Home Improvement : Thin Brick Provides Decorating Versatility

Brick is certainly a material that has withstood the test of time, but there is a great deal of confusion about what is and is not brick.

To the people at Maybrick, 4545 Brazil St., Los Angeles, real brick is not the product that is marketed under a variety of trade names at home centers--a product designed for interior use only and for limited areas, at that.

“Artificial facing brick is an extruded composite that is not suitable for use outside or for use on floors,” according to Matthew May, the young project coordinator of the 65-year-old concern that claims to be the inventor of thin brick.

“Maybrik is genuine kiln-fired, dry-pressed brick that is exactly like thicker bricks except that it is only -inch thick,” he added.

Unlike artificial facing brick products, Maybrik--also available in a 3/8-inch-thick format--meets various standards established by the American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM), including C-67, C-410 and C-902, May said.

Maybrik is well-known to contractors, designers, architects and other professionals, but it doesn’t neglect the wants and needs of do-it-yourselfers, according to Lois May, the firm’s director of design.

“We sell to people who want to tackle their own projects, like installing brick on concrete driveways or on their exterior or interior walls,” she said.

Now might be a good time to see what is available in brick and tile at Maybrik: After 21 years at the Brazil Street address, the firm is preparing to move to larger quarters south of downtown Los Angeles.

Rather than moving its inventory, the company is trying to sell as much of it as possible. Many of the items available are seconds or production overruns, Lois May said.

The move probably won’t take place before next month, according to Matthew May, but retail customers are welcome at the current headquarters and yard.

Brazil Street is a westerly extension of Glendale’s Broadway, at San Fernando Road. It can be reached from the San Fernando Road exit of the Ventura (134) Freeway or from the Colorado Street Freeway Extension exit of the Golden State (5) Freeway.

A feature I like about Maybrik’s products is the self-spacing flange. This design eliminates the use of plastic spacers to maintain the proper spacing of brick or tile, so the grout lines are parallel. Professional bricklayers and tile setters may not have any problem maintaining this spacing, but the occasional user certainly does!

Too, the bricks can be fastened with a choice of mortar or adhesive cement, Matthew May added. The company stocks all the supplies necessary for a professional looking job, including sealers and grout in various colors. Both glazed and unglazed bricks are available in several colors.

At a time when much of the once-thriving California tile and brick production has fled to foreign countries or other states with lower costs, it’s good to see an old-line company like Maybrik maintaining its production line right here in Southern California.