FAQs

Sales

How can I schedule an AIA-approved Continuing Education Credit course on Sustainable Masonry?
There are two options for earning CEU credis by learning about sustainable masonry:

- an in-person course delivered by CalStar or one of our Dealers. To coordinate, please email info@calstarproducts.com.

- Take the course online and earn credits from the comfort of your desk. Offered through McGraw Hill Construction

How can we obtain sample boards?

CalStar’s distributors have sample boards available for architects and designers. View a current list of distributors.
Will CalStar Brick be the right brick for every commercial/architectural job?
Designers will use a certain brick based on that brick’s particular look. Depending on clay type, molding process, and kiln firing temperature, clay brick manufacturers produce widely differing aesthetics. CalStar Brick is a smooth, dimensionally stable, cored modular and utility brick with a commercial look. They have a high-end pressed aesthetic—not unlike pressed clay brick.

With CalStar brick’s high recycled content (40%) and innovative, low energy manufacturing process, which results in 85% less embodied energy and 85% lower CO2 emissions, our brick is best matched to all forms of green building, including LEED® commercial projects. (Particularly if you’re within 500 miles of our plant in Wisconsin – click here to determine if your project qualifies.

Product

What are the ingredients in CalStar products?
Fly ash, fine aggregates, and water make up more than 99.5% of CalStar products. The remaining material (< 0.5%) is proprietary.
What sizes of brick and paver are currently available?
Modular and utility bricks and 4″×8″ Holland pavers.
What colors are available?
CalStar brick and pavers are currently available in 8 colors: natural, tan, brown, tangerine, light red, dark red, light gray, and dark gray. Two range colors for brick and three range colors for pavers.
View the colors palette here
Do units come in special shapes?
We are continually evaluating the needs of the marketplace and will be adding shapes to expand our product line. If you have specific suggestions or requirements, please let us know by emailing info@calstarproducts.com .
What are the material tolerances for different sizes?
CalStar bricks are well within the tolerances for FBX brick as specified in ASTM C216 – 07a Standard Specification for Facing Brick (Solid Masonry Units Made from Clay or Shale) and pavers as specified in ASTM C902 – 09 Standard Specification for Pedestrian and Light Traffic Paving Brick.
Do the bricks or pavers effloresce?
CalStar bricks and pavers effloresce minimally compared to concrete bricks and pavers
How can CalStar products be cleaned?
CalStar products can be cleaned using conventional products and methods. See our Technical Notes, here.
What kind of mortar can be used with CalStar bricks?
CalStar bricks are compatible with mortars recommended by the BIA, in Technical Note 8 Mortars for Brickwork. CalStar bricks show excellent compatibility with pre-blended mortars such as Quikrete. CalStar bricks develop a good bond with all these mortars.
What ASTM standards do CalStar products meet?
CalStar bricks meet the performance requirements of ASTM C216 – 07a Standard Specification for Facing Brick (Solid Masonry Units Made from Clay or Shale).

CalStar pavers meet the performance requirements of ASTM C902 – 09 Standard Specification for Pedestrian and Light Traffic Paving Brick.
Are there ASTM standards for fly ash based bricks and pavers?
There are not yet ASTM standards specifically for bricks or pavers comprised of fly ash. However, CalStar products meet the performance requirements of the corresponding clay and concrete brick and paver specifications (ASTM C216 – 07a Standard Specification for Facing Brick (Solid Masonry Units Made from Clay or Shale), C902 – 09 Standard Specification for Pedestrian and Light Traffic Paving Brick, C936/C936M – 09 Standard Specification for Solid Concrete Interlocking Paving Units).
When will there be standards for fly ash based bricks and pavers?
ASTM has started the process of developing standards for the fly ash-based bricks or pavers.
Is it valid to use an existing ASTM standard for clay or concrete brick or pavers when CalStar masonry is neither clay nor concrete?
Yes. New products are usually tested to the performance criteria of existing products of similar use. To test to lower or different standards would be inappropriate and would provide misleading information to design professionals. The performance requirements for clay and concrete bricks are remarkably similar (see ASTM C216- 07a Standard Specification for Facing Brick (Solid Masonry Units Made from Clay or Shale), and C1634 – 09 Standard Specification for Concrete Facing Brick), as are the performance requirements for clay and concrete pavers (see ASTM C902 – 09 Standard Specification for Pedestrian and Light Traffic Paving Brick and C936/C936M – 09 Standard Specification for Solid Concrete Interlocking Paving Units).

