Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Solid brick - why don't they build them? 42Jun 20, 2008 9:04 pm KexKez - I posted that link for the bit about getting the sun into the back of living area of the house.
As I say - each to therir own and I don't expect everyone to love the style of houses that I love, but we do need to introduce these sort of eco design principle into everyday houses to make them more efficient and enjoyable to live in. But more to the point - more friendly to our health. Good luck with your place. and as I said above - the horse is in the cupboard Steve Re: Solid brick - why don't they build them? 43Aug 21, 2023 1:54 am d@n I live in a solid brick place and it's fantastic during the early days of summer. it also cuts out the noise from room to room. But everything I see built today is either brick veneer or weatherboard. My relo's have both and combined with polished boards it echo's the sound making it quite noisy. It's also nice to feel a solid wall, whereas with gyprock, you "tap" "tap" and get that hollow sound. I did a google search and found only one builder in NSW offering solid brick construction. Is the cost today just too exorbitant? Full disclosure here, I'm a bricklayer, so I like the idea of solid brick, for some reasons, but not others. The downsides are, that it's a messy job especially if you want to change a wall arrangement in a finished home, however, this can be managed, by setting up temporary plywood sheeting and plastic, to protect existing carpet and paint, and furniture, Second downside, is children bumping heads on interior walls, they are harder than gyprock, but this can be managed, by covering the lower parts of the walls, especially the corners, Round corner bricks are also available. Lastly, yes initial cost of the build. Bricks cost about $150 per square meter, per skin. So interior walls around the perimeter are nearly as much as the external, except for window sills, so a little less, your garage may not be included in the difference, if it was brick and pier anyway, that might be the same, but if you live in a very cold climate, your garage may be insulated brick veneer, and connected to your house, to look after your car in winter. This sort of thing is common in far north places like Alaska, and Russia, Apart from that there is the dividing walls inside your house to decide, do you also want them brick? This will mean more expense, however they may never need to be painted, so it can save money in the long run. Many houses in WA, are brick on the outside, and the inside is concrete block, which is a little cheaper, but it will end up being painted in most cases. However, You are not just comparing brick to framing, you are saving on plaster, and perhaps paint also. Now for the upsides, Number one, is thermal, interior masonry is an awesome temperature regulator for all seasons. Number 2, leaky pipes can't destroy it, number 3, you can change it all up using the same bricks if you know how to lay them, also, if you don't, it can be easy to hire a bricklayer, if you pay a little better than a builder, which is easy. Builders rip bricklayers off just because they think if they can't do that, they can't do their job! But here come the best part about solid brick, NO-ONE COMES INTO YOUR HOUSE AND FIRES A GUN!!!!! Not cops, not crooks, no-one!!, Because, if you've ever played air hockey or carrum, you know, that wherever you fire that puck, it pretty much comes back, in any rectangle or square!!!. And that's the first thing you learn at gun school. Never fire toward a hard surface, and if you don't learn it there, you learn it the first time you do it, because there's nothing more chilling than lead screaming back past your ear, at 897.62 mph!!! Also, BRICKS DO NOT BURN!!!!!!!!!! Brick veneer homes on the other hand, are PERFECT for shooting in, because the bricks on the outside, stop any bullets leaving the building, and the soft plaster interior walls are easy to shoot through, so no-one in the house can hide, but once the bullets get to the bricks, the plaster and studs, muffle the sounds, and nullify ricochets. So they're perfect for corrupt governments. Who like to send corrupt cops, to shoot up anyone who refuses to sell their place cheap, to one of their mates, then feed some BS narrative about you to the papers. Especially if you have land on top of coal, or gas, or in the way of a government building or road!! Otherwise they might just send thieves to your place any time you look like getting rich enough to afford a good lawyer. You might have trouble defending yourself with a gun and getting away with it here, but let them try to sue you for having brick walls!!! Re: Solid brick - why don't they build them? 44Aug 21, 2023 3:35 pm Double brick homes are essentially heat banks and the principles of good building design are glass, mass and insulation. Good building design must take into account climate, location, site orientation and what materials are economically available. There is no reason why your house should be all double brick or all brick veneer or all just timber. A good design may capture sun in the winter to heat the home, screen off sun in summer but it is difficult to do all that on a 400m2 suburban block. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Solid brick - why don't they build them? 45Aug 22, 2023 1:24 am $150 per m2 per skin + you pay for the both sides render (and paint) on top of it. As for the bullets, I am quite sure most of the hand gun calibers won't ricochet from the brick and 0.5 cal will simply penetrate the one leaf brick wall. Brick is not a concrete. Engineering timber is certainly a less fuss option, times cheaper to supply and install and better withstands humidity. 1 15884 If this is a custom build then I would expect the builder to set out the door frame closer to the wall to avoid the gap between architrave and the wall and or specify… 9 8288 wondering anyone built with omaxe homes and care to share their experiences. thanks 0 13820 |