Historic brick is brick manufactured before roughly the mid-20th century using older clay sources and lower firing temperatures, resulting in a softer, more porous unit than modern hard-fired brick that needs compatible, lower-strength mortar to avoid damage during repair.
Brick manufacturing changed a lot over the last century, kilns got hotter and more consistent, and the compressive strength of a standard brick went up. Historic brick fired at lower, less controlled temperatures ended up softer and more absorbent than what's produced today. That matters directly for repair work: pairing old, soft brick with modern high-strength mortar or new hard brick creates a strength mismatch, and the softer, older material is what fails first under stress.
There's plenty of historic brick still standing on older homes and buildings around Hillsville and Galax. It can look solid on the surface and still be far softer than anything sold today, which is why we test rather than assume before repointing or patching it. Get the mortar match wrong and freeze-thaw cycling through a Blue Ridge winter will show the mistake fast.
More masonry vocabulary from the glossary.
The services where this term comes up.
Chelo's Brick & Stone serves Hillsville, Galax, Wytheville, Fancy Gap, and Independence, VA. Call for a straight answer and a free on-site estimate.
