3 Ways Recycled And Reclaimed Bricks Can Be Put To Good Use In Your Garden
Posted on: 1 February 2018
In a world where resources are becoming ever more scarce, and the effects of environmental damage ever more apparent, recycling materials wherever you can is never a bad idea. However, you might not have considered the many ways an ordinary, innocuous house brick can be reused once the wall it was once a part of ceases to be -- when taken from a wall in reasonably undamaged condition, they can be put to a remarkably wide variety of uses, and salvage yards often have large supplies of reclaimed bricks in good condition and ready for use.
These resurrected bricks are particularly useful in your garden, and with a little effort and creativity, they can be used to construct a wide variety of useful and attractive structures, especially when used alongside other reclaimed materials such as recycled timber. Here are just some of the ways a pallet of recycled bricks can become an attractive and practical accent to your garden:
Raised potting beds
Classic red bricks are a particularly valued material when it comes to constructing raised potting beds, both for their distinctive looks and enormous durability. These raised planters are ideal for growing a wide variety of plants that require above-average soil drainage characteristics to thrive, and constructing your own raised beds from reclaimed bricks allows you to create your own tough and attractive potting areas that also happen to have a negligible impact on the environment.
However, not just any recycled brick can be used to create raised potting beds; some bricks, particularly those taken from industrial buildings, are full of toxic chemicals, such as mercury and heavy metals, which can leach into the soil of your beds and rapidly poison your plants. It is therefore very important that you get your bricks from a reputable salvage company that can source its bricks and other reclaimed materials.
Barbecues
Many people will spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars having a barbecue pit made from classic red bricks professional built on their land, but there is absolutely no reason these barbecues cannot be made from reclaimed bricks at a fraction of the cost (in both money and environmental damage). Smaller barbecue designs do not even need to be fixed in place with brick mortar to be both safe and effective, and the exceptional heat-holding qualities of bricks give your new barbecue an enduring flame ideal for smoking and slow-grilling various meats.
Garden paths
A good garden path should be both durable and attractive, and reclaimed bricks have both of these qualities in spades. With minimal excavation and only a small amount of bedding aggregate required to ensure proper water drainage, a brick pathway in your garden can be surprisingly easy to construct. If you are not wedded to the classic red brick look, reclaimed breeze blocks are especially suited to path design, as their rough, porous surfaces prevent standing water and provide extra grip during wet weather.
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