Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Feb 18, 2011 1:06 pm We will be getting our bricks delivered on site any day now and have chosen Austral Urban One in Almond. I have just read a thread on here which has now worried me ALOT about our choice of brick. Everyone seems to be pretty unhappy with the bricks in the Urban One range (mostly silver and almond), and I'm hoping there might be someone out there who is NOT unhappy with their home after choosing from this range? I contacted Austral yesterday to discuss the issues people seem to have had/be having, and was advised the following: "Regarding the Urban One Almond i would recommend using oxalic acid rather than hydrochloric acid during the brick cleaning process. The reason for this is that hydrochloric acid can burn a lighter brick easier, oxalic acid is weaker and you will have less chance of the brick burning if acid is left on for too long." He also explained that this problem would be common in most lighter bricks that come from Queensland due to the iron content in the clay. If anyone is happy with any of the bricks in the Urban One Range (especially Almond) and has some photos, I'd really love to see them! Thanks!! Re: Brick question 2Feb 19, 2011 7:33 am Austral can recommend what they like, that doesn't mean the person cleaning the bricks will have any clue or care. It all comes down to the builder and brick cleaner. They also recommend not to use high pressure, I think hand cleaning was mentioned, hmm sure they will hand clean it. I don't care too much but if I had to choose again I will choose a solid colored brick. Re: Brick question 3Feb 19, 2011 10:24 am Thanks Jetson. Which bricks do you have? Do you have any photos of how the bricks look now that you could show me? Unfortunately, It's too late for us to change now, but I have spoken to the builder and he said he'd speak to Austral about the best options, but you're right, I can't imagine the builder (let alone ANYONE) hand cleaning them. I really like the lighter coloured brick, which is why we chose these ones, but now I'm getting very worried. I guess only time will tell. Re: Brick question 4Feb 19, 2011 4:33 pm We have the austral nougat bricks, the house still looks great but if I had my choice, the bricks before they were cleaned looked better. Most people wouldn't notice the damage a high pressure clean can do to these bricks except for when it is your own house you tend to go over it with a fine toothed comb. I didn't notice the small chips/flaked bricks on any of the display houses before we built, but now I do. I will post a before and after photo when I get a chance. Re: Brick question 6Apr 26, 2011 5:09 pm Hi there everyone, Just thought I would post a quick update on our bricks. Just like you Jetson, we had the same issues with the bricks once they were cleaned. They looked nicer before the clean, and the clean seemed to take a coating off the bricks. I spoke to our SS before the build and mentioned our worries and he assured me he would make sure it was ok. He did everything to make sure they did everything correctly, but as I guess he (or we) can't be there 100% of the time, they didn't clean them like they were told and they don't look like they are supposed to. BUT we mentioned this to our SS (who so far seems to be brilliant) and he mentioned he had already made an appointment with Austral to visit the site, and he will be asking them to fix the problem. Apparently they do some type of cover, I guess it's like they 're-paint' over the bricks, giving it the look it's supposed to have, like a sandstone finish. If they do that, I'll be very happy. Time will tell. Anyway, we are at lock up, so hopefully not too long now! Re: Brick question 7Apr 26, 2011 5:10 pm jetson We have the austral nougat bricks, the house still looks great but if I had my choice, the bricks before they were cleaned looked better. Most people wouldn't notice the damage a high pressure clean can do to these bricks except for when it is your own house you tend to go over it with a fine toothed comb. I didn't notice the small chips/flaked bricks on any of the display houses before we built, but now I do. I will post a before and after photo when I get a chance. Oh and Jetson, one more thing while I remember, I spoke to the SS about the bricks, and he said all brick companies offer either a 75 year, or lifetime warranty on the bricks, so he said, if you're not happy, call them and get them to come out, and you can insist on them fixing them for you! Cheers! Re: Brick question 8Apr 26, 2011 9:03 pm Thanks for posting the update and sorry I did not get around to putting up a photo or two. I am not that unhappy with our bricks overall, just that they looked