Brick Vs block laying costs

[Conor]

Anybody have any idea what the cost comparison is between block laying and brick laying in terms of labour only if everything else equal? This is for single skin, finished quality internal walls for our basement. Is brickwork double? Triple? 

Have a choice between dense blocks with pointed mortar then painted, or reclaimed red brick, pointed. We have a limitless supply of redbrick from the demolition, interested to know of this will end being comparable to a dense block wall (not bothering rendering the walls in the basement, cheap n cheerful finish). 

 

Thanks.

[Declan52]

The simple bit is brick will cost more. 

For bricks your talking 60 per sqm and blocks would be 10 per sqm.

You will also use more motar on the bricks.

But where it might work for you is you already own the bricks so have no cost where you would have to buy the blocks, unless you have these lying round also.

You will need to get a price from a brickie and then work it out for a proper comparison.

Me personally I think the red bricks from the old house would be my option but I would rake the motar out to create a shadow effect. 

[Tony C]

https://www.priceajob.co.uk/

Try this site ?

It is for builders to use to estimate the cost, and very easy to use. Would it be easy to clean off the mortar from all the bricks though?

[Conor]

11 hours ago, Declan52 said:

The simple bit is brick will cost more. 

For bricks your talking 60 per sqm and blocks would be 10 per sqm.

You will also use more motar on the bricks.

But where it might work for you is you already own the bricks so have no cost where you would have to buy the blocks, unless you have these lying round also.

You will need to get a price from a brickie and then work it out for a proper comparison.

Me personally I think the red bricks from the old house would be my option but I would rake the motar out to create a shadow effect. 

 

Thanks Declan. Yeah, I think we'll go for the raked out look. Will have to check this all with the engineer tho.

 

10 hours ago, Tony C said:

https://www.priceajob.co.uk/

Try this site ?

It is for builders to use to estimate the cost, and very easy to use. Would it be easy to clean off the mortar from all the bricks though?

 

 

 

Thanks Tony, I did Google but never found that site.

 

Bricks will be easy to clean, weak lime mortar. Already taken a couple walls done and the mortar crumbles away. Thinking it would be a good way to use a portion of the 25k bricks we'll have piled up at the back...

[Brickie]

Looks an interesting site. 

If you find any bricky laying for £27/m2 can you give them my number,as a I have some work for them!! 

Edited October 14, 2019 by Brickie
Typo

[scottishjohn]

silly question --has no body used the concrete lego blocks to build a house .LOL works out at£130 sqm --600mm  thick wall -then whatever you like for insulation on inside and clad  or  render outside 

just stack them with a bit of foam in each layer -- build it in a day ready for  roof 

 suprised no one has made a 200mm thick version would 1/3 of the price  with specific   rebar lintel blocks   as a build system - 

all you would need is a loader 

 started me thinking when looking at lego blocks or gabions for retaining walls --gabions far more expensive

 

Edited October 21, 2019 by scottishjohn

[scottishjohn]

any body done the costs calc on using thermalite type  blocks against std blocks for a load bearing internal  wall

 contemplating easiest way to rebuild this granite monster 

 maybe leave outside wall  and just build another house inside

walls are  700mm+ thick -- so rooms would need up small if i dont, remove the interior rubble wall and replace with something thinner and which will give the insulation

 yes i know pull it down and rebuild it all -- just seems a shame to disturb perfect solid wall 

  so cost of doing a thin joint mortar block wall using thermalite type blocks verus std 100mm block  + of course tieing the 2 together 

Edited November 15, 2019 by scottishjohn

[K78]

On 21/10/2019 at 14:40, scottishjohn said:

silly question --has no body used the concrete lego blocks to build a house .LOL works out at£130 sqm --600mm  thick wall -then whatever you like for insulation on inside and clad  or  render outside 

just stack them with a bit of foam in each layer -- build it in a day ready for  roof 

 suprised no one has made a 200mm thick version would 1/3 of the price  with specific   rebar lintel blocks   as a build system - 

all you would need is a loader 

 started me thinking when looking at lego blocks or gabions for retaining walls --gabions far more expensive

 

They get unstable above a certain height. Unless wide like the base of a Gabion wall. 
 

I had the same though watching them being dropped into place for a wall I had built. It would be so simple. 

Edited January 4, 2020 by K78

[scottishjohn]

5 hours ago, K78 said:

They get unstable above a certain height. Unless wide like the base of a Gabion wall. 
 

I had the same though watching them being dropped into place for a wall I had built. It would be so simple. 

I don,t see why they should ,as there will be sod all side loading

not like a retaining wall where there is a big side load

and i,m sure650mm thick wall will be quite stable for heights required  for house 

You could of course use thinset mortar between to stick them and make wall water and air tight 

ones iwas looking at were 1.6mlx.65m high  x .65m thick

just need steel for door and window frames 

[K78]

20 hours ago, scottishjohn said:

I don,t see why they should ,as there will be sod all side loading

not like a retaining wall where there is a big side load

and i,m sure650mm thick wall will be quite stable for heights required  for house 

You could of course use thinset mortar between to stick them and make wall water and air tight 

ones iwas looking at were 1.6mlx.65m high  x .65m thick

just need steel for door and window frames 

One of the many good things about them is the free design service most companies offer. I came up with 4 designs I thought would work but there were various reasons they didn’t. 
 

