The Concrete Facing Brick has now truly come of age, according to Michael Davies, Technical Manager from AG.
Ask any design purist what they’re looking for in a Facing Brick and they’ll probably tell you they want the very best in both form and function. It is vital Facing Brick delivers a stunning first impression. Colour, texture, how they’re laid and complemented by mortar are all essential elements — but high levels of consistency, colour integrity, strength and overall performance are equally important for the professional who puts their name to the scheme.
Here are seven reasons why Concrete Facing Brick should fully merit serious consideration:
- Sustainability
An increasingly important consideration for contractors, Concrete Facing Brick stands up well to scrutiny and outperforms the most common materials used. Produced using low cement and water content, no additional heat is required during curing. CO2 emissions are therefore minimal and embodied CO2 is typically less than 18kg/Co2/per m2.
- Delivery and Lead Times
Recent years has seen the demand for new homes significantly increase. Many builders are no longer able to wait for many weeks and months for clay bricks like previous times, leading to a greater demand for new innovative materials, making Concrete Facing Brick a suitable choice due to their considerably lower lead time.
In fact, recent deliveries of AG Facing Brick can be called off with as little as 24-72 hours’ notice, with lead times on some Made to Order items being as little as three weeks. AG also holds a range of stock items that can be despatched even more quickly, satisfying the needs of housebuilders.
- Durability, Acoustic and Thermal Performance
Thanks to their composition, Concrete Facing Bricks are highly resistant to sound transmission and boast a moderate rate of thermal conductivity. In terms of durability concrete bricks are fully frost resistant with minimal soluble salts, making them worthy of consideration.
All AG brick is manufactured to exceed standards established by BS EN 771-3:2011 and (subjected to terms and conditions) boast an impressive 60-year guarantee.
- Water absorption
Apart from compressive strength, water absorption is important in masonry. The product’s ability to absorb water can impact colour integrity and overall performance. Concrete Facing Brick has typical absorption levels of 6-8% and some as low as 4% compared to many other building options which have a much higher absorption rate.
- Efflorescence
This can be the bane of specifier, contractor and end-user alike. Who hasn’t seen a beautiful building spoiled by the presence of efflorescence? The fact is, the higher the porosity of the material, the greater the likelihood and risk of efflorescence occurring, meaning AG concrete bricks — thanks to vapour curing — creates minimal porosity and soluble salts to achieve exceptional levels of performance.
Furthermore, as an added protection layer, all AG Concrete Facing Bricks are shrink wrapped to eliminate exposure to rainwater that can be a key element in the development of efflorescence.
- Colour Integrity and Finish Consistency
Thanks to significant investment in pigment development and technology AG has laid to rest historic concerns some may have had regarding the colour integrity of concrete bricks. Using the latest technology AG Concrete Facing Bricks are produced in strictly regulated factory conditions, thereby ensuring repeatable results.
- Dimensional accuracy
When it comes to designing and building, brick size matters. Dimensional accuracy is a critical element in any choice if onsite efficiencies are to be optimised and waste is to be minimised. Concrete Facing Brick will deliver dimensional accuracy of 1-3mm across all dimensions — much higher than many of their masonry counterparts.
Apart from being aesthetically pleasing, the many benefits of concrete facing brick make them the ideal choice for housebuilders. It is no surprise then that they represent one of the fastest growing material groups in the UK brick industry, reshaping the construction landscape.
For more information on AG’s range of Concrete Facing Bricks, visit ag.uk.com/brick
