Palmetto Brick General Manager, Chad Redwine

Redwine said a few new industry trends have emerged this year. 

“We are seeing a trend in new urban look, which is a box-style home or square-edged home; it’s more linear, and we’re seeing those come out of Atlanta,” said Redwine. “We’re also seeing the country modern, or farmhouse-style, brick. That style uses just a foundation around the bottom with white lap side on top, with black windows, and they’re doing brick chimney accents, so the foundation and the brick exterior chimneys match each other.”

Another trend Redwine has noticed is the “old world look.”

“A lot of people are looking for older-looking brick, so when they put it in the wall it already looks like it’s 40 or 50 years old,” said Redwine. “They’re using a flush joint as opposed to a concave joint, to give it more of an old-world finish. It doesn’t involve smearing the surface, but just flushing the joint so it looks like an older practice of masonry.”

Palmetto Brick unveiled two of its own new products at this year’s Brick Institute of America conference, held in Louisville, Ky.

“The two new bricks we’ve mastered for this year are a Blackstone wire cut and a Blackstone smooth,” said Redwine. “They give you a deep, hearty, monochromatic, black look. We call it black, but it’s not as harsh or stark as black paint. It’s new to us and also new to the market.”

In addition to brick homes, Redwine said many area residents are building brick outdoor areas for entertaining. 

“We’re doing a lot of woodburning outdoor fireplaces,” said Redwine. “People are sprucing up their landscaping with gazebos, cabanas, and brick outdoor kitchens.” 

The legacy of the brick building industry is still going strong, said Redwine, whose business is evenly split between new construction and existing home remodels.

“Building as a whole with brick is still popular,” said Redwine. “All the track builders are still building with it: Horton, Ryan, Lennar, Beverly — they’re all putting brick on their homes. So, brick is still as popular an exterior as ever.”

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