A wall of 2x8 glazed brick in Snowflake, laid in running bond, with a sprig of blossom in an orange bottle against it

Glazed brick veneer

Glazed Brick,fired

The geometry of a classic brick, fired in ceramic and glazed in fifty colors. A century old wall language in a palette that belongs in a gallery. Available as field tile and matching corner units.

Body
Red clay, 5/8 inch
Size
2x8
Colors
Fifty glazes
Made in
Gardena, California

Why glazed brick

The kiln answers every wall.

Brick is one of the oldest building materials on earth. ARTO takes that form, the 2x8 rectangle that has organized walls and facades for millennia, and fires it in ceramic with a glaze.

Cutting the brick with a wire leaves a dragged, open face, and that face is the reason this reads as brick and not as a rectangular tile. The glaze catches on every drag mark and settles into the pull of it.

The glaze fuses to the clay body at kiln temperature. It is not a coating. Each tile comes out of the kiln in unrepeatable variations, flashed, layered, and warmed by fire. No two tiles are exactly alike. The variation is not a flaw; it is the record of the process, and it is exactly what distinguishes a handcrafted ceramic from a pressed porcelain.

Available in both a field tile and a matching corner unit, the glazed brick line handles every wall condition. Flat runs, outside corners, fireplace surrounds, kitchen backsplashes, and exterior feature walls.

Set the joint with the glaze. At almost seven bricks to the square foot the grout is a third of what you see, so the joint color decides as much about the wall as the brick does.

Glazed brick products

Two pieces. Infinite walls.

Field tile and corner unit, each available in all fifty glaze colors. Made to order. Every piece individual.

  • A 2x8 glazed brick in Abyss, shot at an angle so the red clay body shows on the cut edge Field tile, glazed brick veneer 2x8 Glazed Brick GLAZEDBRICK-2X8

    The standard field tile. A thin ceramic brick veneer in the classic 2x8 proportion, glazed in your choice of fifty colors. Lay it in running bond, stacked, or herringbone. The brick format is versatile by nature.

    Nominal size
    2 1/4 x 7 5/8, called 2x8
    Thickness
    5/8 inch
    Colors
    Fifty
    Coverage
    6.86 pieces per square foot
    Packed
    60 to a box, 45 boxes to a pallet
  • A 2x8 glazed brick corner in Abyss, the glazed face wrapping the return with the red clay body on the cut edges Corner unit, glazed brick veneer 2x8 Glazed Brick Corner GLAZEDBRICKCORNER-2X8

    A purpose made corner unit that wraps the glazed face around outside corners, terminating a wall or turning a fireplace surround without exposed clay edges. Matches every field tile color exactly, because the glaze batch is sourced from the same firing.

    Nominal size
    2 1/4 x 7 1/4 x 3 5/8
    Profile
    L corner return
    Colors
    Fifty
    Sold
    By the piece, counted by the run
    Packed
    24 to a box, 45 boxes to a pallet
Body
Red clay, high fired
Face
Wire cut
Joint
Coverage is based on 3/8 inch

Color palette

Fifty glazes. One brick.

Signature Low Fire glazes, laid out so a family reads as a family. Click a color to open that brick on the product page.

Images do not represent actual color. The glaze is alive and a screen will not hold it. Order a sample of the color you want before you commit to it.

Order a color sample

Installed

A library, a bath, three fireplaces

Two storeys of it outside, and a strip of it behind a faucet. Stack bond on the library, running bond on the rest, and the joint doing as much work as the glaze. Click any photograph to open it full size and step through the set.

  • Belle Isle Library
  • Belle Isle Library
  • Belle Isle Library
  • Belle Isle Library
  • Oxford Blue
  • Jalapeno
  • Pure White
  • Pure White

The same brick does both. The wall two storeys up on the library and the four courses behind the basin are one unit, one body and one glaze firing. Nothing about it changes with the size of the job.

Applications

Interior and exterior

A thin ceramic veneer at 5/8 inch, set with mortar on a prepared wall. It goes where a wall goes, inside the house and out of it.

  • Walls Walls Interior and exterior, wainscot to full room.
  • Indoor Indoor Kitchens, baths, feature walls and fireplace surrounds.
  • Outdoor Outdoor Exterior feature walls and facades.
  • Freeze / Thaw Freeze / Thaw The fired terracotta body is tested for it.

Ask us about floor rated glazes for specific collections. Send us the job and the substrate and we will tell you what is right for it.

Custom is the standard

Two pieces or ten thousand

We started as a custom shop and we still run that way. Send a chip. Bring a swatch. Show us what you're building. We match a glaze to a color you already have, cut shapes that do not exist yet, and turn your own artwork into a handpainted design. A sample is fired before any production commitment.

  • Custom Color
  • Custom Shape
  • Historical Match
  • Color Match
  • Two Pieces
  • Two Pallets

The material

Built to outlast the install

The craft is in the maker's hands. The performance is in the fired clay body. ARTO publishes CSI 3-Part specifications and installation guides so architects and designers can specify with confidence.

  • The mix

    Red Body Ceramic, Wire Cut Face

    Handcrafted in Gardena from high fired red terracotta, 5/8 inch thick. The clay column is cut to length with a wire, and the drag that cut leaves is the face. Every piece is made by hand, so size varies a little across a run.

  • The color

    Fifty Signature Low Fire Glazes

    Fired onto the body at kiln temperature rather than coated onto it, so the color is in the surface. The glaze catches in the wire cut drag and settles into it, which is why no two bricks come out of the kiln matching.

  • The documentation

    Specs and Downloads

    A CSI 3-Part master specification covers clay tile, 09 30 13 Ceramic Tiling. Cleaning, efflorescence and sealing guides are in the technical library. EPDs and HPDs exist for this body and are not posted yet, so ask us for them.

  • The application

    Walls, Inside and Out

    Interior and exterior walls. Kitchens, baths, feature walls, fireplace surrounds, wainscot and full room installations. The fired body is tested for use in wet and freeze thaw conditions.

  • The industry

    Industry Standards

    Member of TCNA, NTCA, and CTDA. Custom products are available with project-specific testing on request.

  • The decision

    Sampling

    Always order a sample before you commit. What you see on a screen is not what your hand will know in the room. Samples ship from our Gardena facility.

Material truth

Rustic Elegance

Rough and refined at the same time. A handcrafted edge where no two pieces are exactly alike. Glaze fired over handmade clay, in a palette that reads differently at every hour of the day.

It is not a marketing phrase. It is a material truth. Far from perfect, and that is the whole point.