Face bricks are clay bricks made to be seen. They are fired in a kiln to an even colour and texture, so the wall is left bare with no plaster and no paint. You see them on township houses, suburban homes, schools and boundary walls all over South Africa. They cost more than stock bricks but save plaster and paint for years. This page covers face brick types, how to choose, laying and prices. Send one free, no-obligation request and yards near you quote you directly.
Face bricks types and finishes
Face bricks are graded by how even they are, and made in different textures:
- Standard face bricks: good colour and shape for most houses and walls.
- Aesthetic or premium face bricks: tighter colour control and special textures, priced higher.
- Semi face bricks: somewhere between a face brick and a clay stock brick, for walls where a small flaw is fine.
- Finishes: smooth or satin, rough or rock face, sand-faced and rustic.
- Colours: red face bricks, browns, buffs, charcoal and blends of several shades.
Choosing a face brick for your wall
Look at a built panel, not a single brick: colour blends only show across a wall, and the mortar colour changes the look a lot. Ask for samples from the batch you will get. Think about where the wall stands. Near the sea, salt and damp can bring out white efflorescence, so ask how a brick behaves in coastal conditions. On a long boundary wall a rough texture hides dust and splashes better than a smooth one. If only one side is on show, many builders use face bricks outside and cheaper stock bricks for the inner skin.
Laying face brick: the joints are on show
With no plaster to hide mistakes, the bricklaying is the finish. Keep the mortar joints an even 10 mm, struck or raked the same way along the whole wall, and keep mortar off the face, as smears are hard to clean. Mix bricks from several pallets as you lay so shade differences spread out instead of forming bands. Order the whole job at once: a second batch later may not match. Put in the damp-proof course, and wall ties on cavity walls, as SANS 10400 requires for new buildings. An experienced bricklayer who does face brick regularly is worth a slightly higher rate.
Face bricks price and what to ask
Standard face bricks usually cost about R5,000 to R8,500 per 1,000, or roughly R5 to R8.50 a brick. Premium ranges can run R14,000 or more per 1,000. The price follows the grade, colour, texture, quantity and delivery distance. Ask the brick supplier:
- the grade, and whether the bricks are made to SANS 227;
- whether the whole order comes from one batch;
- if there is a sample panel to look at;
- the delivery charge and the breakage policy.
What to include in your request
- Name the colour and texture you want
- Give the number of bricks or the wall size
- Ask for the whole order from one batch
- Say if you want to see a sample panel
- Give the delivery address and site access
Face Bricks for different clients
- Homeowners: a face brick house front or boundary wall that never needs painting
- Builders and bricklaying contractors: matched face bricks for a house build ordered in one batch per job
- Housing developers and complexes: one colour of face brick across a whole estate for a uniform look
- Brickyards and block yards: clay yards grading each firing into face, semi face and stock bricks
- New brick-making businesses: small traders buying and reselling face bricks by the pallet to local builders
- Farms and smallholdings: a face brick farmhouse, office or store that stays tidy without paint
- Municipalities, schools and public works: hard-wearing face brick schools, clinics and halls that need little upkeep
- Landscapers and paving teams: face brick garden walls, planters, gate pillars and built-in braai areas
Frequently asked questions
What is the price of face bricks per 1,000?
What is the difference between face bricks and semi face bricks?
Do face brick walls need plaster or paint?
Why do my new face bricks have white marks?
Face Bricks by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg