We are looking into the tumbled brick series from Arriscraft and they are definitely on the expensive side. Have any of the homeowners here used their product or specifically this series before that could share your experiences? If you have pictures to share as well that will be wonderful!

Unlike other concrete bricks I've used, there were never any cracking problems with the Arriscraft.

I would have had concerns a few years back when they were a step away from bankruptcy. But they were acquired in 2007 by General Shale of Tennessee, a subsidiary of Wienerberger AG, the largest producer of bricks in the world.

Below is a home built in 1991 with a long-ago discontinued Arriscraft brick series.

Photo: Heather Joy Investments Ltd.

Be sure that you are comparing sq. ft. costs, not per brick costs as there are a lot of variations among the best-selling six brick sizes.

That will be great bcool! Which color of the tumbled series did you end up going with? Did you say the quote for your brick turn out to be the same as getting cheaper bricks and paint with antique white color?

We had a hard time finding a brick to be painted or stained. We wanted to make sure it had a good shape and texture. Nothing we liked had overruns, and we were looking at about $0.50 to $0.85 for a comparable size in the bricks we thought would work. We then priced out painting and staining. I think the staining or painting would have be a little cheaper, but it was close.

The lead time for brick from Arriscraft is longer than other brick companies. They're primarily a stone company and they don't make bricks everyday.

Ours will be delivered on Friday. I'll post photos.

bcool/worthy, I have a question about comparing pricing of bricks per sq ft. Did you mean sq ft of the house (interior)? Can you explain that please? Thanks!

If one brick is $1 per brick and it takes 5.75 bricks per sq.ft. the price is $5.75 per sq.ft. Another brick might be only $0.85 per brick, but it might take 6.85 bricks per sq.ft. The cost of the second brick is actually $5.82 per sq.ft. That's why it is important to know how many bricks are needed per square foot when you get a per brick price.

And, of course, if you're painting or staining you will need to add the per square foot cost of that to the price. Then you can compare the cost of the Arriscraft to the cost of the painted brick.

Hope this helps.