How to Store Brick Slips Before Installation

The brick slips have arrived, but the plasterer is still working and the fitting date has moved. Where the boxes spend the next fortnight now matters: a convenient spot beside the front door may become an obstacle, while a seemingly sheltered shed may have a damp floor.

To store brick slips before installation, choose a secure, dry location, protect the packaging and finished faces, and retain the product labels. Follow any storage instructions supplied with your particular slips. This guide deals with the gap between delivery and fitting, when unnecessary moves, misplaced corner pieces and contamination can create avoidable work.

Choose a place that can remain undisturbed

Think about the other work still to happen. A kitchen due to receive new flooring is not a useful holding area, even if it is empty today. Nor is the space immediately in front of the wall being clad: the installer will need room to work there.

For a hallway project, for example, a designated bay in an adjoining room may be more practical than lining cartons along the hall. Check the route from that bay to the work area, including thresholds and doors. Keep escape routes, stairs and access to essential services clear. The HSE's guidance on storing construction materials recommends planning storage areas and keeping pedestrian routes unobstructed.

The supporting surface must be stable and capable of taking the load. A small footprint does not mean a light load once several boxes are together. Do not assume a shelf, loft floor or temporary platform is suitable; ask the person responsible for the building or site if capacity is uncertain. Follow the supplier's packing and stacking limits rather than choosing an arbitrary number of boxes high.

A weather-resistant finish is not weatherproof packaging

An installed product's exterior suitability does not tell you how its unopened cartons should be stored. Keep boxes away from rain, leaking roofs, ground moisture and wet trades. A garage is only useful if the actual storage position stays dry; inspect it after heavy rain rather than relying on the room's name.

Where necessary, use suitable stable support to separate cartons from a damp-prone floor, without creating an unstable pile or exceeding the support's capacity. Do not treat a loose tarpaulin over boxes in the garden as equivalent to a dry store. If outside storage is unavoidable, obtain product-specific advice from the supplier before leaving the delivery there.

Keep the slips away from splashes of paint, plaster, oil and other building materials. Protection should not become a workbench: tools and partly used tubs belong elsewhere, not on top of the cartons.

Check the delivery without leaving everything exposed

Check the product names, quantities and visible condition promptly, following the seller's delivery and reporting instructions. Photograph suspect packaging and any damage, retain identifying labels and contact the supplier about discrepancies. Do not leave a possible problem undiscovered until the installer opens the last box.

After checking, retain the original protective packing where it remains sound. Repack inspected pieces carefully rather than leaving them loose on the floor. If packaging is wet, crushed or no longer supports its contents, do not rely on it for lifting or stacking; ask the supplier how to protect and handle the affected material.

The textured faces of Rustic Red brick slips illustrate what you are protecting. Their red and pink tones and darker markings are part of the finish, not a reason to accept avoidable scuffs or building-site contamination. Avoid dragging faces across one another or adding adhesive tape directly to the visible surface.

Keep labels useful and corner pieces recognisable

Leave product names and any batch references with the materials. If boxes must be repacked, transfer that information to the replacement container and keep a photograph of the original label. A plain carton marked only “bricks” is little help when more than one finish is on site.

Separate flat slips from purpose-made corners while keeping their identities clear. Protect projecting returns within the supplied packaging; do not drop loose corners into a container of flat pieces. Mark part-used boxes so nobody mistakes them for complete packs.

A short inventory on the outside of the storage area can be enough: product, number of unopened packs, opened packs and separately packed corners. This records what is physically there without turning storage into a premature colour-sorting exercise. Layout and blending belong to the fitting plan, not a daily rummage through the boxes.

Plan the move, not just the resting place

Repeatedly carrying the same materials from one room to another adds handling without advancing the job. Agree the storage position with the trades before unloading, and use suitable handling equipment where practicable. Assess the route as well as the load: a trolley needs an appropriate surface and room to manoeuvre.

There is no universal safe box weight for one person. The HSE's construction manual-handling advice explains that the task, load, environment and individual all matter. Do not use a carton’s manageable size as a substitute for assessing the lift.

Adhesive and mortar need a separate storage check

Do not assume that everything bought for the wall has the same storage requirements as the slips. Adhesive, primer and pointing products may have specified temperature limits, shelf lives and conditions for opened containers. Read each current label or technical data sheet and retain it with the product.

Keep expiry information visible, particularly if the fitting date changes. An unopened bag or tub is not automatically usable indefinitely. Where a product has become damp, frozen, contaminated or otherwise stored outside its stated conditions, seek the manufacturer's advice before using it; a normal-looking container is not proof that its contents remain suitable.

When the fitting date finally arrives

Recheck the storage area after any delay: look for leaks, damaged packaging, missing labels and materials that have been moved into the working route. Set questionable items aside for assessment rather than mixing them into the usable stock.

Then hand over the identified materials and their instructions to the installer. Our brick slip setting-out guide covers the next stage: planning the wall itself. Until then, the best storage arrangement is one that leaves the correct pieces protected, traceable and accessible without having to move the whole delivery again.