James Mead, project director at Saint-Gobain Weber, discusses why a move towards MMC doesn’t mean the end of brick.
With around 70% of the UK’s new homes being built with a brick façade, we need to find a way to construct buildings that are traditional in appearance but modern in construction.
The cost of bricks (in terms of freight, emissions, weight, space, and storage), the availability of bricklayers, and Net Zero targets all present their own challenges, which is leading the construction industry to look for alternative methods to build faster, more cost effectively and most importantly, more sustainably. Cue Modern Methods of Construction.
Integrating modern and traditional construction
As we transition from traditional building methods to offsite manufacturing, products within Category 6 (product-led labour reduction/productivity improvement) are set to play a huge part in bridging that gap.
This Category includes “traditional single building products”, that are “manufactured in large format, pre-cut configurations or with easy jointing features to reduce extent of site labour required to install”, and can contribute to a projects Pre-Manufactured Value (PMV).
Builds will become quicker thanks to the ease and speed of installation. Such systemised products will also help to ensure adherence to the forthcoming uplifts in Building Regulations Part L, which will place additional requirements on the fabric and air tightness of new-builds, as they can be constructed with this in mind.
And there are already products on the market, usable on new build and refurbishment projects today, such as weberwall brick.
Product innovations
Saint-Gobain Weber’s weberwall brick has been developed as a cladding alternative that gives the appearance of brick but can be fitted without the need for specialist labour on site. Once applied, it feels and looks just like the real thing.
It can be fixed more than three-times faster than traditional brick slips and is lightweight, with one sheet of 20 bricks being equal to the weight of one house brick.
As a Category 6 product it can also be combined with MMC builds, so that when panelised and volumetric construction is the norm, the time from project inception to handover is even further reduced.
Futurebuild
Live weberwall brick installation demonstrations will be held on Weber’s stand (J20) twice per day – at 10:45 and 14:00 – on each day of Futurebuild.
There will also be examples of the different applications that weberwall brick can be used for including new build, refurbishment and internal design. The stand will also showcase MMC solutions, using steel and timber frame builds supplied by Saint-Gobain Off-Site Solutions.
Futurebuild attendees will also get an exclusive look at the new photographs of 24-32 Stephenson Way, a recently completed office refurbishment project in King’s Cross, London. The client wanted to achieve an exposed brick finish to complement the existing colour scheme, so used weberwall brick in Antique Red Multi with pointing mortar in Buff. It was combined with exposed pipework at ceiling level to create a contemporary industrial look.
For more information on weberwall brick or to discuss a project, contact specifications(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)netweber.co.uk or call 01525 718 877
Benefits of weberwall brick at a glance:
- 12 colours, feels and looks like real brick
- 1 sheet of 20 bricks equal to the weight of 1 house brick
- Three times faster to apply than brick slips
- Technical support available
- Increases energy efficiency if used as part of an external wall insulation system
- Ideal for sites where storage and access is limited
- Speed of application makes buildings watertight quicker
- Aids planning, scheduling and programming