Can You Reuse Bricks from a Demolished House? A Guide to Salvaging

Can You Actually Reuse Bricks From A Demolished House?

The short answer is yes – but with important caveats. Bricks from a demolished house can absolutely be salvaged and reused, and in the right circumstances, they are genuinely valuable. Old handmade bricks from pre-WWII construction, in particular, have a charm and density that modern machine-pressed bricks simply cannot replicate. Contractors and homeowners seeking a specific aesthetic – reclaimed brick feature walls, heritage-style garden structures, or interior exposed brick – will pay real money for the right material.

That said, not all bricks are worth the effort of recovering. Bricks laid in hard Portland cement mortar (post-1940s in most cases) are extremely difficult to clean without damage. Bricks from structures built quickly with lower-quality material, bricks that show significant spalling, cracking, or efflorescence, and bricks contaminated with sealers or chemical treatments are usually not worth recovering. This critical assessment has to happen before any complete residential house demolition begins, not after.

The topic of reusing bricks from demolition covers a lot of territory – from keeping a few bricks from your own demolished garage for a garden project to selling pallets of cleaned, reclaimed brick to a salvage dealer. Both are highly viable, but the economics and process are quite different.

Assessing Salvageable Brick Quality Before Demolition

Before committing to brick salvage, a quick visual assessment will tell you most of what you need to know. Good salvage candidates are bricks that are structurally intact (no cracks, chips, or significant spalling on the face), laid in lime mortar rather than Portland cement mortar, and uniform enough in colour and texture to be useful in volume. Lime mortar is softer, whiter, and more granular – meaning it comes off relatively cleanly with a cold chisel.

Frost damage is the absolute enemy of reclaimed brick in Ontario. Repeated freeze-thaw cycles cause bricks to spall (flake away in layers from the face), and a brick with any frost spalling is not worth recovering. Check the face of several bricks across different areas of the structure; brick quality can vary significantly even within a single building if different material sources were used at different times.

Handmade bricks from before approximately 1920 are the most desirable on the market. They are denser than modern machine-pressed bricks, fired at higher temperatures, and have a surface texture and slight irregularity that gives them a warmth modern brick lacks. If you can confirm the build date of the structure, you have a reasonable indicator of whether you are looking at potentially valuable material.

How Bricks Are Safely Removed For Salvage

Salvaging bricks from a tear-down is simply not compatible with mechanical demolition. You cannot run an excavator through a wall and expect to recover undamaged bricks. Brick salvage requires dedicated manual labour: a worker with a cold chisel, a brick hammer, and massive patience, working brick by brick to remove each one from the wall while preserving as much of the face as possible.

The process is undeniably slow. An experienced worker can recover 200 to 400 bricks per day, working carefully. A typical single-family home might have 5,000 to 20,000 bricks, depending on size and construction type – meaning a complete brick salvage is a 2 to 4 week labour operation. This is exactly why professional demolition contractors in the GTA typically recommend selective salvage (targeting specific walls or sections with the best material) rather than whole-house recovery.

Mortar type entirely determines how difficult removal will be. Lime mortar separates cleanly with minimal effort. Portland cement mortar requires significantly more force and frequently causes brick damage – a recovery rate of 30% to 50% of intact bricks is typical, compared to 70% to 85% with lime mortar walls.

Cleaning And Preparing Salvaged Bricks For Reuse

Freshly removed bricks still have mortar residue on their faces and sides. Cleaning is strictly necessary before they can be reused or sold. For lime-mortared bricks, soaking in water for 30 to 60 minutes softens the residue enough that it can be removed with a stiff wire brush or masonry chisel without damaging the brick face.

Portland cement residue requires diluted muriatic acid (approximately 10:1 water to acid) applied carefully, left for 10 to 15 minutes, then thoroughly rinsed. You must work outdoors, wear acid-resistant gloves, and neutralise with a baking soda solution before rinsing.

After cleaning, sort your bricks by condition: face-perfect bricks suitable for visible applications, bricks with minor chips suitable for structural applications where the face will not be visible, and bricks with significant damage that should go to aggregate crushing. Palletise cleaned bricks in stacks of 50 to 100 and wrap with stretch wrap for transport.

Best Modern Uses For Reclaimed Heritage Bricks

Garden walls and retaining walls are the most common uses of reclaimed bricks in residential settings – the old-world character of reclaimed brick works beautifully in landscaping contexts. Interior feature walls in renovated homes are another highly popular application. Exposing a reclaimed brick wall in a kitchen, basement, or even during a custom bathroom demolition project adds incredible texture and character that cannot be replicated with new materials.

Patio and pathway paving with reclaimed brick is technically feasible but requires bricks that are uniform in size and in very good condition. Heritage restoration projects are an important market for reclaimed brick from the same era, particularly when a property needs to match existing historic brickwork that is no longer available from current manufacturers.

Where To Sell Or Donate Reclaimed Bricks In Toronto

Several options exist for selling or donating reclaimed bricks in the Greater Toronto Area. Reclaimed building material dealers will quote on cleaned, palletized material in volume – expect prices of $0.50 to $3.00 per brick depending on quality, age, and current local demand.

Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji are effective channels for selling smaller quantities directly to homeowners with specific DIY projects in mind. Additionally, the Habitat for Humanity ReStore accepts building materials, including clean reclaimed brick and will issue a charitable donation receipt for the fair market value, which can partially convert the material value into a tax benefit even without a direct cash sale.