Will we always use Bricks to build?

[alexb123]

I have been watching a building being constructed and its very clever just like lego being put together, very modern method.

However, it got me thinking about Bricks and how they do not seem to have changed over the years. It seems building methods have moved on but the humble brick has remained the same.

Will the brick ever be replaced? Why has the brick stood the test of time? Surely laying bricks is so labour intensive that another solution would be the builders holy grail?

 

[heavymetal]

How about concrete !!!!



In many many poor countries the people use mud or even straw to build a house !!!

 

[VitalOne]

probably in the future, you know a few thousand years, a new type of material much better than the others will be created

 

[Nickelodeon]

Well the new appartments that I see going up around my area seem to have paper thin walls! I think they are using cardboard(!)

 

[Avatar]

Bricks are cheap, durable, look a lot better than concrete, the construction is easily scalable to any size or shape you wish. Bricks have been used in building for about five thousand years or so.
I see no reason for them being changed for something else.

very modern method

Tell that to the ancient egyptians, sumerians, indians, and others

Surely laying bricks is so labour intensive that another solution would be the builders holy grail?

It's not that bad if the worker, you know, works.

 

[Absane]

Glass house

Maybe a plastic house.

Or an aluminum/steel house.

 

[Kat9Lives]

two of the three little pigs tried alternative methods and look how it worked out for them....stick to bricks i say..

 

[Avatar]

Have you heard of heat insulation?

Why reinvent the wheel/brick?

 

[lixluke]

Well the new appartments that I see going up around my area seem to have paper thin walls! I think they are using cardboard(!)

LMAO

 

[geodesic]

Bricks are easy to make, easy to carry, pack efficiently, are cheap, reusable...
Also, altering the structure of a brick house is significantly easier than with almost any other material. Coming up with a superior material for bricks is possible, but likely not cheap.
The brick is here for the long term.

 

[lixluke]

Not the fort: http://sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=57975
The great scientists and engineers can come up with the most durable and environmentally safest materials to use to structure the super advanced fort.

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

We certainly don't use them in California! Bricks and cement blocks ("cinder blocks") have to be steel-reinforced with rebar in order to conform to building codes in earthquake country. That is not entirely impractical with cement blocks but it makes bricks far too costly to use except for decorative facades. Brick chimneys are common in homes with fireplaces (which are not all that common in a place with no forests, where you can pay $400 a cord for firewood) but they're always either falling down or cracking in earthquakes so they're slowly all being reinforced. Stucco, an ancient type of exterior plaster, is ubiquitous in southern California and other Southwestern locations where the weather is mild.

 

[valich]

Go get'm Fraggle. I think alexb123 has a slight case of miosis thinking of bricks as only being used in his territory and historic time and place. Bricks are far from being the world standard in construction and have only been used relatively recently in the history of homo sapiens on Earth. Look at all the mud-houses, stucco, stone-layed walls, adobe structures, squatter huts, log cabbins, thistle-roofed woven houses, wood-planked, aluminum pre-fab homes and modular units - heck, bricks are on their way out as a relic of ancient history with what modern technology is now developing.

 

[kebabomatic]

My grandmother tell me story about how she liberated germany when she was in soviet army driving truck. Was american truck. Well built. Not like modern american trucks. and then she always spits on floor.

she tell me that soviet army had many guns. artillery guns. Many many. And they shoot germany into pieces. And then soviet army liberated berlin. And berlin was into pieces. Bricks all over place. No houses.

She tell me germans were funny people. germans not resisting the moral better army of soviet union. They surrender finally and then start collecting bricks. very organized. germans are a bit crazy she says. they make organized lines and collect bricks. clear streets for noble soviet army. and then start building new houses with old bricks.

bricks good.

 

[alexb123]

There have been more replys than I thought there would be. It does seem that the brick is indeed a flexible material, strong and long lasting. It will last more than a human life time which will do please most people. I can see why the brick is still around.

However, wouldn't it make sense to learn from lego and have bricks that fit together rather than having to lay them with cerment? Maybe the next step isn't to change the brick but to change how they are bonded together?

 

[Nickelodeon]

Maybe the next step isn't to change the brick but to change how they are bonded together?

Whats wrong with the current method? And whats to stop Lego style bricks flying of in a wind?

Even in Legoland they glue their bricks together (unless its just to stop people wandering off with bits of the attraction...).

 

[Baron Max]

Whats wrong with the current method? And whats to stop Lego style bricks flying of in a wind?

They do .....if it's a strong enough wind! ...LOL!

Baron Max

 

[Nickelodeon]

Well then, lets just use glue.

Student demo – joining bricks together with glue

Summary

The Bristol University architecture and planning studio does not appear unusual until closer inspection whereupon what appears to be red terracotta tiling reveals itself as precision made stack-bonded brickwork glued together with completely regular 3mm joints. The bricks which form 8m wide storey high panels are laid to a tolerance which would be unthinkable in traditional methods of construction.
Among other highly innovative features, the building is the first in the UK to use glued brickwork and the team had to be trained in Belgium. The advantages of glued brickwork are that it can be stack-bonded without horizontal reinforcement. The strength of the bonds avoids the need to use lintels for spans under 4.5m. The glue sets in 24 hours compared to the 28 days required for mortar. Finally, there is no subsequent need to clean or point the brickwork as the joints are waterproof and frost resistant and the brickwork is not liable to efflorescence.
The glue, called Anker Plast, is a cementitious resin mortar based on a mixture of fine-grained calibrated sand and Portland cement, modified with artificial resins and other ‘secret’ components. The precise composition is dependent on the nature of laying temperatures and materials used. It is important to get the mix right, as the glue will not flow properly if the mixture is too thick, and if it is too wet the bricks sink. In cold weather the glue sets very quickly indeed, while laying speeds are much slower.
The longer term benefits are clear, but the technique requires additional site practices to accommodate and care for the equipment, while the brick-laying standards have to be very high.

 

[Baron Max]

Well then, lets just use glue.

They do use "glue" ....only it's called mortar! And if you think it's not good enough to hold the bricks together or in place, try to batter down a big brick wall sometime. And if you try it, bring a damned big sledgehammer!

Baron Max

 

[geodesic]

However, there are significant problems with bricks and mortar - damp being the major one in the UK, where earthquakes are less of a problem. Nickelodeon, have you got a link for that quote? It'd be interesting to see if the waterproof glue is as effective as traditional damp proofing methods.
Also, bricks aren't wonderful insulators, and in general make a poor internal surface, requiring plastering.