If you send a email with your idea they will give you a yes or no answer. Not refer you to a expensive SE. 
 

Once they are stacked above a certain height they become unstable even with no side load. It really surprised me due to their size and weight.

 

I think the main issue is that the manufacturing process isn’t very consistent so the blocks are not really uniform. Most of the time excess concrete from trucks is poured into basic moulds at the end of the day. When I ordered, the blocks they had in stock were half the price of any new order blocks.  
 

The owner of the company who supplied my blocks is a good guy. I got a great price and he visited halfway through the wall being built to check things, he was impressed. He said in most cases small imperfections on the first course lead to big gaps in the blocks towards the top of the wall. 
 

I am a huge fan of concrete Lego blocks. Best value building material there is imo.
 

edit, Just seen there are now 300mm wide blocks that would be better suited to building a house imo. They have really got me thinking as I saved a fortune in labour on my wall and that is 1.8m wide at the base on a incline foundation. A house would be simple by comparison. 

Edited January 5, 2020 by K78

[scottishjohn]

so if uneven bottoms cause them not to be vertical --then surely just mortar as bricks -so they stuck and level.-bricks don,t have locating pegs-so martar around pegs it should be fine .

probaly at the weight thses are then only one row per day -so you don,t squish the mortar out

plenty of stone buildings in the past built that way 

main problem i see is openings --and suitable steel liners and lintels will sort that -

 link to company please

Edited January 5, 2020 by scottishjohn

[scottishjohn]

6 hours ago, K78 said:

Once they are stacked above a certain height they become unstable even with no side load. It really surprised me due to their size and weight.

I f that is so 

then cast a concrete ring beam on top of wall before roof -sorted

[PeterW]

Where do you plan to put all the insulation in this sort of construction ..? And what is the benefit ..? A decent team would have this sort of structure up in standard block in no time. 

[scottishjohn]

Just now, PeterW said:

Where do you plan to put all the insulation in this sort of construction ..? And what is the benefit ..? A decent team would have this sort of structure up in standard block in no time. 

outside would  befirst thought -then battons and service plus some more  on inside 

you would not need a team just a telehandler .

It oculd be cost for delivery might be limiting factor 

Iknow big 1.6x65 x65 blocks --you only get 27 on an artic becasue of weight  and for me I have been quoted £700-£800 per delivery -due to distance .

 so would be 54+ if only  300m thick 

 

 

[Russell griffiths]

Poor old @Conor comes on for a price on brickwork costs and all of a sudden we are trying to reinvent the wheel @scottishjohn

 

[scottishjohn]

3 hours ago, Russell griffiths said:

Poor old @Conor comes on for a price on brickwork costs and all of a sudden we are trying to reinvent the wheel @scottishjohn

 

that was  last  year and he got answers

  and maybe the wheel is due for updating .

 whats current price sqm finshed for blocks and laying etc?

you can hire a telehandler for a week for half the price of a brickie 

remind me what did you built your house from --not bricks .LOL

 

[K78]

7 hours ago, scottishjohn said:

so if uneven bottoms cause them not to be vertical --then surely just mortar as bricks -so they stuck and level.-bricks don,t have locating pegs-so martar around pegs it should be fine .

probaly at the weight thses are then only one row per day -so you don,t squish the mortar out

plenty of stone buildings in the past built that way 

main problem i see is openings --and suitable steel liners and lintels will sort that -

 link to company please

The weight of these things would squish and mortar out straight away, some sort of thin set adhesive would work better.

 

The main benefit I see is lack of skilled labour and speed of erection. I’m honest enough to admit I could not have afforded to build my retaining wall with out these. Initially I did not look at them as I assumed they would be the most expensive option. 

 

I have pm’d the link. Didn’t want to break any forum rules. 

[K78]

7 hours ago, PeterW said:

Where do you plan to put all the insulation in this sort of construction ..? And what is the benefit ..? A decent team would have this sort of structure up in standard block in no time. 

I would externally insulate with battens and cladding. 
 

Trying to get good quotes of builders has been a nightmare for me. I thought I finally found a good guy. His quote (for the house shell) came back at £80k (labour not materials). His Labour quote for internal joinery and roof structure (first floor and roof) was more expensive than quotes I had for a full timber frame house supplied and erected.

 

For me the benefit would be cost and the fact that I know I can do it with assistance with my ground worker. Weather isn’t a issue either. 

Building the wall gave me a new found respect for farmers and their multi task abilities. The day that foundation was poured was torrential rain and it had to have a consistent 10 degree incline. I thought it was going to be a nightmare but they “tampered” it with lengths of timber and got it perfect. My joiner mate came up for a look and said he was amazed.