Facing brick performance requirements typically include a minimum strength (3000 to 3500 psi), water absorption properties, and freeze/thaw durability (passing a certain number of cycles of an accelerated freeze/thaw test). Likewise, paver standards have requirements for strength, water absorption properties, and freeze/thaw durability (passing a certain number of cycles of the specified freeze/thaw test). Given that the standards for different materials (clay and concrete) are so similar, it is reasonable and prudent that CalStar masonry should meet or exceed these standards.
What kind of fly ash do you use?
Class C fly ash, as defined by ASTM C618 – 05 Standard Specification for Coal Fly Ash and Raw or Calcined Natural Pozzolan for Use in Concrete.
Does fly ash in any form present any health issues?
In most cases, fly ash poses no greater danger than ordinary Portland cement, or finely ground brick powder. In all cases, as a matter of good housekeeping, workers should wear appropriate personal protective equipment. As with any fine material, care should be taken when handling fly ash to prevent dusting and reduce exposure to inhalation.

A detailed analysis of environmental safety of fly ash and fly ash-based products can be found under Environmental Safety.
Are the bricks safe for a mason to handle? What about cutting?
Based on third-party environmental health and safety assessments, CalStar products do not pose any greater risk than normal clay brick to masons. Masons can handle CalStar bricks and pavers the same way they would handle normal clay brick or pavers. No additional protective measures are required. CalStar recommends using a wet saw or guillotine to reduce dust when cutting.

Environment

Why are you making a brick? What is clay brick’s embodied energy and carbon footprint?
Brick is an energy- and carbon-intensive industry — primarily due to the kiln firing requirements in the clay brick manufacturing process. Some architects and specifiers are specifying fiber cement board, wood and other nonbrick claddings because they are concerned that brick is not a green option. U.S. demand for brick has averaged approximately 7 billion units a year over the past decade. At 0.9 pounds of CO2 per brick, the industry footprint equals almost 6.3 billion pounds of CO2 per year.

We love the look and feel of brick — and want to preserve brick’s place in architecture by providing architects with a truly green alternative.
Isn’t CalStar Products, Inc. perpetuating the use of coal by utilizing this coal by-product?
No. Fly ash will be produced regardless of whether CalStar Products, Inc. uses it or not. We are endeavoring to divert as much of it as possible towards beneficial reuse.
Are CalStar’s bricks and pavers safe?
Yes. They are safe to transport, to install, to touch and to dispose. See the testing and evaluation from third-party laboratories here.
Shouldn’t the energy used in burning coal be considered in the energy footprint of fly ash—and therefore in CalStar’s products?
No. The coal is burned to produce energy, not fly ash. The fly ash is generated all day, whether or not it is sold.
Why do the National Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club and the EPA support the recycling of fly ash into construction products?
While the federal government is encouraging renewable generation like wind, solar and biomass, coal-fired generation is still a substantial component of our energy mix. Coal-fired generation is responsible for about 50% of the power supplied to our electricity grid and U.S. electric utilities generate 130 million tons of CCP’s (coal combustion products) every year. Fly ash has been used as a substitute and complement for ordinary Portland cement for decades—it is a ubiquitous material in modern construction and design. When used in building materials, fly ash is bound safely within a solid matrix. The EPA’s C2P2 (Coal Combustion Products Partnership) program has encouraged fly ash use to reduce CO2 emissions and reduce landfill burdens since the early 1990s.

Plant

Why is CalStar’s first brick plant in Wisconsin?
In order to reduce the transportation of raw material, CalStar brick and paver plants are designed to be located near the source of fly ash: coal burning power plants. After extensive technical, safety and aesthetic screening, we selected We Energies, a division of Wisconsin Energy Corporation, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for their high fly ash quality, their long-standing leadership in recycling, and their strong interest in and support of our company and our vision.

Future CalStar plants will be built near other power plants in regions around the country, enabling the manufacture of low-energy, low-CO2 bricks and pavers that comply with the 500 mile local manufacturing criteria of the USGBC’s LEED program.