ᐅ Alternative facade with brickwork appearance

Hello everyone,

We are currently planning the construction of a single-family house, without a basement, approximately 180sqm (1937 sq ft) of living space, 1.5 stories, with an exterior wall area of about 270 sqm (2906 sq ft).

The architect has designed the exterior walls using 36cm (14 inches) Poroton blocks with a plaster facade (white). Now we would prefer a clinker brick appearance and are facing the following decision:

Option 1: Handmade clinker bricks; additional cost of 100€ per sqm; however, this would mean not using Poroton 36 blocks anymore but instead using Euromac2 wall elements. The calculation was based on Wienerberger clinker bricks at a price of 40€ per sqm. The different wall construction is stated to be cost-neutral.

Option 2: We keep the wall construction with 36cm (14 inches) Poroton blocks and apply a clinker brick slip (thin brick veneer) to the facade.

For this, the architect has 1. not yet provided a price estimate and 2. advised against it for quality reasons.

I am interested in the following points:

1. Is the price parity between the Poroton 36 and Euromac2 wall constructions realistic?
2. Approximately what additional cost compared to plaster (or conversely what cost saving compared to the stated handmade clinker brick option) should I expect?
3. Pros and cons of both options.

Thanks in advance.

You still have to offset the 100€ with the 60-70€ savings on plaster, which brings you to about 10,000€ (approximately 11,000 USD) in additional costs, which is realistic. I can't see any advantages in these EPS walls – traditionally, a 17.5cm (7 inch) masonry unit with cavity insulation would be used.
Veneer bricks are more of a last-resort solution.

Hello, first of all, thank you, and no, the savings on plaster would not actually apply. The 100 €/sqm (100 € per square meter) increase is the additional cost for the brick facade. The total surcharge is 27,000 ...

This significantly impacts the budget, which is why we are considering the alternative of brick slips.

What are the disadvantages of EPS walls, and why are brick slips considered a last resort (or what are the specific drawbacks)?

Well, either you have special difficulties, extravagant requests, or the architect miscalculated somewhere beforehand and is now trying to make up for it.

A 17.5 cm (7 inch) wall typically costs 30-40€ less than a 36.5 cm (14 inch) wall, and plaster is 60-70€ cheaper. That already saves about 90-110€. That would mean an extra cost of around 200€/m² (19$/ft²) for brickwork and insulation. Realistically, it’s more like just under 100€ in the north up to 150€ in the deep south.

I would first ask him to explain how he arrived at those high additional costs.

The calculation is relatively clear and transparent:
For brick cladding, a gross cost of €80 per square meter (approximately $87 per square yard) is charged, plus €40 per square meter (approximately $43 per square yard) for the bricks themselves.
Additional items such as damp-proofing at the base, lintels above windows and doors, window sills, scaffolding, and so on bring the total to €140 per square meter (approximately $151 per square yard). The plaster is charged at €40 per square meter (approximately $43 per square yard), resulting in an additional cost of €100 per square meter (approximately $108 per square yard).

I am requesting the option of a 17.5 cm (7 inches) wall with cavity insulation, as this has not been discussed so far.

But be careful: You seem to be heading into the area of trying to force the builder to do something they are not able to do, otherwise they won’t proceed. That should be avoided if possible, as it only leads to problems.