ᐅ Advantages of monolithic clay brick houses?

Hello everyone,

I am currently researching monolithic clay brick houses and wanted to ask if anyone in this forum has experience with them. This construction method, where clay bricks are used directly in the masonry without additional insulation materials, is said to offer some interesting advantages. These include increased durability and longevity of the building, as well as excellent heat storage and regulation of indoor temperature. Additionally, clay bricks are supposed to have very low moisture absorption, which helps prevent mold growth. Has anyone here ever built or lived in a house made of clay bricks?

I would appreciate your opinions and experiences...

akrasni schrieb:

Monolithic clay brick houses, and I would like to ask if anyone here in the forum has experience with them.

Just regular Poroton bricks without insulation. It’s like asking if anyone has experience with an external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS). It’s actually quite standard and not exotic.

It’s simply a house — just as durable as other construction methods. It offers the same thermal regulation as other building types and is equally effective at preventing mold. There are similarly (minor) advantages and disadvantages as with other construction methods. It’s not a miracle solution.

In general, it is usually recommended to get familiar with the preferred masonry unit of the chosen contractor. The most important thing is that all workers do clean and good quality work, rather than focusing on whether the block is red or white.

If Poroton (clay block) is the choice, I would recommend a filled block (preferably with perlite rather than mineral wool) because of sound insulation. I also live in a house built with unfilled Poroton, and I don’t notice any major issues except that the sound insulation, especially on the inside, is not great.

If the contractor doesn’t mind, as they install both materials about 50:50, you could also consider using aerated concrete blocks (AAC) on the outside and calcium silicate blocks on the inside. Normally, mixing materials is not recommended, but these two have very similar expansion behavior.

akrasni schrieb:

We want to build in the Bonn area and are still looking for the right company.
After already looking into various prefabricated house companies and masonry house providers and still not having a real favorite, I wanted to ask for advice here.

That was in 2016,

akrasni schrieb:

I am currently researching monolithic clay brick houses and would like to ask if anyone in this forum has experience with them.

You’ve been thinking about this for quite a long time. In the eight years in between, construction costs have increased by more than the price of a double garage, a heat pump, and a seamless rain shower tiled even in the guest bathroom. What kind of consideration is that worth for choosing the optimal building material?

Tolentino schrieb:

By today’s question, you probably don’t mean porous bricks but rather unfired clay bricks or earthen walls. In Germany/Austria/Switzerland, only hardcore eco-enthusiasts build with those, and most positive experiences come from desert countries. @Tolentino "quotes" my 11ant stone mantra correctly...
In general, it’s rather recommended to get familiar with the preferred material of the chosen contractor, because having all workers perform well and cleanly is more important than whether it’s red or white.

… which implies you’d have to look around in that particular community. You’ll find it more in the Bavarian-speaking regions and parts of Swabia, but hardly in Bonn …

akrasni schrieb:

This construction method, where clay bricks are used directly in the masonry without additional insulation materials, is said to offer some interesting advantages. These include increased robustness and durability of the buildings as well as excellent heat retention and regulation of indoor temperature. Additionally, clay bricks are claimed to have very low moisture absorption, which prevents mold growth. Has anyone here ever built or lived in a house made of clay bricks?

… where you will find many builders using an excellent volcanic natural building material, in which I myself live very happily. When two quarrel, the third rejoices. That also applies regarding red or white mortar for the grey pumice.

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