3 top Tech Notes about brick you need to read
/The Brick Industry Association (BIA) provides a wealth of technical advice and training to architects, designers, and builders on the nitty gritty details of applying fired clay brick to structures. Despite also offering albums full of beautiful photos of brick buildings, BIA’s Technical Notes have long been the most popular content on its website.
Let’s just acknowledge this right up front: This is not sexy stuff. The proper placement of flashing relative to a window opening, though important, is not exactly inspiring. But the consistent popularity of BIA’s Technical Notes tells us that today’s design and construction pros recognize both the aesthetic and functional benefits of brick, and they want to do it right.
Below are a few of the most referenced Technical Notes by architects, designers, and builders. You’ll want to check them out.
7 Series: Water Penetration Resistance
This series is comprised of three Technical Notes addressing water penetration from the perspective of design (#7), materials (#7A), and construction and workmanship (#7B). If all three areas are managed correctly, brick facades provide the best integrated water management system of any material. The concepts at work in a brick wall are straightforward, logical, and elegant. They just seem to make sense. But there are some details that take thoughtful consideration. Fortunately, we have your back with Technical Notes 7, 7A, and 7B.
18A: Accommodating Expansion of Brickwork
Buildings and facade materials move. No way around that. The beautiful thing about designing and building with brick is that it’s been in use for thousands of years, and we’ve pretty much figured out how to solve problems like these. And in the case of Technical Note 18A, which was just updated in 2019, that ancient knowledge is packaged up alongside cutting edge information about control joint products, sealants, and working with the newest of complimentary building materials. It also includes advice on designing to minimize the visual impact of joints.
28 Series: Brick Veneers
This is a wide ranging series addressing a variety of topics related to veneers. That is, applying brick as an outer facade without calling on it to bear weight or be a significant structural component of the building. Why is this important? Because the vast majority of modern brick structures use clay brick as a beautiful, extremely durable skin applied over some other structural component of the building. This series addresses brick veneer over wood stud walls (#28), applying brick veneer to preexisting construction (#28A), brick over steel stud walls (#28B), thin brick veneer (#28C), and brick over concrete masonry walls (#28D). If you want to understand what we mean when we refer to brick’s unmatched versatility and design flexibility, this series is a great place to start.
And that’s just a sample of what BIA’s Technical Notes have to offer! There are nearly 90 Technical Notes on all topics related to brick construction waiting to guide you as you design, specify, and build with clay brick!
