Bored of red bricks? Why not try blue ones? In fact, you might as well update your entire masonry repertoire with the latest fixings, textures and tints
Interlocking textured slabs
RMC has introduced a new paving style into its 2003 Village Stone range. The Vicarage interlocking paving slab has an imprinted pattern and a textured surface. Slabs are supplied in one size of 450 mm x 450 mm and a standard thickness of 38 mm and come in two colours – Wheatmeal and Slate. The range also includes reconstructed stone walling, copings and edgings.
RMC
www.rmc.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 902

Avoid flooding with permeable paving
A permeable clay paving system that allows water to pass through the pavers has been launched by Blockleys. The paving, which the manufacturer says can withstand heavy traffic, has been designed to reduce overloading on drainage systems and help prevent flooding. It is available in four colours and forms part of a range of 65 mm chamfered clay paving products.
Blockleys
www.blockleys.com
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 903

Masonry tie fixing
Ancon Building Products has launched the Hammer-in Tie masonry fixing to tie brickwork to concrete. The Ancon HiT is available in a standard length of 310 mm that fits all cavities up to 150 mm. Ancon says this reduces the need for a variety of tie lengths on site and, unlike most frame cramps, requires no mechanical fixing.
Ancon Building Products
www.ancon.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 904

Coping system to secure walling
Ibstock has developed the Caplock Coping System, which is designed to provide secure, easy-to-install, lightweight wall capping and coping. The Caplock system locks together the top two courses of brickwork over a two-metre length, which Ibstock claims, reduces the likelihood of coping stones being removed. It says most special brick-shaped profiles are available in Caplock format, complete with returns, angles and stop ends.
Ibstock
www.ibstock.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 905

Brick samples across the nation
A national samples service has been launched by thebrickbusiness. The company is offering a wide range of formats including A3-sized photo sample datasheets, brick slips mounted on recyclable wood panels and full site reference panels typically comprising 60-120 bricks.
thebrickbusiness
www.thebrickbusiness.com
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 906

High-spec insulation for Highlands schools Four new schools in the Scottish Highlands feature two Kingspan insulation products. Kingspan Thermawall TW50 ODP wall insulation was chosen for the partial-fill cavity wall insulation throughout the construction of Ardnamurchan High in Strontian, Glen Urquhart High in Drumnadrochit, Strathdearn Primary and Spean Bridge Primary. In addition, Kingspan Thermapitch TP10 zero ODP rafter-level insulation was installed in the games hall and assembly hall of each of the high schools to protect the services running inside the roofs.

Kingspan Insulation
www.insulation.kingspan.com
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 913

Bricks that blend in
Ibstock has added five sandfaced bricks to its Leicester Red and Dorset Stock ranges. The Leicester Weathered Red, Weathered Multi, Summer Multi, Autumn Multi and Dorset Spring Multi all have a sprayed colour finish. Ibstock has also introduced the Arden brick to the Leicester range. This features a waterstruck face with a smooth finish and crisp arrises. Ibstock says the bricks are designed to blend in with existing brickwork, and are ideal for refurbishment, infill sites and walling projects.
Ibstock
www.ibstock.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 914

Aircrete blocks with a smooth face
A new custodial police station at Corstorphine in Edinburgh, has been built using aircrete blocks from Thermalite for the inner leaf of the walls. Thermalite says that materials for the construction process were chosen for durability, long lifespan and minimal maintenance. The company says architect Campbell and Arnott specified the Thermalite Hi-Strength Smooth Face blocks for their performance characteristics, ease of use and appearance, which fitted in with the overall design scheme. In total, 800 m2 of 100 mm 7N Hi-Strength Smooth and 1100 m2 of 140 mm 7N Hi-Strength Smooth were used throughout the interior of the scheme.
Thermalite
www.thermalite.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 915

Soundproofing studwork
HBG Construction has used acoustic studwork from Protektor in conjunction with Fermacell board to provide a high level of acoustic insulation in a new building at the University of Wolverhampton. By using the special acoustic studwork with the Fermacell, HBG was able to achieve sound protection of 70 dB in the lecture theatre and 64 dB elsewhere. The five-storey Millennium City building houses various teaching facilities including a 300-seat theatre and a three-storey art gallery.
Fermacell / Protektor
www.fermacell.co.uk / www.protektor.com
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 916

The fine art of brick tinting
Colourbricks has launched a manual on the art of brick and mortar tinting. The company claims that with the manual builders can learn to colour bricks rather than pay for specialist companies to do it for them. Tinting can be used to restore old buildings or match up brickwork that no longer exists, says Colourbricks. It also claims that the £300 cost of the manual can be recouped on the first day of tinting.
Colourbricks
www.colourbricks.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 917

