In the fast-paced world of construction, efficiency is important, and as an architect, you respect the value of timely project completion.
You must deliver projects promptly, as extended construction times have negative consequences. Delays result in increased costs, disrupted operations, and potential damage to professional reputation.
However, using materials such as brick slips on a project can help you avoid this. Offering a multitude of advantages over traditional bricks, brick slips and brick cladding systems have gained traction within the industry. With their lightweight and design flexibility, brick slips streamline installation, minimising labour requirements and heavy machinery usage.
In this blog, we explore the benefits of installing brick slips over traditional bricks, with a particular focus on their ability to expedite construction timelines, and how this affects you in your project journey.
What Are The Advantages Of Installing Brick Slips?
Brick slips offer a multitude of advantages over traditional bricks, making them a popular choice in 2023 projects.
What are the advantages that brick slips offer over traditionally shaped bricks?
Aesthetics and Design Flexibility
Brick slips provide a wide range of design possibilities. They come in various colours, textures, and patterns, allowing you to achieve your desired aesthetic vision. For projects requiring more complex brick work, such as vertically laid or patterned designs, can benefit from the lightweight application of a brick slip.
You might find that you choose to opt to use slips over traditional brick due to slips being able to provide greater design flexibility. They can be easily incorporated into architectural features or design requirements, such as curved walls, corners, or intricate patterns for your project.
For more complex designs, precast panels incorporating bricks slips with a precast key allow maximum opportunity to experiment with ambitious brick patterns.
Lightweight and Easy Installation
The lightweight nature of brick slips simplifies handling and installation. They are easier to install and require less labour compared to traditional bricks.
Furthermore, brick slips can be easily adhered to various systems using adhesive or via mechanically fixing a specially shaped slip, resulting in a faster and more streamlined installation process. For example, precast systems are created off-site, resulting in reduced journeys to the site to be installed, faster build speed and reduced labour.
Improved Thermal Insulation and Energy Efficiency
Brick slip systems allow for more insulation and flexibility of wall build up. You can bond brick slips straight to your insulation panels, which improves insulation properties.
They allow for schemes to achieve part L of the building regulations more easily than traditional brick. Part L of building regulations highlights how each new project needs to be built with the aim to increase conservation of fuel and power.
Efficient manufacturing and reduced transport by choosing to use brick slips has major sustainability benefits, lowering carbon footprint and CO2 emissions.
Low Maintenance and Durability
Brick slips are highly durable and resistant to weathering, fading, and cracking. Glazed slips, such as the Coloured Glazed Rairies Montrieux range, require minimal maintenance and retain their appearance and structural integrity over time.
Due to their accurate tolerances, brick slips can be installed with reduced mortar joints, which are narrower compared to the mortar joints used in traditional brickwork. The reduced width minimises the areas where dirt and debris can accumulate, making it easier to clean and maintain the appearance of the brick slip installation.
Cost and Project Timeline Benefits
By using brick slips, everyone involved in your project can benefit from a faster schedule and reduced project costs.
Delays in construction can have significant financial impact on the overall progress of your project, adding unwanted stress.
Using brick slips for a project can help mitigate the financial implications of a delayed project through the following factors:
- Faster Installation
- Streamlined Construction Process
- Reduced Drying Time
- Mitigated Weather Dependence
- Reduced foundation costs
- Reduction of skilled labour
Why Should I Choose Brick Slips Over Traditional Brick?
The benefits of installing brick slips over traditional bricks in construction projects are twofold: enhancing aesthetic flexibility and improving efficiency.
Brick slips offer a versatile solution that allows you to achieve your desired aesthetic vision while providing flexibility in colour, texture, and pattern choices. The replication of traditional brickwork or the exploration of contemporary designs is made possible with the wide range of options available.
Furthermore, the installation of brick slips is faster and more streamlined compared to traditional brickwork, reducing labour requirements and project timelines. Brick slips offer cost-effectiveness by requiring less material and reducing transportation and storage costs due to their lightweight nature.
Still unsure on whether brick slips are the right material to use on your next building?
Make sure to check out the Creative Brick Solutions website to research our brick slip range, and explore how they could be used to enhance your next project.
Then, get in touch with the team to discuss your product choice to gain a further insight into how to make your next project the best it can possibly be.