1 Background
Despite the significant growth on in alternative building methods (brick veneer, reverse venerer, framed and clad, rammed earth, stone, straw, hempcrete etc) WA still has a very strong level of support for double brick homes. Houspect WA conducts a large number of brickwork inspections on new WA homes every year. The question is often asked, what should I expect in relation to the brickwork on my new home?
This document sets out to explore this issue.
2 Can you see the bricks?
The first question that needs to be asked is can you see the bricks? While West Australia love double brick, rendering brick is the current flavour such that the bulk of the external brickwork is often covered by render and the internal render is covered by plaster or dry wall. Hence, you may have a double brick home, but in many instances, it is likely that you will not see much of the brickwork on your complete home.
The focus on brick walls that will be rendered or plastered is the structural integrity. Often the aesthetics that you would want to see in a face brick wall will become secondary when it is known that the bricks will be rendered and cannot be seen.
3 Regulatory framework for brickwork
The National Construction Code notes that the Performance Requirement P2.1.1 is satisfied for unreinforced masonry (including masonry-veneer) if it is designed and constructed in accordance with one of the following Australian Standards):
- (a)AS 3700.
- (b)AS 4773.1 and AS 4773.2.
As the above is not publicly available the WA Government summarises the key attributes of these Standards in the WA Guide to Australian Standards which can be found here.
4 Brickwork must be within tolerances
Without wanting to state the obvious, bricks must be laid level. Simple concept but the detail reveals significant more complexity.
The following extracts form the WA Guide provide some guidance:
5 The mortar bed joints (surrounding the bricks) also have tight tolerances
While the laying of the actual bricks has tight tolerances the mortar beds and mortar at the per ends also have tight tolerances which contribute to the overall levels within a brick wall:
6 Bricks must be blended
Bricks are a natural product and colour variations will occur, particularly between batches. Hence the Standards require:
- To avoid inconsistency in appearance, where practicable, masonry units for the building should be obtained from the same batch.
- Masonry areas that vary in colour are defective if the units are not mixed and/or distributed in accordance with the manufacturer’s installation instructions.
- Display panels and display homes may be taken as representative of the range of variations to be expected.
7 Face bricks – often have two faces!
Face bricks often have two faces. The finish (or external) face and the second face, which will often not be as good as the finish face. The second face normally faces into the cavity wall and is never seen. However, in most garages the external wall is a single leaf wall, and the second faces can be seen and can contrast substantially with the brick supporting pillars where the finish face is seen in the garage. Often homeowners believe the brickwork is defective, however this can generally be explained by different faces of the brick. See the image below:
8 Walls need to be where walls need to be
Stating obvious walls need to be where the plans state they need to be, this includes doors and windows.
The WA Guide to Standard and tolerances provides guidance requirements for:
- External building dimensions
- Measuring internal building dimensions
- Building dimensions
9 During a brickwork stage inspection are we only checking the brickwork?
No. While a brickwork stage inspection involves checking the brickwork there are a number of key items that also need to be checked such as:
- Doors and windows (size, location, protection)
- Lintels and wall ties
- Tie down straps, rods and Perth wind posts
- Provision for structural items being tied in
- Cavity insulation (where applicable)
- Cavity Closures
- Flashings
- Weepholes
10 Some of the issues we find
When on site our inspectors provide an independent, experienced and qualified view of the work undertaken. Often Builders are already aware of the issues and have made arrangements to address the issues. Conversely, they appreciate the feedback we provide. The following provides an example of the types of issues we can identify.
11 Do we always find issues?
No. We are not trying to find issues to justify our inspection costs. We are happy to provide detailed reports showing that no issues have been identified. This will generally reflect quality work by the builder and enforce property owner’s confidence that a quality product is being constructed by their builder. The independent staged construction report simply provides confirmation that the construction is progressing as all intended.
12 Summary
The completion of the brickwork (to plate height) staged construction inspection is a key milestone on a construction journey. These inspections might identify a large number of issues, a small number of issues or no issues at all. Where issues are identified, they can generally be remediated as long as they are identified early.
Quality independent staged construction inspections can contribute to the build journey.
13 Important Note
The above general information was considered correct in September 2023. Circumstance will change over time. It is recommended that all readers seek their own professional and or legal advice prior to acting on the information contained in this note.
Build, Buy, Invest in property with confidence.
Ph 9240 8855 Web: www.houspect.com.au/wa Email: enquiry@houspectwa.com.au