better before the clean. Hope the fix works out well for you, let us know how it looks. Re: Brick question 9May 24, 2011 3:49 pm Hi, our new house has Austral Silver bricks and I see, that like others here, some of our bricks have lost colour. Now I am wondering has anyone with this problem had a satisfactory resolution? Also, do the bricks get worse or are there just some that loose the colour right off. Thanks Re: Brick question 10May 24, 2011 4:31 pm KiwiJohn Hi, our new house has Austral Silver bricks and I see, that like others here, some of our bricks have lost colour. Now I am wondering has anyone with this problem had a satisfactory resolution? Also, do the bricks get worse or are there just some that loose the colour right off. Thanks Hi KiwiJohn, Austral visited our site supervisor and said our bricks would be 'fixed' before we move in. We aren't in until another month or so, so hopefully it will be done before then. But as bricks have about a 30 year to lifetime warranty, if you're not happy with them, I'd definitely suggest giving Austral a call. Our's also have started to go a greeny colour in some areas, but as long as they are fixed, I still really like them as far as the colour and texture goes. Cheers Re: Brick question 11May 24, 2011 4:33 pm Our home has bricks from this Austral range (Nougat/Silver). Yes, we had problems with them. Following brick cleaning the coloured face glaze diminished, with many chipped areas allowing the orange base brick colour to show through. We dug our heels in deep and finally got a resolution. A product by Nawkaw was painted on to some of the more obvious damaged areas (colour matched). This improved the appearance marginally and was 'satisfatory' enough for us to finally proceed with settlement. The result would have been much better if the Nawkaw product was applied on more of the damaged areas. I guess this just came down to cost (borne by the builder or by Austral. I never found out which). Re: Brick question 12May 24, 2011 4:59 pm Thanks for the comments. We moved into our house some months ago and noticed quite early on that some of the bricks were quite bad regarding lost colour coat, not all, just a few but to be frank I am hard pressed to find any bricks on the house that do not have at least little spots of underlying colour showing through. Our builder has had the Austral rep to take a look. They photographed the bad bricks and came back later to see if there was significant change, I cant claim to have been able to see any. We are waiting now for a few winter frosts to see if that will pop the surface off. Regarding 'cleaning' bricks. I assume this is something the brickies do when the bricks are laid? If that is the cause of the loss of colour I actually dont feel so bad and I am confident these bad bricks will be attended to by replacing, recoating or whatever. Re: Brick question 13May 24, 2011 11:13 pm Pace I'm also a bit worried about my brick choice, which is Urban One. I see these cracks (below) and don't know how worried I should be about them. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ When I queried Austral I received the following response, which I'm a bit dirty about, to be honest. Quote: Dear Matthew, We are afraid that any enquiries that you have about your bricks need to be directed through your builder, as they are our client and we would only be able to speak with them about their orders with us. Thank you, Matt's Brando: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=46340 Started March 30th 2011 PCI July 15th Re: Brick question 14May 25, 2011 7:11 am DrMatt Pace I'm also a bit worried about my brick choice, which is Urban One. I see these cracks (below) and don't know how worried I should be about them. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ When I queried Austral I received the following response, which I'm a bit dirty about, to be honest. Quote: Dear Matthew, We are afraid that any enquiries that you have about your bricks need to be directed through your builder, as they are our client and we would only be able to speak with them about their orders with us. Thank you, Hi Dr Matt, If you are still in the building stage, then I would DEFINITELY be discussing with your builder. Are you allowed to say who your builder is? We told our Site Supervisor of our worries very early on, as I'd read some other reader comments on here, so he kept an eye on them the whole way through. He said he'd make sure they were cleaned properly etc, but they still peeled away. Anyway, to cut a long story short, we weren't entirely happy with ours (they are ALMOND - Urban One) and were going to mention it to the SS next time we saw him, but he actually mentioned it to us. The update