Dear fellow builders and experts,
I would like to ask for your advice, opinion, or experience.
Tomorrow, our brick veneer is going to be installed, and now we have to decide whether to include an expansion joint or not.
Our builder, whom I respect greatly and consider very experienced, says we don't need one but is leaving the decision up to us. As laypersons, we are now faced with this choice. What do you think?
For your information, the house measures 10.20 x 9 meters (33.5 x 29.5 feet), and our bricks are ABC Hamburg coal-fired bricks. There were previously other buildings and trees on the construction site!
I look forward to constructive responses.
Best regards, symen
I would like to ask for your advice, opinion, or experience.
Tomorrow, our brick veneer is going to be installed, and now we have to decide whether to include an expansion joint or not.
Our builder, whom I respect greatly and consider very experienced, says we don't need one but is leaving the decision up to us. As laypersons, we are now faced with this choice. What do you think?
For your information, the house measures 10.20 x 9 meters (33.5 x 29.5 feet), and our bricks are ABC Hamburg coal-fired bricks. There were previously other buildings and trees on the construction site!
I look forward to constructive responses.
Best regards, symen
S
Sebastian7914 Jul 2015 01:45We now have a connection joint on each side – the facing bricks were not laid around the corner, but separately placed in front of each house wall as individual sections.
@Saruss and sebastian79:
Could you please upload or send me a photo of that?
If it’s an expansion joint, does it need to be placed at every corner (4 in total), or is it sufficient to have a joint on just one front, or how else should it be done?
In this area, facing bricks are not very common, and I generally don’t know how skilled the companies here really are.
Our exterior dimensions are 8 x 9 m (26 x 30 ft), so according to the building expert, we don’t need a joint.
However, we have a basement (half of which is above ground).
The underground part will be poured concrete, and the above-ground part will be a cavity wall with plaster.
The ground floor and upper floor above will then be faced with bricks.
Is having a basement now a reason to include an expansion joint, or is it still irrelevant? I couldn’t quite understand that.
Could you please upload or send me a photo of that?
If it’s an expansion joint, does it need to be placed at every corner (4 in total), or is it sufficient to have a joint on just one front, or how else should it be done?
In this area, facing bricks are not very common, and I generally don’t know how skilled the companies here really are.
Our exterior dimensions are 8 x 9 m (26 x 30 ft), so according to the building expert, we don’t need a joint.
However, we have a basement (half of which is above ground).
The underground part will be poured concrete, and the above-ground part will be a cavity wall with plaster.
The ground floor and upper floor above will then be faced with bricks.
Is having a basement now a reason to include an expansion joint, or is it still irrelevant? I couldn’t quite understand that.
I don’t know the exact reasons. However, I have about a 9 x 12 meter (30 x 40 feet) basement, on top of which the brickwork is installed. At least in summer, the south-facing bricks get quite warm, and in winter, naturally, cold again. According to literature, the coefficient of expansion is approximately
0.4 mm/(m·100K). If there is a temperature difference of about 70°C (126°F) between summer heat and winter cold as the worst case, that results in an expansion difference of 3.3 mm (0.13 inches) along the long side in my case. That doesn’t sound too dramatic, but this expansion is essentially “unstoppable” and can definitely cause some cracks or loosen joints (in the mortar).
0.4 mm/(m·100K). If there is a temperature difference of about 70°C (126°F) between summer heat and winter cold as the worst case, that results in an expansion difference of 3.3 mm (0.13 inches) along the long side in my case. That doesn’t sound too dramatic, but this expansion is essentially “unstoppable” and can definitely cause some cracks or loosen joints (in the mortar).
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