3 ms·

for slow neighborhood roads I see no reason why brick isn't used more often. my hometown had brick roads everywhere and once every 3-5 years a few bricks would

for slow neighborhood roads I see no reason why brick isn't used more often. my hometown had brick roads everywhere and once every 3-5 years a few bricks would get replaced here and there. in the 1990s I'd look around and see a lot of the bricks on those roads that were made in the 1930s, and there were probably older bricks to be found if I'd looked harder. the rough ride kept speeding down a lot more than the police could, because I watched people scream through my neighborhood all the time after they paved over the bricks. plowing snow is harder on brick roads, but it isn't so hard that it is an unsolvable problem.

mikeyouse 4y ago
It's not the plowing that gets bricks in winter, or not plowing exclusively, it's the freeze-thaw cycling that kills anything with joints. Every grout joint / polymeric sand joint is an opportunity for moisture intrusion and in any climate zone that gets cold enough to freeze, those joints are going to degrade incredibly quickly. Bricks may make sense in the South, but definitely not in most of the US.
- teucris 4y ago
  I’m not sure how this applies. Most joints are meant to flex, reducing the breakage of actual paving elements significantly. It also means that an area with significant heaving can be repaired more easily by only needing to service the affected area, and the repair has minimal impact to the surface quality, unlike concrete patching or pothole filling.
mcguire 4y ago
Speaking as someone who grew up in a neighborhood with brick streets,... They're insanely slippery when wet. A freeze-thaw cycle tends to make them move, eventually leading to weird dips and ridges. They're expensive to install and more expensive to maintain.
- naikrovek 4y ago
  they were not slippery that I noticed in my town. not sure why. my town used dirt as the "mortar" between bricks, so there was no solid joint to degrade over time. I do remember crews going around and spreading small amounts of dirt on those roads, to refill what little rinsed away after spring thaw. they'd just have a guy following behind the truck with a push broom moving the dirt so it fell between bricks. dirt is dirt cheap.

mikeyouse 4y ago

It's not the plowing that gets bricks in winter, or not plowing exclusively, it's the freeze-thaw cycling that kills anything with joints. Every grout joint / polymeric sand joint is an opportunity for moisture intrusion and in any climate zone that gets cold enough to freeze, those joints are going to degrade incredibly quickly. Bricks may make sense in the South, but definitely not in most of the US.

teucris 4y ago
I’m not sure how this applies. Most joints are meant to flex, reducing the breakage of actual paving elements significantly. It also means that an area with significant heaving can be repaired more easily by only needing to service the affected area, and the repair has minimal impact to the surface quality, unlike concrete patching or pothole filling.

mcguire 4y ago

Speaking as someone who grew up in a neighborhood with brick streets,... They're insanely slippery when wet. A freeze-thaw cycle tends to make them move, eventually leading to weird dips and ridges. They're expensive to install and more expensive to maintain.

naikrovek 4y ago
they were not slippery that I noticed in my town. not sure why. my town used dirt as the "mortar" between bricks, so there was no solid joint to degrade over time. I do remember crews going around and spreading small amounts of dirt on those roads, to refill what little rinsed away after spring thaw. they'd just have a guy following behind the truck with a push broom moving the dirt so it fell between bricks. dirt is dirt cheap.