is, that he was meeting Austral on site and they are going to fix the problem, whether that means coat/paint them etc, I'm not sure, but we want them fixed. I still love the look of these bricks, and would choose them again, but you definitely have to keep on top of it during the whole process. Are your bricks the Almond as well? Where are you located? I know a few addresses who have the Almond urban one bricks and they look fantastic. Cheers! Re: Brick question 15Jun 30, 2011 7:33 pm I would recommend staying away from Austral Urban One range. I built with them (Silver) colour and am very disappointed as I found out the whole range is made as the one colour, and then only 2 side have a colour applied. So if you happen to chip a brick, the actual base colour shows through. Select only a brick that is the same colour all the way through. They're cheap and nasty. Re: Brick question 16Jul 01, 2011 1:18 pm I can't believe somebody developed bricks that need to avoid pressure cleaning and to have hand cleaning and repainting and so forth. If I was prepared to have extra fuss made over the exterior surface I'd go rendering and if I wanted no fuss at all I'd go plain brick. I wouldn't of even thought to ask about special cleaning instructions for one type of brick compared to another type of brick. I'd hate to find out afterwards. I hope it works out allright for you all. Re: Brick question 17Jul 31, 2011 6:03 pm Hi all, Just an update on my bricks. The bricks (urban one - almond) gradually got worse as the build went on, not only did the 'coating' continue to come off, but they also started to go a green colour, making them look mouldy. As promised though, Mirvac and Austral fixed the bricks, Austral sent a company around and the guy basically hand coated each brick using a small paint brush, so they look absolutely amazing now. This new coating is guaranteed for 35 years, so I don't imagine we will have any more problems. The guy from this company did say this happens with A LOT of the 'coated' bricks, not just Austral, so make sure you choose wisely. I know very little (or knew very little - I know a lot more now!!) about bricks - I didn't even realise they were 'coated'. I can't imagine Mirvac will continue to use this brick in their basic range due to the headaches they cause to their clients and themselves, and the cost of these bricks has worked out to be the price of 'top end' bricks on the market. Ok for me though, paid for basic bricks and got really great, expensive looking sandstone bricks so couldn't be happier! Cheers! Re: Brick question 18Aug 01, 2011 12:39 am pace Just an update on my bricks. The bricks (urban one - almond) gradually got worse as the build went on, not only did the 'coating' continue to come off, but they also started to go a green colour, making them look mouldy. As promised though, Mirvac and Austral fixed the bricks, Austral sent a company around and the guy basically hand coated each brick using a small paint brush Unbelievable! pace The guy from this company did say this happens with A LOT of the 'coated' bricks, not just Austral, so make sure you choose wisely. I know very little (or knew very little - I know a lot more now!!) about bricks - I didn't even realise they were 'coated'. I wouldn't of known to ask if the bricks are "coated". Its great that its sorted for you now! Re: Brick question 19Aug 11, 2011 11:05 am JazzyJess pace Just an update on my bricks. The bricks (urban one - almond) gradually got worse as the build went on, not only did the 'coating' continue to come off, but they also started to go a green colour, making them look mouldy. As promised though, Mirvac and Austral fixed the bricks, Austral sent a company around and the guy basically hand coated each brick using a small paint brush Unbelievable! pace The guy from this company did say this happens with A LOT of the 'coated' bricks, not just Austral, so make sure you choose wisely. I know very little (or knew very little - I know a lot more now!!) about bricks - I didn't even realise they were 'coated'. I wouldn't of known to ask if the bricks are "coated". Its great that its sorted for you now! Hi JazzyJess, yes, you're right, like I said, I knew very little, or almost nothing about bricks prior to this. But really pleased with the bricks now, and pretty much really happy with everything - Mirvac were really good! 2 8359 I should have followed up on this thread. So, the pier foundation wasn't large enough on the side it was leaning towards, and the NBN cable went through the pier, just… 8 12127 Just be careful with building stability during construction, that is when the structure may be weakened, refer to your engineering drawings for stability methodology. 1 7228 |