70 mm bricks

[williamglossop]

Hi all.

I'm continuing to plan a 2 storey extension. Ive looked at the existing brickwork and the bricks are 70mm, rather than 65..... 3 courses measuring 240 mm. It appears 70 mm bricks are universally rare.

If I find a suitable metric brick, how difficult would it be to tooth in to the original house? And how well would a decent bricklayer be able to match it in......

 

[stuart45]

Step back from the existing, then you don't need to follow the old gauge.

 

[williamglossop]

Not a massive fan of that look though - I originally looked at block and K - Rend, but decided on brick due to ongoing maintenance associated with render. I've always thought that extensions should either match near enough perfectly, or be vastly different. But the more I read about silicone based renders, the better they seem, and I think that might be the solution. Although the cost of rendering a gable end might make me eyes water.

 

[noseall]

Just have a butted joint and stick a RWP up it.

Toothing is not possible with differing size bricks.

 

[williamglossop]

Good shout that Noseall. Hadnt thought of that....

 

[Mobo_14]

Don’t know about down south but up in Scotland most buildings are joined with wall starters now don’t see many getting toothed out at all. Sure it’s because of new foundations settling and causing cracking etc

 

[pilsbury]

Are you sure they are 70mm and not 73mm?

 

[williamglossop]

Yeah, I thought they must be 73, but measuring them, they're 70.... I've checked the height of 3 courses in a few places too, and its pretty much 240 mm.

 

[stuart45]

It depends on what part of the country, but most Imperial bricks since the 30's were either 2 5/8 inches or 2 7/8 inches, but some were in between.
You might be able to tighten up the joints with 73mm ones.
When using Imperial bricks it's easier to gauge using an Imperial tape measure.

 

[williamglossop]

I've measured a few more now, and I believe they are 73 mm bricks. The brickwork is pretty poor tbh and the joints aren't that accurate. Just need to try and find a match for these bricks.....

 

[Charlie George]

Try a Carlton priory pinhole, its hard getting a perfect match due to weathering, if your knocking down existing walls it may be possible to use these at front if side extension.

 

[^woody^]

The question is whether the extension can be toothed in or needs a flexible joint to allow for movement. Otherwise, as soon as the extension settles, or moves seasonally the toothing will crack.

 

[williamglossop]

Some good points here.... given me alot to think about. The house at the of my cul de sac has the extension already built - they've had it toothed in, and an entire new roof across the whole building - it looks really good, but they managed to match their bricks almost perfectly. Mine are different. Thanks for the brick suggestion CG.... looks pretty good. My roof needs re doing, so I was gonna have the whole roof done in one go, so it matches. If I stepped the extension back slightly and put a RWP in the corner as noseall suggested, it might look ok..... hmmm. What are people's thoughts on the cost of brick vs block and silicone render? I presume block would be quicker to get up.....

 

[pilsbury]

In my humble opinion, brick is better if you can get a good match. If a builder is doing it, I don't think cost is wildly different as block is faster and cheaper but then has to be rendered equalling cost out.

I went block and render because I couldn't find a match and was also doing it myself so did work out cheaper and easier for me. The render covered my block work sins.