2019-07-01 Homebuilding & Renovating

(Joyce) #1
homebuilding.co.uk 79

BUYER’sgUiDE


ABovE: Bricks(suppliedbyBeaclaysolutions) have been laid at 90° creating
a strikingaestheticthatgivesthishouseitsowncontemporaryidentity.

BEloW:thisPassivhaus-certifiedself-buildwasconstructedfromstructural
insulatedpanels(siPs)andis cladinbrickslipstomeetplanningrequirements.
the brick and steel façade has been softened with red cedar louvres.

Incontrast,softmudbricks
(alsoknownasstock)aremade
bydroppingtheclayintosand-
coatedmoulds,whichproducea
sandedfacewithslightcreases.
Thiswasoriginallydoneby
hand(seemorebelow)butis
nowgenerallya machine-made
process.Waterstruckbricksare
madeina verysimilarwaytosoft
mudbricksbutnosandis usedin
themouldingprocess,justwater,
whichmeansthebricksurfaceis
a lotlessgrainy.

hAnDMADEIf youwanttomatch
existingbricksoryou’rebuilding
a homeina conservationarea
forexample,handmadebricks
provideanauthenticlook.
Theclayis rolledinsandthen
‘thrown’skilfullybyhandinto
a mould.Handmadevarieties
offermoreflexibilityastheycan
bemadeupasstandardornon-
standardsizedbricks.“Traditional
handmadebricksofferlongevity,
qualityandanaestheticappealthat
cannotbematchedbystandard
machine-madebricks,”saysJason
Hughes.“Theimperfectfinish
addsinstantcharacterandcharm.”

REclAiMED If you’re knocking
down a property and building
a new one on the plot then you
can use bricks reclaimed from
the original building(s) if you

want to replicate the look or need
to due to a planning condition.
Reclamation yards are another
good source of second-hand
bricks but getting the quantity
and quality for a whole house or
a large extension can be difficult.
Wastage can be high and you may
need to discard a few.

Picking patterns
Once you’ve chosen the brick
type you want to use, you’ll need
to think about the bond: the
pattern the bricks will be laid in.
Brick bonds have an impact on
aesthetics but they also have a job
to do structurally, too. The way
the bricks are laid will determine
how the load is distributed. Each
horizontal row of bricks is called
a course and a course is made
up, most commonly, of headers,
stretchers or both. A header is
the smaller end or ‘face’ of a
brick and a stretcher is the long,
narrower ‘face’.
The most common brick bond
is stretcher (which, as the name
suggests, uses stretchers only).
The joins on each course are
centre aligned with the bricks
above and below. However, there
are a number of options available
to the self-builder and extender,
including more traditional
Flemish bond, English bond and
contemporary stack bond.

BUilDAtEstPAnEl
“if you’re building your own
home, ask for a test panel
to be made up, so you can
see exactlyhowthebricks
willlookwhenthey’relaid,”
saysJasonhughes,MDof
imperialBricks.test panels
should be around 1m^2.

image: mole


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Simon maxwell (below)


Adding detail
To add form and character to what can sometimes be a
mass expanse of flat wall there are design details that you
can incorporate to add interest. A dentil bond features
alternating indented bricks in one or more courses.
Dogs-tooth features a projecting course of bricks laid
at 45°, cropped at the cavity. The design can be used to
create corbelled eaves or decorative banding. A corbel is a
bracket that projects further than the face of a wall often
in and around the eaves of a roof.

Design & Materials

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