Red Brick

[Jello]

Where can I buy quality red brick for building a exposed brick wall?

[Marcosteffano]

I don't think you will find a quality brick out here.the best you can do is use the old Thai clay brick.half or common bond,pointed up with a piece of pipe.thay can look quite good but will look rustic as we call it.dutch use smaller bricks or briquettes and I've seen some beautiful work.heres a pic of a rustic wall that's about as good as it gets.oh by the way you can get stick on fake bricks but it's cost is unreal.remember all joints are to be 10mm.

[Jello]

Thanks for your answer. I've checked at a number of places but no one seems to have them. Will probably go with the locally available bricks as you suggest.

[parrot]

On the road leading to Nongkai....cross the railroad tracks near Udon, the head another 5 or so kilometers north, about 1km before the big Kubota/CAT dealer.......there's a gardening center right alongside the highway on your left. Not flowers or plants, but quality urns, bricks, rocks, etc. They have a wide assortment of brick....not cheap, but not cheap quality either.

[fatbob]

This is what becomes of Thai red bricks, they do not handle the harsh weather unless rendered which is what they are designed for.
https://www.123rf.com/photo_21065320_ol ... gment.html

[JohnG]

This is what becomes of Thai red bricks, they do not handle the harsh weather unless rendered which is what they are designed for.
https://www.123rf.com/photo_21065320_ol ... gment.html

Totally different quality (and price!) to those suggested by @parrot.

Those small red bricks, as you rightly say, are designed to be rendered. The large ones, similar to 'UK=type' bricks, are designed to be left uncovered and seen; I haven't seen the ones at the garden centre he details, but ones in similar garden centres around Thailand are every bit as good quality as regular 'UK-type' bricks, if not considerably better - and considerably more expensive.

Edit: also forget the advice about "all joints are 10mm". As I said, I haven't seen these particular bricks but those I have seen elsewhere are designed to lock together with a raised protion on the top of the brick and a matching recess on the bottom.

[Marcosteffano]

This is what becomes of Thai red bricks, they do not handle the harsh weather unless rendered which is what they are designed for.
https://www.123rf.com/photo_21065320_ol ... gment.html

Totally different quality (and price!) to those suggested by @parrot.

Those small red bricks, as you rightly say, are designed to be rendered. The large ones, similar to 'UK=type' bricks, are designed to be left uncovered and seen; I haven't seen the ones at the garden centre he details, but ones in similar garden centres around Thailand are every bit as good quality as regular 'UK-type' bricks, if not considerably better - and considerably more expensive.

Edit: also forget the advice about "all joints are 10mm". As I said, I haven't seen these particular bricks but those I have seen elsewhere are designed to lock together with a raised protion on the top of the brick and a matching recess on the bottom.

I think you mean the Lego Thai style bricks.so no joints.youll find most brick are not very strong and can be easily damaged when dropped but stick them together they become strong.the Lego Thai bricks are what I would describe as a semi engineering brick and very strong.uk bricks are very expensive compared to the Lego Thai brick.i think the mrs paid about 12 baht each for some the other month.the reason the little Thai bricks don't look good is they just rake the joints out with a bit of stick.maybe if they were pointed up properly in half round joints they would look ok and be stronger.as for harsh weather it's always hot here.its when you have the two extremes that's when you have problems.

[Jello]

On the road leading to Nongkai....cross the railroad tracks near Udon, the head another 5 or so kilometers north, about 1km before the big Kubota/CAT dealer.......there's a gardening center right alongside the highway on your left. Not flowers or plants, but quality urns, bricks, rocks, etc. They have a wide assortment of brick....not cheap, but not cheap quality either.

Thanks for the suggestion parrot. They had what I was looking for.

[Hoopoe]

I used to manufacture the red lego type brick , ,there are some good retailers out there , but the block mix depending on quality of the red soil should be no more than 6 to one , there are some manufacturers for the sake of profit doing 8 and even 9 to one , there is a basic test you can do ,weigh the block then immerse in water for 24 hours then weigh again if the block increases by more than 10% ,it's no good , i'm guessing at the figures but wont be far off , i have the numbers somewhere , i built a shop out of these (just to prove the Thai's wrong ) without using concrete post ,that was 7 years ago , it still looks like it's just been built ,

[Marcosteffano]

I used to manufacture the red lego type brick , ,there are some good retailers out there , but the block mix depending on quality of the red soil should be no more than 6 to one , there are some manufacturers for the sake of profit doing 8 and even 9 to one , there is a basic test you can do ,weigh the block then immerse in water for 24 hours then weigh again if the block increases by more than 10% ,it's no good , i'm guessing at the figures but wont be far off , i have the numbers somewhere , i built a shop out of these (just to prove the Thai's wrong ) without using concrete post ,that was 7 years ago , it still looks like it's just been built ,

Just out of curiosity did you bond them together and if so how.i see bb villa have some units built with them but didn't look at how they were constructed.also do they make them with a plain flat end face (the header) the same as the long face (the stretcher) I ask this as because of the corners not looking so nice.

