Masonry Magazine July 2001 Page. 13
WHY BUILD TWO WALLS WHEN YOU ONLY NEED ONE?
Most conventional brick veneer construction consists of a load bearing wall of either wood studs, cold- formed steel studs, or concrete masonry units with the brick units as a finished wall. In a sense, the brick is serving as little more than 4" of paint. In a structural brick wall system, however, the brick serves as both a structural system and the exterior finish facing (see Detail A). Using brick as both the building's exterior finish and its structure capitalizes on the brick masonry's strength, attractive appearance, and other inherent values.
Detail A
BUILD ONE WALL INSTEAD OF TWO
Designed as reinforced load-bearing units rather than just a facing material, structural brick provides a different look, an alternative method of construction and a number of benefits over traditional building methods. Structural brick buildings can be more energy-efficient and are more sound-resistant than buildings of traditional construction. The use of structural brick wall systems also provides for higher resistance to wind and seismic forces.
Structural brick homes in the Seattle, Washington area were found to have performed extremely well in the recent Nisqually earthquake. The elimination of costly wood framing and the need to deal with fluctuating lumber prices is yet another benefit of using structural brick.
Brick gives a home permanence and beauty. Brick homes have lower maintenance costs and often lower insurance rates because of their fire resistance characteristics. For these reasons structural brick homes often have higher resale values and greater curb appeal than homes constructed with traditional methods or other siding materials. Structural brick systems offer all of these advantages, and can still be cost-competitive with most siding materials.
As recently reported by the Daily Herald in suburban Chicago, Sean Flaherty, a mason and owner of C.S. Flaherty Contractors completed a structural brick home. The home is located in West Chicago, Illinois in a subdivision called Kresswood Trails. Although Flaherty is a mason by trade, his role on this project was also that of a general contractor (see Photo 1). "Even though this was my first project I didn't really have any problems during construction. I really like the system and I plan to continue to build many more homes with structural brick. In fact, I'm now in the process of putting together my next project which will be my own home," said Flaherty.
Flaherty's 4-bedroom 2500 sq. ft. home is priced at $319,000. Flaherty estimates the same home with siding would cost $306,000, with traditional brick veneer, it would have cost $328,000, and the same home constructed with concrete masonry units (CMU's) and brick veneer would have cost $337,000.
ENERGY CONSIDERATIONS
Because of their construction features and thermal mass properties structural brick homes are considerably more energy-efficient than comparably insulated vinyl or wood sided homes.
When rigid foam board insulation is used, the configuration of a structural brick building allows the contractor to install a continuous uninterrupted skin of insulation against the exterior wall of the building. This is unlike conventional frame construction where the insulation is interrupted by framing members, electrical conduits, and piping. There is no thermal bridging when this system is used.
With conventional wood-framed veneer construction you have two building materials which act in very different ways. Wood will undergo shrinkage over time, while brick will generally expand due to moisture expansion. These opposing movements can result in gaps and cracking in caulking around doors and windows which become points of air infiltration and heat loss. With a structural brick system you only have one "single skin" so your wall, doors, and windows all move together and you don't have this problem.
In light of the current energy issues and rising natural gas prices in the United States, these benefits will certainly become even more significant.