Browse Forums General Discussion Re: timber wall vs. brick 2Apr 19, 2014 7:29 am They are most likely all timber framed but the lower level has brick veneer and the upper floor has some cladding. Its cheaper to do the cladding but I think the brick veneer provides better insulation so you may want to consider some of your heating/cooling costs when deciding what to go for. http://camdenbuild.blogspot.com.au/ by invite only please pm me Re: timber wall vs. brick 3Apr 19, 2014 12:41 pm On the ground floor the bricks sit on the edge of the slab. If you want to have bricks as your cladding on the upper floor unless your upper walls are directly above the lower walls then you are going to have to use some pretty big ( and expensive ) steel beams to support it. A lot of houses have the upper walls in a metre or so depending on the design which means you'd spend a lot of money on steel. Timber framing and cladding like poly sheets are regarded as lightweight framing so you spend a lot less on structural beams to support them not to mention the increased R-value of those walls relative to BV. One reason why we are starting to see a lot more homes that are clad upper and lower floors with poly sheets or some other better performing material. Stewie Re: timber wall vs. brick 4Apr 19, 2014 3:17 pm Hi hayleycyl, Which state are you in? Some states like WA build the entire house out of bricks (including the upper storey on a suspended concrete slab) so your question is slightly location based. The answers already posted give you some of the reasons, assuming a timber frame construction. Cheers, Si. Cheers, Si Building & Design Consultant Re: timber wall vs. brick 5Apr 19, 2014 9:55 pm Sorry to disagree with you Robbie55, but when considering heating & cooling costs I think brick performs quite poorly, particularly for an upper storey. Without taking into account additional wall insulation in a wall system, brick is not a particularly good insulator. An uninsulated brick veneer wall performs much the same as an uninsulated weatherboard wall, both with an R value of 0.46. A double brick performs only slightly better, R equalling 0.50. But the main problem is that brick has a high thermal mass (the ability of a material to absorb & store heat). So although brick may feel like it's keeping you cool on a hot summers day, as it absorbs heat, that will come back to bite you later in the evening & night, when the brick releases all that stored heat. This is compounded on the upper storey, where convection currents (hot air rising) heat the upper storey even more throughout the day. Much better to have a lightweight structure with adequate cross ventilation for the upper floor, particularly if the bedrooms are up there, which is most often the case. A lightweight structure will cool down much quicker than brick, in the evening, when opened to the elements. Don't get me wrong, high thermal mass materials can be very beneficial to a homes comfort, away from the tropics, particularly in areas where overnight temperatures are much cooler than daytime temperatures (the thermal mass will smooth out peaks & troughs in temperature). But these materials should be used in the interior of the house, shaded from the summer sun. Even better if they can be exposed to the winter sun to heat the house (think exposed polished concrete or tiled floor in north facing rooms). The main advantage with brick is its durability & low maintenance. Quite a chore to paint the upper storey of a house. However there are new improved types of claddings & renders that are eating away at bricks advantage here. Re: timber wall vs. brick 6Apr 20, 2014 11:29 am Happy to be set straight ddarroch, I've always read that from best to worst, insulated reverse brick veneer was first, insulated brick veneer second, followed by uninsulated cavity brick - there was never really a mention of cladded homes though so have just made a poor assumption. http://camdenbuild.blogspot.com.au/ by invite only please pm me Re: timber wall vs. brick 7Apr 20, 2014 2:02 pm I guess now that houses are actually being insulated better, the type of cladding, be it timber, brick, fibre cement etc, doesn't play such an important role in the insulation of the structure (as all of their R values are so much lower than the insulation used). Of course there's exceptions, like hebel, which is a much better insulator, due to all those air bubbles in the block. When thermal mass is considered, & the thermal lag it creates, it's often great on the inside, horrible on the outside. Re: timber wall vs. brick 8Apr 20, 2014 3:27 pm Quote: I guess now that houses are actually being insulated better, the type of cladding, be it timber, brick, fibre cement etc, doesn't play such an important role in the insulation of the structure (as all of their R values are so much lower than the insulation I'd disagree there ddaroch ( to an extent anyway ) The outer cladding in a hot environment is probably the biggest factor determining how efficient that wall is at keeping heat out of a house. Some of the newer poly sheets come with an R-value of 4 - 5. OK some of the others have higher ratings still but start at 150mm thick so unless you want a very well insulated 8 star house you are going to have external walls that are 400+mm thick. The best R-value for batts in a 90mm wall frame is 2.5. Forgetting other things like air-gaps and cavity products like foilboard the outside surface is your first line of defence. Here is a couple of threads where I and others have posted up info regarding R-values, thermal mass etc viewtopic.php?f=38&t=70205 viewtopic.php?f=31&t=4204 Stewie Re: timber wall vs. brick 10Apr 21, 2014 12:50 pm I should have added that depending to a large degree on where you live will determine on how you go about insulating your home. In a lot of Australia you are trying to keep the heat out. In Tassie and the southern states you are more concerned with keeping the heat in. Stewie Re: timber wall vs. brick 11Oct 02, 2014 1:31 pm Both have good and bad points. Bricks in a double wall construction are more expensive than a brick veneer build. Timber only wall construction requires a lot more maintenance in regards to protection from the elements. Brick walls are very hardy when it comes to the elements and withstand more than timber cladded walls. This is 100% true. You can not hang anything on steel frames. very frustrating 8 4889 Engineering timber is certainly a less fuss option, times cheaper to supply and install and better withstands humidity. 1 15840 I am saying that double brick has similar thermal performance due to thermal mass effect. It will be still very interesting to see the state of your framing after 10-15… 10 29662 |