Cutting bricks to bullnose finish

To cut a long story short, my brick supplier has made a major mess of some special bricks I ordered and they won’t be able to get them to me for another 8 weeks.

It’s a bullnose finish I’m looking for which basically means one edge is cut into a rounded finish – they will be used as a window sill in an extension to match existing bullnose bricks in the existing front window.

I’ve tried 15 salvage yards and have found nothing similar (i.e. red rustic bullnose bricks) so need to go with new ones but I cannot afford a 12 week wait as I need to get the window in. Would it be possible to retro fit the bricks after the window has gone in?

The other option I was looking at was taking some of my normal square bricks and cutting one edge to make it the bullnose effect I’m looking for. That edge wouldn’t have the rustic wirecut affect I need but I could live with that. Are there any tools that would be suitable to this tricky cutting or would an angle grinder be my best bet (doubt it would be very successful)?

OhPinchy said:

To cut a long story short, my brick supplier has made a major mess of some special bricks I ordered and they won’t be able to get them to me for another 8 weeks.

It’s a bullnose finish I’m looking for which basically means one edge is cut into a rounded finish – they will be used as a window sill in an extension to match existing bullnose bricks in the existing front window.

I’ve tried 15 salvage yards and have found nothing similar (i.e. red rustic bullnose bricks) so need to go with new ones but I cannot afford a 12 week wait as I need to get the window in. Would it be possible to retro fit the bricks after the window has gone in?

The other option I was looking at was taking some of my normal square bricks and cutting one edge to make it the bullnose effect I’m looking for. That edge wouldn’t have the rustic wirecut affect I need but I could live with that. Are there any tools that would be suitable to this tricky cutting or would an angle grinder be my best bet (doubt it would be very successful)?

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If you want to cut bricks to suit you would be best using a wet cut saw, as used by tilers. This saw is fitted with a diamond tipped blade and cooled by water, giving a clean and dust free cut. However I wouldn't recommend this- you'll be cutting off the "burnt" section of the brick and exposing the potentially weaker core to the elements. Brick sills aren't a great detail in this country anyway- poor frost resistance being a problem for starters. Why not go for a granite stone sill- you don't have to slavishly replicate the detail used on the original house.

thanks for the info Carpenter.

The reason I was planning on the bullnose was I thought it would look quite odd to have different windows on the front. There are now 2 bay windows to the front and this was done to create a symmetry and make the extension tie in better - so I'm picturing different sills looking out of place? If there was away around doing the manual cuts I'd go for it.

Fair enough, but I'd still have reservations about the frost resistance of a cut brick, cut brick faces are always built into the wall and not exposed. Parapets and cills are especially vulnerable to frost attack as rain water will lie on the horizontal surfaces and soak into the joints and permeate the brickwork.

thanks Carpenter.

I reckon I'm just going to bit the bullet and order the bricks with the long wait, fit the window, and retro fit the brick window sill when they arrive.

Retro fitting a brick sill will not be easy- would you not be better putting plywood into the window opes. Then fit your sill and windows later. I know this will hold up your plastering but I don't see how you can fit your window boards internally without having your sill completed. Whatever way you go it's important that the sill is properly laid and bonded to avoid problems with water ingress later. Don't want to sound too dismissive of your plans but I see problems with fitting a brick sill later, just my thoughts.