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TL;DR
Automated brick matching apps aren’t as reliable as humans with years of extensive knowledge and experience.
Instead:
- For DIY Matching: Follow our guide on how to match bricks for straightforward projects
- For Complex Matches: Use our free brick matching service for expert help
If you’re looking for a brick matching app to help source bricks for your extension or renovation, you might be struggling.
The idea of a ‘Shazam’ for bricks sounds great – an app providing instant match suggestions which you can order samples of right there and then, without the hassle of trawling hundreds of products online.
We believed in the idea so much that back in 2017, we built and launched one of the UK’s first dedicated brick match apps.
However, after a few years of real-world use by homeowners, architects and builders, we made the decision in 2021 to discontinue it – but for good reason.
To help save you time and frustration, we’re letting you in on the reasons why we made that decision, and what we recommend you do instead.
Before we explore what didn’t work, it’s best to take you back to the long-gone days of 2016-2017.
For context, we were expanding rapidly and had launched new brick blends which were in high demand. As a result, our free matching service was increasingly sought after, with many requests aligned to our readily-available brick blends.
With that in mind, and wanting to offer a simple way for people to narrow down their brick search and avoid having to wait all weekend for a reply from us, we explored creating an app.
[Our brick matching app from 2017 – now discontinued]
Let’s face it, we’re all happy to avoid a direct phone call and would much rather have instantaneous help online or in-app.
We wanted anyone to be able to upload a couple of photos of their bricks, instantly receive match suggestions and immediately order samples.
We thought removing the initial back-and-forth interaction would save time and get your projects moving faster.
After launching the app in 2017, things were initially good. Customers received match suggestions, ordered samples and chose their bricks. Feedback was positive.
Where a request was more complex, our team would review the app’s suggestions before sending samples and add weathering or ageing customisation when needed.
Remember we said we were expanding our brick ranges? Naturally, we added them to the app and over time, the database expanded.
What we didn’t foresee was how quickly the match accuracy would deteriorate. The more bricks we added, the worse the automated match suggestions became.
At first it was manageable, but as request volume grew we realised the app wasn’t saving time for anyone.
It took longer to intervene in requests, advise the customer of changes, adjust their sample expectations, and manually match the bricks before finally processing samples for dispatch. Not helpful to anyone really.
Meanwhile, customers who just submitted photos through our standard brick match request form were getting a faster and less disjointed experience.
The app had become a hindrance rather than a shortcut, and our human-led process was outperforming it. By late 2020, our team was manually reviewing over 80% of app submissions, meaning the automation was redundant.
So in 2021, we discontinued it.
You might be wondering: “If the app worked initially, why not just fix it?”
We considered it, but it would have needed a complete rebuild.
We could have spent time and money and hoped for a better outcome, but there was no guarantee it would work better. Meanwhile, our manual process was providing more accurate matches. Customers simply submitted their photos and the team matched their bricks directly.
More importantly, in the years since launching we’d developed more advanced custom finishing processes. We’d moved beyond basic techniques and now had more flexibility in blending, weathering, ageing and tumbling processes than before.
These processes can be combined in different ways depending on the brick type and match required too.
Different bricks also react differently to each treatment or process. Knowing which finishes to apply, in what order, to which bricks is something that takes knowledge and hands-on experience.
It’s not something we could program successfully into an app.
With today’s technology, an app built now could identify a colour match with standard weathering and ageing techniques.
What it can’t do? Replicate the human judgement required for anything beyond a straightforward match.
There are so many different combinations of brick blending, weathering and ageing techniques. That’s without even mentioning the suitability of a brick for each process, and how each one (or multiple if you’re blending them) will react differently depending on their type, texture and colour.
Some custom matches we’ve done for previous clients have also taken a few rounds of sampling, especially where the initial images had been taken in less than ideal lighting conditions.
Now imagine trying to program all that into an app?!
We’d spend an eternity inputting scenarios when we could be using that time to help people find bricks for their project. It’s counterproductive.
Another reason automated brick matching apps won’t work now is the advancement of AI and image search. Anyone can upload an image to Google or their favourite AI chatbot and search for matching images, which is the base version of what an app would do.
Automations have their place, especially for initial research, but our human brick matching service outperforms what can be built into an app every time.
We know, we keep talking about our human-led service, but what is it?
Our brick matching service allows you to fill in an online form. You add photos of the bricks you need to match, include basic details about the bricks, then send it on its merry way to our team.
They’ll pick up the request and assess your images. Matching samples are then sent straight to you to check and compare against your existing brickwork. If the match is more complex, they’ll contact you, ask clarifying questions (if needed) and trial a few finishing processes before sending the best option to you to check.
If it’s not quite right, just tell us and we’ll do it again until it is.
This is the benefit of ditching automated matching, there are no ‘suggested’ matches. Only hand-picked matches after careful assessment, by people who know exactly how to match your extensions and renovations to existing brickwork perfectly.
You don’t always need a professional brick matching service. If you’re matching uniform colour bricks with consistent weathering or ageing, you might be able to match them yourself using our guide on how to match bricks.
We’d never push you into using a service you don’t need.
However, if you need to match any of the following, using a professional brick matching service will save you time and money (maybe even your sanity):
Trying to match these types of projects yourself can result in ordering several rounds of samples from many suppliers, while still not getting closer to that gold-standard perfect match.
If you want to avoid the hassle and take the fastest route to ordering the right bricks, enlist the help of the professionals. And hey, if you need to match traditional style bricks, our free brick matching service is a great place to start.