Interior & Exterior Finishing Phase 3
JACKS HOUSE
BUILDING
Imperial Bricks teamed up with Jacques Construction to create a stunning Georgian-style family home
W
hen Joe and Becky
Jaques decided to
build a new family
home in Reigate,
they chose to work
with Jacques
Construction, an obvious choice given that the
building experts are renowned for creating
dream homes and the founder and CEO David
Jaques is also Joe’s brother.
Searching for a family home, Joe chanced
on a site with planning permission for a
single dwelling. Although the proposed chalet
bungalow wasn’t what he and his wife were
looking for, they bought the land and applied
for permission to build Jack’s House, a detached
5-bedroom home. Objections were raised and
overcome and eventually 12 months after the
initial application, planning permission was
granted for the 5-bedroom home to be built.
Joe and Becky wanted the exterior of the
house to be true to the Georgian style they
both loved, so the choice of brick was crucial.
Jaques Construction recommended using
Imperial Bricks whom they had worked with on
previous projects and knew it would be possible
to select the exact shade and size required to
give the new house an authentic Georgian look.Imperial’s team set up several sample boards
which contractor and client could take to site to
compare with the stone and slate options already
selected. As David Jaques says: “We needed to
use the best bricks we could and we also wanted
to offer great value. The sample boards were
excellent. We chose the 68mm Reclamation
Soft Red blend, a handmade brick with a
characterful aged finish.”
The Reclamation Soft Red is a popular brick
for use in restoration and conservation projects,
as well as new builds that require a traditional
style. It is imperial sized, 9 x 4¼ x 2¾": the
same size as the bricks originally used in the
19th century. Imperial’s Reclamation Soft Red
bricks undergo a special ageing process to give
an identical appearance to genuine reclaimed
bricks. They have a soft texture with slight
creasing or ‘smiles’ on the face and are perfect
for high-end projects such as Jack’s House; they
look just like the Georgian originals but meet
all modern standards – frost resistant, imperial
or metric sizing, reliable quality and with a
sustainable supply from stock and none of the
wastage associated with reclaimed bricks.Although Jaques Construction does use
reclaimed bricks, in practice it’s not often
possible. David continues: “If the bricks are good
quality and remain in one piece with the mortar
cleaning off easily, we would always try to
recycle materials. However this is very much the
exception rather than the rule. In our opinion
there is no substitute for using a high-quality
handmade brick like Imperial’s. Clients aren’t
usually happy to pay the cost incurred by the
process of cleaning bricks, and reclaimed bricks
rarely work well when cutting to form arches as
they are so brittle.”
The 40,000 bricks used on Jack’s House were
laid in a Flemish bond. The result is a stunning
Georgian style property, just as the customer
wanted. David remarks: “We always have
Imperial Bricks in mind for this type of project,
as we know we can get the quality and looks
we are after.”http://www.imperialbricks.co.uk
Twitter: @imperial_bricks
Instagram: @imperial_handmade_bricks