My wife and I are in the very early stages of building our new home. We have our brick choices narrowed down to two colors. One is made by Acme and one is by Boral. The Acme brick is considered an upgrade and comes with a $2,500 upgrade price tag while the Boral brick is a standard option.

Seeing as how we like both colors, my first concern is quality/durability. Is there a reason that I should avoid the Boral and pay the upgrade to get the Acme?

Growing up, my parents house out in the country had brick columns at the property corners that were constructed from "Mexican" brick (according to my dad) that crumbled and fell apart after ~10 years. I have no idea what brand those bricks are/were, but I want to make sure that I don't have a similar issue with our house.

Any help or information would be appreciated.

Is the Boral fired-clay? If so it should out- live the rest of the house. That said, there is no doubt about he Acme quality.

According to this pic and the accompanying video from their website, it would appear so.

[This message has been edited by YellAg2004 (edited 10/8/2013 8:34p).]

You can always ask if ACME will come down on their price. Tell them you are getting a better deal from Boral.

Boral brick is fine. If you like the color, no reason to pay for the upgrade, IMO.

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Boral brick is fine. If you like the color, no reason to pay for the upgrade, IMO.

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I wouldn't pay for the upgrade if you like the color. They're both fired clay. As long as you can live without the acme stamp on the end of the brick you'll be fine.

Got Boral in 2006 and like it.

I can tell you all about Mexican brick because no one told us about it in 1978!

It is made of sand and very grainy to the touch. The north side of our home has had a few water/wind issues where the grainy face of the brick dissolves and it leaves a very porous brick that is still somewhat grainy. There isn't enough clay in Mexican brick. Our home builder(we bought this house when it was 18mo old) used Mexican brick A LOT as well as vaulted or cathedral ceilings in the LR or a slight to deep step down in the LR...I can see photos of houses for sale and know which ones he built!!!

If the brick in clay in composition then you are good to go!

Really, the difference between Boral and Acme only really matter to the masons making the order up.

Once the size is selected--modular, Queen, King ,etc.--that sets the quantity. Which then puts the difference at the cost of shipping brick.

Which can matter in that some plants within a given brick company may have specific-to-the-plant colors/textures. So, a person in south Texas wanting TWU Blend has to have them sent from the Denton Acme plant.

But, as a guess, the $2K upcharge for Acme is because ACME makes that color as a cored (has holes through it) veneer brick, and that line might not include a solid or a corner shape, which can be required for some veneer brick designs (rowlock courses, some sills, and the like).