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| Why brick is best for cladding  There is something very special about brick. It's not only beautiful to look at. It's big in the sustainability stakes and has the ability to adapt as a building changes use. It also beats just about any other cladding material on price according to independent research. The findings are especially valuable right now, given that contractors are experiencing soaring costs and longer lead times for many rival cladding materials. Brick has long been a favourite among architects, planners and the public. Its warm and humanising character brings buildings to life. An external brick wall contributes depth, scale, colour, texture and a sense of permanence. Then there's the choice. Around 1200 different varieties of brick are produced in the UK alone, from handmade bricks to mass produced extruded and stock bricks. Bricks blend easily and naturally with their surroundings and other materials. Now the case for brick has been boosted by a top environmental rating. The BRE's latest Green Guide to Specification has assigned the highest possible accreditation A+ to every external wall it rated containing brick. And brick's carbon footprint? A square metre of brickwork produces 28 kg of carbon dioxide by the time it is delivered to site. That equates to just 0.0001867 tonnes per square metre a year, over 150 years. Actually the lifespan of brick extends well beyond that. A recent survey of 900 homes found that brick structures can have a lifespan of 500 years or more. Maintenance is minimal – repointing may be necessary after 70 years. In contrast to other materials, bricks will not rot, rust, erode or decay. Wind and rain and snow will not damage it. Weather merely mellows it. So as brick ages its looks improve and the embodied energy becomes insignificant. And, when the time comes to knock down brickwork, it can be crushed and recycled on site – and old lime mortar bricks can be cleaned up and re-used. Yet these attributes are twinned with the lowest installed and whole-life cost compared with glass, steel, proprietary renders and timber-based cladding systems. A recent report by the RICS compared the installed cost per square metre for brickwork against competing external finishes. The study took a wide range of data, from major price books to bills of quantities for live projects. The projects, from across the UK, ranged in value from £356,000 to £10.5 million. Facing brick came in at just £59 m2. That's less than pebbledash and proprietary render systems and just two thirds the price of timber weatherboarding. Curtain walling is nearly eight times more expensive, patent glazing nearly nine times. The materials that came in less than brickwork included options with a far lower life expectancy or higher life cycle costs, such as single fibre cement sheeting or painted render. In its conclusion the RICS notes: 'Brick is a competitive option for the external skin. Most of the options that are less expensive in the study fall within the range of available facing bricks.' Compare this with, say the price for timber, which rose over a quarter for imported softwoods in the last year, or glazed cladding which has been hit by soaring costs for glass, aluminium and stainless steel. With the building industry so heavily reliant on imports, brickwork offers the public sector a major competitive advantage due to the ready availability of locally produced brick, short lead times for brickwork, and competitive pricing. Brickmakers are also making the work on site easier and quicker by producing components such as pre-assembled feature brickwork details and panels. Other innovations include the development of tile bricks, large format clay blocks, thin joint brickwork, and brick-clad timber frame and steel frame buildings. Make no mistake, brick is a strong competitor and one of the most successful building materials ever devised. On price it's hard to beat. On versatility and pure aesthetics few rivals come even close. Moreover it is the most mellow, most sustainable of building materials. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Construction News :: home page |