Category: Bricks

Brickwork – Mortar Joints

During your Selection or Pre-Start meeting It isn’t just Picking a Brick. You also have to pick a mortar colour and a type of mortar joint.

Mortar Colour

If you have been to a Brick Display Centre check what colour mortar they use in the test wall of the brick you like. This will probably be the best colour for your house.

Joint Types

Below are the more common types of brick joints:

  • The ‘Ironed’ or ‘Rounded’ joint is quite common and helps to keep the water out of the brickwork
  • The ‘Weather’ joint, which is not so common in Australia, also helps to keep the wall dry.
  • The ‘Raked’ joint does give an interesting texture to the wall, but is the least moisture resistant joint. Best choice for beveled edge, or tumbled, bricks. It is unsuitable for bricks that only have a surface coating on the sides as the body colour will be exposed at the joints.   Because the mortar is almost always in shade it will look darker than you expect.
  • A flush joint is reasonable weather resistant but can look uneven. It is unsuitable for rustic or rounded edged bricks. Another issue is it is more likely to result in staining of the brick face.

My E book Guide to Selection/Pre-Start includes lots more information and checklists to help you choose the details that will make your new house a home.

 

Choosing Bricks

If you want brick you really need to go and visit one of the brick manufacturers display centres where they have display walls built with the various bricks.

Make sure you look at the bricks in the builders standard range first. If you are happy with a brick from this range you will save thousands of dollars compared with the ‘premium’ brick.

Looking at a couple of square metres of wall gives you a much better idea than looking at a couple of bricks in the builders office.

Seeing a larger panel may also stop you going for one of the short term trends such as brightly coloured bricks.

When you are at the brick manufacturers check what colour mortar they use in the test wall as this will probably be the best colour for your house.

 

More about selecting finishes including 28 pages of Check Lists in the‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

 

Brickwork Fail 2

This brick wall is on a house opposite my bedroom window.

To me its wrong on so many levels!

  1. Bricks are meant to be laid with a bond rather than stacked like this as it makes a stronger job.
  2. To be able to get away with this effect you need accurate, even brickwork as stacking really shows every mistake.
  3. The actual bricklaying is poor with uneven joints and inaccurate bricklaying.
  4. The pointing of the brickwork is poor.
  5. There is excessive mortar staining of the brick.

Can you believe this is on the side of a new house, currently for sale, in this state!

Planning some building work in the garden? see Brick Fences

For more Unusual Houses and Fails see What the………………….?

 

Damp Proof Course (DPC)

The purpose of the outer skin of a building is to keep moisture out of the house structure.

A  damp proof course, in the brick veneer example shown below, has two purposes:

  • It prevents moisture from the ground rising up through the external brick skin. (This moisture can cause effervescence which stains the brickwork)
  • It ensures that moisture that penetrates the brickwork runs down the wall and is discharged to the outside through the weep holes.

The DPC, which is usually polyethylene, should be the full width of the brickwork. The other edge of the DPC should be fixed to the face of the bottom plate of the wall frame.

The drawing shows a DPC 75mm (one brick) above the ground. This is an absolute minimum and 150mm is preferred.

 

For other DPC details see this Clay Brick link.

For other similar posts see Construction

 

Why Double Brick

Double Brick is the most common method of construction in WA.

Construction consists of two panels (sometimes called leaves) of masonry with a cavity between them. The panels are connected by steel ties at regular intervals.

A better description would be Structural Masonry, Cavity Construction. which also includes using limestone, rendered brick and concrete block for the external face, and brick or concrete block for the internal leaf. (The photo shows a brick external leaf connected to a concrete block inner leaf by a wire tie)

The purpose of the cavity between the outside leaf of brick and the inside leaf is so that moisture doesn’t penetrate into the home. In more sustainable homes this cavity is partially or fully filled with insulation.

Internal walls are usually a single brick thickness and generally use a 2nds brick or concrete block that is plastered or lined using a lining board.

