Facing bricks
The texture, the colour, the finish of your facade is one of the most important decisions on any project. Vandersanden manufactures a vast selection of brick textures, colours, and techniques that can be used on residential and commercial buildings.
The right facing brick for you
Not yet sure what colour facing brick to opt for? Or perhaps you have something in mind and want to look at the range in more detail. Our colour selector allows you to quickly and easily pick from the colour range, style and texture as well. Our texture generator lets you create true-to-product configurations.
Why brick?
Bricks are a traditional and popular construction material thanks to their many unique characteristics. Warmth, robust nature, character, and vast colour options make bricks a perfect finish for any building.
Discover our stock bricks
Our traditional stock bricks are made from a dry, fine sand and have a very smooth, flat surface with a subtle texture for a clean contemporary look. Most of our stock bricks are coated, offering the added benefit of Vandersanden’s 25-year guarantee against gypsum efflorescence, as well as secondary protection against the effects of pollution, ensuring long-lasting, sustainably attractive facades.
Inspiration &
Projects
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Explore the creative possibilities of brick
Request your Inspiration Guide
This inspiration guide is designed to inform and inspire your project, while offering a unique insight into the endless creative possibilities that our range offers.
This essential online resource brings together:
- Curated colour collections
- Inspired specifier stories
- The latest in brick innovation
Visit our showroom
Would you like even more inspiration and tailored advice? Then make an appointment to visit our showroom.
Variations and options
The look of your facade is determined by the colour of the facing brick and by the joint, surface texture and laying pattern.
Types of brick
There are countless variations in bricks, smooth or rough, classic or modern in appearance, and even CO2-negative. Curious about the characteristics and how our bricks are made?
The finish changes the appearance
Each clay brick is produced in a unique way. After bringing the raw materials together, the balls of clay are moulded to the desired sizes and then fired. They are then finished off to give them the look that you see in the complete product.
FAQ about our facing bricks
Yes, all Vandersanden’s facing bricks are tested for freeze thaw durability in accordance with BS EN 771-1:2011+A1:2015 and achieve the highest performance in testing “F2”. As such they are suitable for severe exposure locations.
All Vandersanden’s bricks also achieve the highest performance in testing for active soluble salts content “S2” in accordance with BS EN 771-1:2011+A1:2015. As such they are suitable for prolonged saturation applications.
A brick classed as “F2 S2” is suitable for use below damp proof course (DPC) level going into the ground.
Frost resistance of bricks is covered in detail in our CPD#1 Brick basics seminar. For further information and registration for our CPD seminars, visit our page about professional development.
In contrast with facing bricks, engineering bricks do not have any requirement for colour or texture. They are traditionally used in civil engineering work.
There are two types of engineering brick:
- Class A: minimum compressive strength 125N/mm2, maximum water absorption 4.5%, F2 freeze thaw durability, S2 active soluble salts content.
- Class B: minimum compressive strength 75N/mm2, maximum water absorption 7%, F2 freeze thaw durability, S2 active soluble salts content.
Facing bricks give the builders and the architects a chance to significantly influence the final outcome of a building by letting them select the texture, the colour and the overall finish. At Vandersanden, we have a vast selection so that you can build in any style you choose. The texture generator allows you to experiment with facade designs.
Facing bricks are made with clay extracted from the ground which is mixed with water and other additives. The clay mixture is then formed into individual units and then fired to high temperatures in a kiln. There are 3 types of brick production process: stock(handform), waterstruck and wirecut (extruded). Please take a look at this 3 minute video showing how facing bricks are made.
Movement joints should be no more than 12m apart. The distance from a corner return should be half that dimension in either direction i.e. 6m.
There are many factors to consider in locating movement joints in our brick facades. Please contact us for project specific advice on locating movement joints.
As this is a completely new product and technology, we are currently working on achieving the KIWA innovation certificate. This certificate will also serve as the basis for an EPD certificate proving sustainability in figures.
Clay bricks: choice with an impact
We use river clay in our clay mixtures, officially a renewable raw material. The river deposits more clay than we extract as an industry. Extracting the clay from the floodplains of rivers helps to enhance river water safety and reduce the risk of flooding.
The excavation helps to create a new and varied natural landscape that becomes home to countless plants and animals. It’s the clay brick industry's way of contributing to and preserving our ecosystem.
Pirrouet®: CO2-negative facing bricks
Pirrouet® facing bricks are a milestone towards a future with zero CO2 emissions. These facing bricks absorb CO2 instead of emitting it and are made from waste streams from the steel industry. During the production process, they absorb 60 kg of CO2 per tonne of material. These CO2-negative bricks will be produced from 2024 in many different colours.
We’re delighted with the Vandersanden brick, particularly in how it combines with the lime mortar and other components to create the overall feeling of an intimate yet generous home.
Discover our prefab masonry solutions
A facade with intricate masonry details, a distinctive structure, pattern, or logo? With our unique prefab masonry solutions, you can easily create curves, arches, corners, columns or spans - and even facades with images. This fully ceramic solution enables deep recesses, without errors or deviations, offering significant time savings and a transparent price.
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