What is the difference between engineering bricks and facing bricks?
BricksIn 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 are the business card for your architecture. The texture, the colour, the finish... You get to decide the character and feel of every project. That’s why at Vandersanden, we have a vast selection so that you can build in any style you choose. Vandersanden has the right facade brick for every desire. The texture generator allows you to experiment with facade designs.
Everything you need to know about facades
Contact us
Customer Service
Advice on bricks, brick slips and pavers.
+44 (0)1954 268 075 [email protected] Ask your question
Technical support
Technical advice on bricks and brick solutions.
01954 770465 [email protected] Ask your question
Related questions
A perfect facade starts with the right facing bricks. Our advisers will be happy to guide you through our colours and finishes, offering tips for correct processing. The video shows you the most important do's and don'ts. Want to know more? Read the knowledge article for more information.
If you think that you have ordered too few bricks, you can order more.
It’s very important that you tell us that it's a ‘top-up’ order when ordering these bricks so that we can check whether we still have bricks from the same batch in stock. If the batch that we originally delivered is no longer available, we will deliver another batch, in which case it’s important that you incorporate the new batch together with the original batch. Even if the bricks are from the same batch, it is important that you mix the new bricks with the original bricks.
Make sure to check in advance whether or not you have ordered enough.
You can read this knowledge article on colour differences and staining in the facade, which should answer your question.
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.
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.
You can view and download both the technical data sheets and the DoPs for our bricks and brick slips online. They are available via our download centre or via the product finder, on the individual product pages for our bricks and brick slips, under the heading ‘Downloads & Information’.
The DoP (Declaration of Performance) is an official legal document. It sets out a product’s performance in accordance with the European Construction Products Regulation and is only available for products for which a product standard exists. The DoP is therefore not a design tool but a supporting document used upon delivery, for verification and conformity in the context of liability and regulatory requirements.
This document is:
- linked to a specific product
- mandatory upon delivery and confirms that the products supplied comply with the specified performance levels in accordance with the product standard (e.g. EN 771-1 for bricks)
- part of the statutory documentation
The DoP for our bricks is available via our download centre or via the product finder, on the individual product pages for our bricks and brick slips, under the heading ‘Downloads & Information’.
The technical data sheet provides a comprehensive overview of the properties of our bricks and brick slips, such as appearance, colour and sizes, tolerances and dimensions, performance in accordance with the specific product standards, additional technical properties and processing recommendations. You can view them online on the individual product pages for our bricks, under the ‘Downloads and Information’ section.
The information in the technical data sheet is useful for comparing different products and making the right choice of material. It is not tied to a specific delivery or production batch.