Brits and Germans team up for paving design Marshalls has joined forces with German firm Stein + Design to introduce a new paving range and a selection of street furniture. The first paving style, called Il Campo, has a natural appearance with straight lines and a rippled surface. The second is La Linia, with a classic look and high quality exposed aggregates. And finally, Pallas has a smoothed ground surface with either chamfered or square edges. The company claims Pallas paving units are suitable for vehicular traffic as they are designed to flex under loading. The pavers can be used as a complete solution or a detailing and can be laid in a variety of patterns, such as coursed, herringbone and diagonal. All three styles are available in a range of sizes, shapes and colours and the unit thickness ranges from 80 mm to 140 mm.
Marshalls Stein + Design
www.marshalls.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 919

Superstrong blocks for SAS HQ
Celcon has provided 1530 m2 of Celcon Hi-Strength blocks for the outer skin walls of the new UK headquarters of the SAS in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. The £8m project comprises two- to three-storey steel-framed, low-energy office with part-glazed walls and green oak cladding. The Hi-Seven Celcon blocks were finished with a 100 mm EPS insulation and acrylic render, achieving U-values of 0.27 W/k m2.
Celcon
www.celcon.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 920

Lafarge advice set in stone
Lafarge Cement has published a guide to its building materials. The Builder's Guide provides information on each of its packed cement and pre-mixed products and guidance on appropriate applications for these products when used for general concreting, mortars, renders, and floor screeds. The guide includes advice on recommended mixes as well as health and safety issues. There is also up-to-date information on the latest ingredients and technology being used in cement products, such as fibre technology, fast setting agents and silicone.
Lafarge Cement
www.bluecirclecement.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 921

What’s the spec?

Our Lady of Walsingham’s seamless sanctuary
The extension to the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, Norfolk, features a rich mix of brick and masonry details. Flemish and stack bonds, soldier courses, and rows of headers and flint all feature in the walls, which were designed by architect Cowper Griffith to fit in with the surrounding 300-year-old buildings. To comply with the Building Regulations, the external walls of the new refectory, meeting rooms and hostel are built from two leaves of blockwork and a cavity, rather than solid masonry. A decorative skin of brick and flint give the walls their traditional appearance. The structure of the curved tower of flint and corbelled headers (above) is made up of a single leaf of 140 mm thick hollow blocks reinforced with cement. The blockwork above the entrance to the tower is supported by a curved steel beam and concrete column. The pre-cast concrete cobbles from Blanc de Bierges were chosen for the external flooring because the wide range of sizes meant they easily took the shape of the curved floor patterns. The cobbles were also specified because of their smooth texture, according to architect Carl Rowland, which makes them suitable for wheelchair users. Flint
RMC
www.rmc-group.com
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 907

Brick
Chiddingstone Brickworks*
jimbirde@hotmail.com
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 908

Lime mortar
Telling
www.telling.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 909

Blockwork
Lignacite
www.lignacite.co.uk
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 910

Cobbled pavers
Blanc de Bierges
www.blancdebierges.com
www.building.co.uk/enquiries 911

Project team
Client Walsingham College Trust
Architect Cowper Griffith Associates
Quantity surveyor Davis Langdon & Everest
Structural engineer Harris & Sutherland
Main contractor and brickwork JS Hay

*Chiddingstone Brickworks is now trading as Chartwell Brickworks.

A sticky situation: Glued brickwork crosses the Channel

Glued brickwork is popular on the Continent but has only just arrived in the UK. The glue offers a reduced joint size of 3-6 mm and is applied to the brickwork bed using a pump with a hose and gun attachment. The operation requires two operatives: one operating and feeding the pump, the other laying the bricks.

It offers a number of benefits over traditional cement–sand mortar, according to Hanson Brick, which supplied the stack-bonded glued bricks for a new University of West of England building. Hanson says the resin achieves its full working strength within 24-48 hours against the 14-21 days of traditional mortar.

Its greater strength also offers the potential to eliminate the need for lintels for spans of less than 4.5 m says Hanson, and the brickwork requires no pointing or cleaning down, which allows the scaffolding to be taken down earlier than on normal brick buildings. The adhesive composition also gives the masonry a greater resistance to rain and frost.

There are a number of issues the specifier should bear in mind when specifying glued brickwork. A recent joint report from Hanson and Oxford Brookes University has identified several areas where care should be taken in the specification.

  • Working in hot or cold weather necessitates modifications to the mix. Hanson Brick currently supplies specialist adhesives appropriate to the specified brick type.

  • When working above ground-floor level, wider scaffolding may be needed to accommodate the pump machine used to apply the glue.

  • Consideration must be given to the overall appearance of product types. For example, stock/handmade bricks will present an irregular joint finish due to their shape and texture. Extruded wirecut and pressed bricks are more regular in shape allowing for uniform joints.

  • The brick format is most important in determining the required volumes of adhesive. Since this is applied as a number of continuous “beads” from the pump, the presence of perforations and frogs will influence the quantity and location of the adhesive. This is critical when costing for material and for rates of laying.

  • Laying rate will depend on the type of brick bond and the presence of openings and other details. A plain stretcher bond wall with no detail interruptions and a favourable brick/mortar combination will allow up to 1000-1200 bricks per man per day. With stack bonded 290 x 65 mm units of close tolerance, Hanson has had bricklayers laying between 800 and 900 units per day.

Masonry