3 ms·

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 sti

by 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.)

3 ms·

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 sti

by 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.)