Advantages

  • It is extremely durable requiring very little maintenance.
  • The mass of the brickwork can help moderate the internal temperature of the dwelling
  • You can place a heavy fixing anywhere on the walls.

Disadvantages

  • More expensive than Brick Veneer.
  • Not as well insulated.
  • The house will take a long time to warm up in winter or cool down once it does get hot.
  • Likely to crack if subjected to ground movement.

 

Also see:  Brick Veneer.

See this link for more posts:  Bricks

 

Why Brick Veneer?

Brick veneer is probably the most common method of construction in Australia.

However if you live in Western Australia you will find Double Brick is more popular in that state.

Although brick veneer is the usual term these comments will apply to all ‘Masonry Veneer’ construction which includes external walls of:

  • Brick.
  • Block work. including Light block such as Hebel.
  • Rendered brick / blocks.
  • Stone.

A Masonry veneer structure has two main components:

  1. The Frame. Can be either Timber or Steel. This is the main structural component of the house supporting the roof, and if required the upper floor. This is usually ‘wrapped’ as in photo above.
  2. The Masonry Veneer. Although this looks solid it really only supports itself, and relies on ties to the frame to keep it stable. It provides a weatherproof ‘skin’ to the building.

So Why

  • Gives a solid look to the house.
  • Lower cost than solid brick
  • The prefabricated frame allows the frame to be erected quickly allowing the builder to get the structure weatherproof.
  • Easy to insulate.
  • Lightweight internal construction which means it can be cooled or heated up quickly when you get home.
  • Relatively easy to make internal alterations at a later date.
  • Better able to deal with soil movement in ground conditions such as Clay Soils.

Problems with Brick Veneer:

  • Termites if using a timber frame.
  • Not as good as brick in preventing noise transmission.
  • Doesn’t have much Thermal Mass to balance extremes of temperature or help with Passive Solar Design

If you don’t like Brick (Masonry) Veneer tell me why not!

 

The most appropriate Brick Dimensions will make the walls easier to build.

 

Leftover Bricks

Usually builders over order bricks. This is to ensure that all the bricks come from the same batch and there is no problem colour matching. (Each batch of bricks manufactured should be consistent within the batch, but will vary from batch to batch).

Some of the extra bricks may be used by the brickies cutting bricks, but there is usually lots of intact bricks left over that you could use for:

  • Path edging;
  • Brick planter boxes; or
  • Building a barby.

So whats the situation when it comes to getting those bricks?……………

Well for most house contracts you are paying for the completed walls not the actual bricks so the bricks are really owned by the builder.

In practice if there are complete packs/pallets of bricks the builder will probably want to take them off site for reuse. The reuse is typically for houses or fences that are going to be rendered.

For packs that have been opened its normally ‘too hard’ for the builder to load the bricks by hand so they go off to the tip during the clearance.

If you want the bricks the best thing to do is speak to the Site Supervisor. If you have a good relationship the SS may allow you to collect and stack the bricks somewhere on the site and make sure they are left there for you to use once you have moved in.

What did you use any leftover bricks for?

 

For similar posts see Garden

 

Brickwork – 45 Degree Corners

One of the things that really annoys me as I walk around is 45 degree bends in brick fences like this photo.

Bricks are meant to be laid so that they fully interlocked and this is a long way short of that.

I have even seen this type of corner on a house, where the joint will lead to penetration of water into the wall.

What this tells me is that someone:

  • Didn’t understand what can be done.
  • Planned the work poorly.
  • Tried to save money.
  • Employed dodgy bricklayers.

The photo on the left is what a proper 45 degree brick corner should look like.

It uses a special brick which is called a squint.

These brick are a special order, so they take time to be delivered, and they are more expensive……………….but they do make a much better job!

See Bricks for more posts on understanding brick work

 Planning some building work in the garden? see Brick Fences

 

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