UK Brick Types and Shapes Used in Construction
Choosing the right brick size, colour, and texture is an important process for any commercial architect. Contrary to popular belief, any architect needs to look beyond simply choosing bricks over materials like concrete, render or timber.
The bricks you select need to be carefully chosen, with each type requiring a specific process to achieve the desired shape, size, colour and texture.
Therefore, choosing bricks isn’t as easy as it may appear, hence why we’ve created this guide, which we hope will help you select the most suitable facing brick for your project.
Choosing the Right Shape and Type of Brick
There are many benefits of bricks, one of them being their immense adaptability. In recent years, brick’s popularity has exploded in the commercial architecture sector, with many adapting different-shaped bricks to achieve a unique aesthetic.
Bricks are used in various traditional and modern applications, from exterior walls and columns to arches, treads and ceilings. Sometimes these special bricks are manufactured in a specific shape, and it’s not as simple as requesting a pallet of standard brick sizes and using them in a unique application.
Although they are manufactured in fewer quantities than UK standard bricks and even long format bricks (Roman bricks), the unique shapes available to purchase are still readily available.
So that may lead you to wonder what brick shapes and types could you get from reputable brick suppliers like Modular Clay Products?
Different Brick Types and Shapes to Choose from
Below is a list of special bricks commercial architects could consider for a building project, each with a specific purpose.
Perforated Bricks
Perforated bricks contain cylindrical holes across their surface, often used in panels of lightweight buildings or framed structures. They require less clay during the brick manufacturing process, hence their lighter weight, and can often come in rectangular, square or even circular shapes.
Hollow Bricks
These bricks have defined hollow cores or cavities, often known as cavity bricks or cellular bricks. These are often used in insulation for cavity walls, significantly reducing dampness and heat transmission. Some brick companies don’t recommend using these in load-bearing applications but provided they pass standard high compressive strength tests, they will be suitable.
Channel or Gutter Bricks
These brick types have a high level of strength, often used at the edges of a clay paving application. They are manufactured in the shape of a channel, similar to a gutter pipe, with the indentation allowing room for surface water runoff. These popular clay pavers are often glazed, and you can read more about glazed bricks here.
Paving Bricks
Clay brick pavers are often enhanced with iron oxide to prevent abrasion while adding more water absorption and strength. They’re often used in floors and walkways, coming as plain or chequered. Read more about clay paving bricks here.
Ordinary Bricks
Often used as headers or stretchers in a course or the construction of load-bearing and non-load-bearing walls, these solid bricks are rectangular with sharp edges and corners. Standard sizes are 255 x 112.5 x 75mm but architectural sizes tend to be 215 x 102.5 x 65mm.
Bullnose or Cownose Bricks
Coping brick is often used to cap the exposed top of a brick wall, offering protection from severe weather damage while adding visual and aesthetic appeal. You can usually find them with triangular shapes on one side with a flat, solid side to sit on top of other bricks, applicable in various bonding patterns.
Coping Bricks
Bullnose bricks are special bricks with rounded angles along one corner edge, hence the name. Cownose bricks are similar but have both corners rounded, often known as double bullnose bricks. These are often used in external wall corners, with the rounded edge offering an attractive, solid and stable finish.
Angle Bricks
These special-shaped bricks allow brickwork to turn through 30, 45 or 60-degree angles, with variations in dimensions to keep a desired brick bond pattern consistent. They offer the same resilience, strength and load-bearing capacity as standard UK bricks.
Purpose-Made Bricks
While you can acquire bricks for specific purposes by cutting standard bricks, there is a risk of inconsistent sizing and improper measurements.
Therefore, with the help of brick suppliers like Modular Clay Products, we can match existing brickwork and create something new and bespoke to your chosen size and shape.