Don’t take a chance with different sizes and quality levels from backyard concrete brick makers!
Bricks are manufactured to SABS specifications and their use is controlled by strict national building regulations to protect home owners and property investors. SANS 227:2007 and SANS 1 575:2007 classifies the South African National Standard for burnt (or fired) clay bricks and paving units.
Bricks have consistent sizes. There is a rough arithmetical relationship of length to width of 2:1 and length to height of 3:1 in the standard brick. The most common brick size is 222mm (long) x 106mm (wide) x 73mm (high) with a mass of between 2,4kg and 3,3kg.
Energy Efficiency legislation
Clay brick in combination with thermal insulation in cavity wall construction easily meets the Deemed-to-Satisfy requirements of SANS 204 and SANS 10400-XA: Energy Usage in Buildings.
Speed of construction
Large size bricks like Algoa’s Maxis and SuperMaxis reduce the cost of materials. They also use less mortar and have fewer joins per square metre. With 140mm-wide bricks, one can build a single leaf wall that meets SABS10400-XA.
Easy to transport
Bricks are modular and easy to transport. Bricks can be moved in a small bakkie and relocated on site by hand, so they can cope with rural roads and restricted space on site. Buy as fast as you can build.
Local suppliers
No matter where you build in South Africa, you have fast access to quality products. Competitively-priced brick suppliers can be found in every region, providing consistent quality stock-in-hand and short transport distances.
Low risk construction
Modular clay brick walling allows construction teams to quickly adapt to the client’s variation requests, respond to unexpected site conditions, implement complex architectural designs and deal with logistics or on-site damage and errors. Bricks have known parameters for use with different foundations, soils and climate zones, ensuring consistent strength, timing and costs.
Low space use on site
Brick masonry construction does not require large staging areas or large equipment for placement, Bricks are weatherproof and can be stored near where they are needed.
Low Construction Waste
Because of the modular nature of brick, on-site construction waste is reduced. Scrap brick is easily crushed and recycled for new uses, thus avoiding removal and landfill costs. Packaging from brick is minimal and easily recycled.
Inexpensive construction tools
Bricklaying and paving is not capital intensive – the investment for a skilled small contractor is little more than the cost of raw materials. Many bricklayers and plasterers set up as independent craftsman.
