One of the oldest building materials known to man, bricks are not only beautiful, they make environmental sense too.
There is a reason that bricks have been a favoured building material for thousands of years – not only are they beautiful and strong, they come with great eco-credentials, making them the perfect choice for those wishing to build or renovate in an environmentally sensitive way. Here are five reasons as to why bricks make good eco-sense.
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Brick homes are efficient with energy. Brick has exceptional "thermal mass” properties, which is the ability of a heavy, dense material to store heat and then slowly release it.
These natural insulating factors ensure that they trap heat on cool days, and keep houses cool during the warmer months. They are suitable in both extremely hot climates – and in freezing temperatures. Cavity brick walls are even better – creating an insulating layer of air between layers of bricks and insulating the inside from fluctuating temperatures outside.
Bricks are largely maintenance-free. They don’t need to be painted, waterproofed or treated with chemicals to make them weather-proof. All they need is the occasional clean (with just water) or a brush down. They are also pest-resistant, which means you don’t need chemical treatments to protect them. Once used in a building they might just need the occasional re-mortaring to look as good as the day they are built. Need proof? Take a look at some of the buildings in Rome that were built more than 2000 years ago and are still being used today.
Virtually all of the mined clay is used in PGH Bricks’ manufacturing processes, whether they are sandstock bricks, dry pressed or made from composite materials, making the recycling and waste containment unequalled by any other building material. Bricks are stable products and inert, so handling them is safe for tradespeople and homeowners, so special equipment is not necessary. Even if they do end up in landfill, they won’t leach chemicals or hurt the soil.
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