Facing bricks are laid as full-sized units in masonry. Brick slips are much thinner ceramic elements used to finish the visible surface of a wall. Both can create a distinctive brick appearance, but the construction behind the surface is different.

Brick slips can be used on suitable external wall insulation systems or on interior walls, for example. The appropriate solution depends on the substrate, the space available and the planned wall build-up. At köhler, we consider the material and the construction together, helping you choose a solution that suits both your design and the technical requirements.

A façade’s appearance comes from the relationship between the brick and the joint. A long format emphasises horizontal lines, while a textured surface responds to light differently from a smooth one. Contrasting mortar makes individual bricks stand out; a similar colour often gives the surface a more unified appearance.

Compare several combinations side by side, taking windows, roofing and the surrounding buildings into account. Digital textures are useful for an initial comparison. A sample panel with the proposed mortar then shows how the selected materials work together in reality.

At our brick showroom at Bergische Landstraße 86 in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), you can compare facing bricks and brick slips in person, touch the materials and feel their surfaces. This gives you a sense of colour and texture that a screen can only partly convey.

You can also get personal advice from our team. Together, we look at which materials suit your home or building project and what matters when making your choice. Feel free to bring photographs, plans or initial ideas so we can discuss your project and help you choose suitable bricks or brick slips.

We work with you to select facing bricks and brick slips that suit your design and prepare individual sample panels around your ideas. In the showroom, you can compare colours and surfaces directly. Where needed, we also discuss mock-ups and how the materials work alongside other finishes.

A short project description, initial elevations or a material palette are enough to start the conversation. Details of the area, intended appearance and schedule are particularly helpful. Together, we use these to plan the next steps for sampling and agree the scope and provision of samples for your project.

The köhler Klinker-App at klinkerapp.de provides selected facing bricks and brick slips, along with textures for your designs. You can compare products, collect them in projects and share your selection. This helps you prepare your material choices before visiting the showroom.

A digital texture helps you explore how a surface might look. However, colour, scale and lighting in a visualisation also depend on your settings. Use it as a design aid, then compare your shortlist with physical samples. If you cannot find a particular texture, get in touch with us.

Reclaimed bricks keep their original form. They are recovered from an existing building, cleaned and selected for another use. Signs of age and variations in colour are part of their character. New bricks made with recycled material are different: recovered material is used to manufacture a new product.

At köhler, we offer reclaimed bricks for new façade projects. We consider both the appearance you want and how the bricks will be used. A beautiful old brick also needs to suit the requirements of your building.

Base your design on a specific selection of reclaimed bricks. Colour, dimensions and signs of age can vary within a batch, so one sample brick only tells part of the story. Several samples, ideally viewed with the proposed mortar joint, give a more useful impression.

For your enquiry, include the façade area, preferred size, colour direction and construction schedule. Corners, openings and an allowance for cuts also need to be considered. We discuss the quantity available in a suitable selection for your project, helping you bring the design and material requirements together early.

Look at the origin, condition and documented properties of the specific material. The term reclaimed brick does not, on its own, tell you which applications a brick is suitable for. köhler offers products with and without certification, so a statement about one product does not apply to the whole range.

The available product information needs to be checked against the intended use. If you are assessing environmental performance, you also need traceable data for the selected material. A reclaimed brick is not automatically carbon negative. We help you bring the material selection and the outstanding questions together.

Ceramic shingles are fired-clay elements used to clad façades. Their arrangement can create an overlapping surface with depth, producing a different play of light and shadow from a brick masonry façade or a surface finished with brick slips.

For the design, the size, texture and layout matter as much as the colour. Together, they determine how calm or lively the façade appears. köhler advises on ceramic shingles and how they can contribute to a design. The right choice depends on the specific product and the construction planned for your building.

Depending on the system, ceramic shingles are mechanically fixed to a suitable supporting substructure. The chosen system determines how that structure is built and which fixings are used. The shingle and the complete façade build-up therefore need to be considered together.

It is worth looking at corners, window junctions and the base of the façade early, as these details also influence the layout. You can discuss installation questions with köhler. Execution must follow the current manufacturer documentation and the design for your specific building.

Physical samples, viewed alongside the other materials in your design, are the best starting point. Images on a screen help you narrow down the choice, but they cannot fully convey the texture or the way a surface changes in different light.

Compare the shingles with window frames, roofing and adjoining façade materials. Size and overlap affect the overall appearance as much as colour. Bring your ideas or material samples to a consultation at köhler. We can discuss in advance which shingle samples are available for your selection.

At köhler in Düsseldorf, you can explore Italian tiles by Atlas Concorde and discuss your project with us. Our showroom is at Bergische Landstraße 86. It gives you the opportunity to see surfaces in person and compare them with the other materials in your design.

If you have a particular collection or large format in mind, let us know before your visit so we can discuss which samples are available. Feel free to bring a floor plan, photographs or a material palette. These help us explore suitable choices for walls, floors and the atmosphere you want to create.

Yes. Coordinated tiles can create a visual connection between an interior and a terrace. Atlas Concorde offers collections with versions for different applications. Their appearance can work together even where the surface finish or thickness differs.

For outdoor areas, suitability for weather and frost matters alongside the design and the planned installation. Slip resistance also needs to suit the intended use. Choose by more than a colour name alone. We help you put together suitable options and compare the product information for each area.