauged Brickwork - page 330

Mr Andrew Gardiner, Assistant Works Manager of the Michelmersh
Brick and Tile Company over the course of several discussions and meetings
with the author comments on the current and future production of rubbing
bricks:
Until now it has been our belief that our clay does not lend itself to producing
a fully fledged rubbing brick. Whilst the brick is soft enough to rub to size, once
the brick face is rubbed it exposes a pitted surface rather than the close textured
finish we've always associated with traditional rubbing bricks.
However, during our discussions it became apparent that, with modifications to
our clay preparation - removing the breeze, using a finer grade of grogging sand
and altering our firing process, we could possibly produce a brick suitable for
rubbing in the traditional way.
At the moment we operate with a single clay preparation system feeding a factory
producing 250,000 products each week. Our current ranges of facing bricks are
all 'Multis' and dependant on the addition of breeze for their colour. Therefore,
modifying our process to effect a trial into producing rubbing bricks would prove
difficult. However, we do have plans to alter our current clay preparation system,
which would enable us to undertake some small-scale trials in the near future.
Ultimately the decision to add rubbing bricks to our product range, if trials prove
successful, has to be a commercial one. Questions such as: Would the introduc-
tion of a rubbing brick enhance sales or be at the expense of our existing cut
arches and purpose made specials business? Also, are there sufficient bricklayers
with the traditional skills to rub arches or carve specials on site? And are archi-
tects/specifiers aware of the existence of rubbing bricks for their projects? - All
need to be addressed.
You [the author] have certainly shed some light on the whole subject of rubbing
bricks. Thanks to your efforts it is reassuring to know that we are not that far away
from being able to produce rubbing bricks, should demand be there [Gardiner,
2004].
Michelmersh Brick and Tile Company Ltd
Hillview Road
Michelmersh
Romsey
Hampshire
SO51 0NN
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
e-mail: [e-mail]
Web: www.michelmersh.com