Why use Bricks and Brick Slips for Precasting?
What are Brick Slips?
Brick slips, also known as brick tiles, slip bricks or brick veneers, are thin cuts of real brick that are commonly used to look like a conventional brick wall, both externally and internally.
What are Precast Concrete Panels?
Precast concrete panels are prepared and manufactured off-site using reusable moulds, and are delivered ready to install when needed. They are then joined to other elements to complete a structure.
Brick slips or facing bricks – bricks that are used in making the facades of buildings – can be fitted onto panels to give the look and feel of brick. They can be used for both structural and aesthetic purposes.
Modular Clay Products supply brick slips that have been moulded and fired in the same way as traditional bricks, ensuring a high-quality brick that is perfect for cladding, with the finished look being identical to that of regular clay bricks. We work with some of the UK’s leading brick manufacturers to develop high-quality, bespoke brick slips on panels to assist with the building development and construction process.
The Advantages of Precast Concrete Panels
Using precast is a highly effective, practical and cost-effective way of producing beautiful commercial buildings and structures. These panels can be precast to desired shapes and sizes, and fit the dimensions outlined architects’ and structural engineers’ drawings. The main advantages of using precast brick panels are:
1. Efficient for build and design process
These panels provide an efficient delivery model for projects, so building construction can take place while the design is still under development.
2. Cost-effective
Because they are manufactured off-site, the precast process simplifies schedules, decreasing the number of people on-site and reducing site disruption.
3. Aesthetically Versatile
Precast panels can be of any shape or size, in just about any colour and in a wide range of finishes. This makes them infinitely flexible and provides a fresher look to the structures being built.
4. Low maintenance
Exteriors can be left unpainted without being damaged by the elements. If they are painted, they only need to be repainted every 5to 10 years. Likewise, precast brick used internally is less prone to damage and easier to wash.
5. Thermally efficient
Brick has incredible thermal stability, and it also reduces costs associated with heating and cooling. It reacts slowly to changes in external temperature, therefore reducing peak temperatures and the need for air conditioning.
6. Resistant to the environment
Bricks can be fitted in desired panel shapes, but so can brick slips. The advantages of using brick slip cladding on precast panels are:
- The clay facing brick slips are fitted to the panel in the factory, bringing the usual advantages of off-site manufacturing, namely being speed, high-quality and reduction in on-site labour.
- Brick-faced panels look more aesthetically pleasing and can help to dispel any preconceptions around standard cladding walls being ugly and “brutalist”.
- Using brick slips on precasting gives architects and designers much more freedom to play around with the design, and more intricate designs such as perforation, soffits, corbelling and other patterning are easier than with traditional brickwork.
- Brick-faced panels are also signed off in the factory, so any problems can be rectified straight away, much more easily than if they were already on-site.
The Advantages of Using Brick Slips for Precasting
Insurance and maintenance costs are significantly lower when using precast panels, as they are highly resistant to rain, wind, earthquakes, decay and termites as well as fires, natural disasters, insects and mould. This, coupled with the durability of bricks, means commercial buildings with precast brick solutions are going to last an incredibly long time.