4 ms·

Earthquakes aside brick is really heavy and extremely brittle, so it is only cost effective if it can be sourced somewhat locally. The only real advantage to b

Earthquakes aside brick is really heavy and extremely brittle, so it is only cost effective if it can be sourced somewhat locally. The only real advantage to brick, aside from aesthetics, is that its a great insulator.

jefftk 5y ago
It's not a good insulator, though? A 4" brick wall is has an R value of 0.8, so you'd need 5ft thick walls to get R13. It's great for thermal mass, but you still need insulation.
- austincheney 5y ago
  Yes, you still need insulation. But, brick appears to still be a much better insulator than other residential building materials. I found a site that explains it with numbers: https://gambrick.com/does-a-brick-home-need-insulation/ https://gambrick.com/does-a-brick-home-need-insulation/ Additionally, brick is superior at weather resistance over time. 50 years from that brick will continue to insulate about the same as a new wall. You won't get that with wood even with lots of treatment over the years.
  - jefftk 5y ago
    That site is talking about brick used as siding, not as something structural. And they're only getting an R value of 0.8 (which is minimal) because it is 4" thick. 4" brick gives you less insulation than even 1/4" of foam.
    - austincheney 5y ago
      Are there modern residences that use brick for more than siding?
      - frosted-flakes 5y ago
        In America/Canada? No, not commonly. Basements walls sometimes use concrete blocks, but structural brick buildings in general are very uncommon.
- tpm 5y ago
  Some bricks do not need additional insulation, such as this one with U=0.11: https://www.heluz.sk/sk/vyrobek/heluz-family-50-2in1-brusena https://www.heluz.sk/sk/vyrobek/heluz-family-50-2in1-brusena
- timeon 5y ago
  Brick houses in central and eastern Europe are usually build with clay block bricks like Porotherm with λ = 0,1 - 0,133 W/mK. There are also some with 0,082 W/mK but usual combination is brick+insulation (i.e.: to have wall with U value less then 0,22 W/(m²⋅K) you can use brick with thickness of 38cm and 10cm insulation. For 20cm concrete wall you would have to use 30cm insulation.)
dilyevsky 5y ago
> The only real advantage to brick, aside from aesthetics, is that its a great insulator. No it isn’t, the R value of wood is much higher. Imho the real advantage is longevity (doesn’t apply to earthquake areas tho) also when there isn’t wood available
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  But a wall in a wooden house isn't actually wood unless it's a log cabin. It a normal wooden house it's a void with a wooden frame.
  - djrogers 5y ago
    A brick wall has less insulating value than a wood framed home with vinyl siding and drywall without any in-wall insulation. 4” of brick has an r value of 0.8, while drywall alone is at 0.5 before you add the 1-3.0 of the siding.
    - chrisseaton 5y ago
      > 4” of brick Nobody builds a house with 4 inches of brick though. Have you ever been to a very hot country and wondered why they build with stone? Because it insulates. Also half the comments in this thread are talking about how environmentally friendly wood houses are... and the other half are pointing out that a 'wood' house in the US is really vinyl.
      - jefftk 5y ago
        But masonry doesn't work (there or anywhere) by insulating -- they use it for it's high thermal mass, which let's you effectively use the cool night air to keep the building cool during the day.
        chrisseaton 5y ago
        That's what insulation is - a material which changes its temperature more slowly than another material. You can do that by being a big thermal mass so that heat transfers but takes a long time to have an impact as a kind of thermal 'flywheel', or you can do that by making heat transfer in the material slow by having a high 'insulative value'. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_mass https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_mass if you aren't sure what we mean. My house is cool in the summer because it's still warming up from the winter. That doesn't work for wood - which is just the same temperature as everything surrounding it - so boiling in summer and freezing in winter.

jefftk 5y ago

It's not a good insulator, though? A 4" brick wall is has an R value of 0.8, so you'd need 5ft thick walls to get R13. It's great for thermal mass, but you still need insulation.

austincheney 5y ago
Yes, you still need insulation. But, brick appears to still be a much better insulator than other residential building materials. I found a site that explains it with numbers: https://gambrick.com/does-a-brick-home-need-insulation/ https://gambrick.com/does-a-brick-home-need-insulation/ Additionally, brick is superior at weather resistance over time. 50 years from that brick will continue to insulate about the same as a new wall. You won't get that with wood even with lots of treatment over the years.
- jefftk 5y ago
  That site is talking about brick used as siding, not as something structural. And they're only getting an R value of 0.8 (which is minimal) because it is 4" thick. 4" brick gives you less insulation than even 1/4" of foam.
  - austincheney 5y ago
    Are there modern residences that use brick for more than siding?
    - frosted-flakes 5y ago
      In America/Canada? No, not commonly. Basements walls sometimes use concrete blocks, but structural brick buildings in general are very uncommon.
tpm 5y ago
Some bricks do not need additional insulation, such as this one with U=0.11: https://www.heluz.sk/sk/vyrobek/heluz-family-50-2in1-brusena https://www.heluz.sk/sk/vyrobek/heluz-family-50-2in1-brusena
timeon 5y ago
Brick houses in central and eastern Europe are usually build with clay block bricks like Porotherm with λ = 0,1 - 0,133 W/mK. There are also some with 0,082 W/mK but usual combination is brick+insulation (i.e.: to have wall with U value less then 0,22 W/(m²⋅K) you can use brick with thickness of 38cm and 10cm insulation. For 20cm concrete wall you would have to use 30cm insulation.)

dilyevsky 5y ago

> The only real advantage to brick, aside from aesthetics, is that its a great insulator. No it isn’t, the R value of wood is much higher. Imho the real advantage is longevity (doesn’t apply to earthquake areas tho) also when there isn’t wood available

chrisseaton 5y ago
But a wall in a wooden house isn't actually wood unless it's a log cabin. It a normal wooden house it's a void with a wooden frame.
- djrogers 5y ago
  A brick wall has less insulating value than a wood framed home with vinyl siding and drywall without any in-wall insulation. 4” of brick has an r value of 0.8, while drywall alone is at 0.5 before you add the 1-3.0 of the siding.
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    > 4” of brick Nobody builds a house with 4 inches of brick though. Have you ever been to a very hot country and wondered why they build with stone? Because it insulates. Also half the comments in this thread are talking about how environmentally friendly wood houses are... and the other half are pointing out that a 'wood' house in the US is really vinyl.
    - jefftk 5y ago
      But masonry doesn't work (there or anywhere) by insulating -- they use it for it's high thermal mass, which let's you effectively use the cool night air to keep the building cool during the day.
      - chrisseaton 5y ago
        That's what insulation is - a material which changes its temperature more slowly than another material. You can do that by being a big thermal mass so that heat transfers but takes a long time to have an impact as a kind of thermal 'flywheel', or you can do that by making heat transfer in the material slow by having a high 'insulative value'. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_mass https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_mass if you aren't sure what we mean. My house is cool in the summer because it's still warming up from the winter. That doesn't work for wood - which is just the same temperature as everything surrounding it - so boiling in summer and freezing in winter.