[Hoopoe]

I used to manufacture the red lego type brick , ,there are some good retailers out there , but the block mix depending on quality of the red soil should be no more than 6 to one , there are some manufacturers for the sake of profit doing 8 and even 9 to one , there is a basic test you can do ,weigh the block then immerse in water for 24 hours then weigh again if the block increases by more than 10% ,it's no good , i'm guessing at the figures but wont be far off , i have the numbers somewhere , i built a shop out of these (just to prove the Thai's wrong ) without using concrete post ,that was 7 years ago , it still looks like it's just been built ,

Just out of curiosity did you bond them together and if so how.i see bb villa have some units built with them but didn't look at how they were constructed.also do they make them with a plain flat end face (the header) the same as the long face (the stretcher) I ask this as because of the corners not looking so nice.

I re-engineered the jigs so you could make a block with one end flat , also flat on top ,v shape underneath, half block ,patterned block the list goes on , but once your happy with the quality ,i would then advise ( because these are air dried as opposed to fired) to paint them ( undercoat first ,don't bother with sealer as it's too expensive here ,a good undercoat is sufficient )the colour list is endless i tended to use one of the dearer brands as you don't want to be painting every 2 years , hope this helps

[JohnG]

Not sure why you'd paint the 'lego' red bricks - that seems to drstroy the whole point of using them!

All the ones I've seen at garden centres are good quality, with a much smoother finish than a traditional UK brick. My only reservations against using them for a house would be the cost, as they're much more expensive than good quality thermal blocks, the insulation factor which I simply don't know, and the lack of flexibility that you get to change things with a rendered surface, cut conduits, etc that you don't have with exposed brickwork.

I live in Loei, not Udon, but it's far from "always hot" in Thailand!

[Jello]

I re-engineered the jigs so you could make a block with one end flat , also flat on top ,v shape underneath, half block ,patterned block the list goes on ,

Do you know where I can find these in Udon?
Plenty of shops selling the "lego" style bricks here, but none of the variations that you were making.

The "UK" style bricks are available at the shop mentioned above, but the price is high.
The "lego" style are more economical and do look nice, but without a flat end block or half block the corners will not look as good as I'd like with the groove that's cut into the end of them.

[Hoopoe]

I re-engineered the jigs so you could make a block with one end flat , also flat on top ,v shape underneath, half block ,patterned block the list goes on ,

Do you know where I can find these in Udon?
Plenty of shops selling the "lego" style bricks here, but none of the variations that you were making.

The "UK" style bricks are available at the shop mentioned above, but the price is high.
The "lego" style are more economical and do look nice, but without a flat end block or half block the corners will not look as good as I'd like with the groove that's cut into the end of them.

Sorry Jello ,you will really have to shop around , as i say i've stopped due Ill health,so i would try to find someone off the beaten track with the older m/c's ( they usually supply the roadside shops , ) just an off chance , there is a shop that displays water features etc ,south bound from the ring rd Udon - Kho Kaen , near to a petrol Station , less than 2 kilometers from the ring road , he has some jigs round the back ,maybe there ,

[Hoopoe]

Not sure why you'd paint the 'lego' red bricks - that seems to drstroy the whole point of using them!

All the ones I've seen at garden centres are good quality, with a much smoother finish than a traditional UK brick. My only reservations against using them for a house would be the cost, as they're much more expensive than good quality thermal blocks, the insulation factor which I simply don't know, and the lack of flexibility that you get to change things with a rendered surface, cut conduits, etc that you don't have with exposed brickwork.

I live in Loei, not Udon, but it's far from "always hot" in Thailand!

Good quality , and you'd know this because?? "not sure why you'd paint the brick's" it's called protection , as why would you bother painting a rendered wall , <AS stated they are air dried not fired ,"flexibility ," ha here we go again any sane person would render the inside , so that point is out the window,, you have to drill these blocks to hang anything on the wall, Thermal block, glue anyone , Then theres the cost of having to render the outside , so when you look at all the cost's ,there's not a lot of difference ,

[JohnG]

Good quality , and you'd know this because??

Because of the density of the brick. Obviously there are good and bad ones, some are better than others, etc, but I've only seen good ones. Maybe I've been lucky.

"not sure why you'd paint the brick's" it's called protection , as why would you bother painting a rendered wall , <AS stated they are air dried not fired

Far from the same thing. A rendered wall is designed to be painted, both for "protection" and looks. Decorative exposed brickwork, isn't and shouldn't need it as long as the bricks are good quality.

,"flexibility ," ha here we go again any sane person would render the inside , so that point is out the window,

Hardly. A lot of people want a 'feature' wall inside. Outside, unless you want a big "scar" down your attractive exposed brick wall, you lack the flexibility to cut for conduit, water pipes if necessary, etc. I'm simply out that you have to make a choice and need to consider more than just initial looks.

,

you have to drill these blocks to hang anything on the wall, Thermal block, glue anyone ,

You can also drill thermal blocks, if necessary, as long as you use the right fixtures and obviously you need to consider weight issues more carefully. Again, it's a choice.

Then theres the cost of having to render the outside , so when you look at all the cost's ,there's not a lot of difference ,

I'd suggest it's a little more complicated than that, as you have to factor in long term insulation / thermal properties, as well as the cost of specialist labour ('traditional' small red brick vs thermal vs 'lego', plus any combination for cavity walls, etc.

Just mentioning a few points to consider - it's not a big deal.,

[Hoopoe]

OH god your so full of ---- as everyone says

[Nigglyb]

[Jello]

You can also drill thermal blocks, if necessary, as long as you use the right fixtures and obviously you need to consider weight issues more carefully. Again, it's a choice.

I understand that you cant hang heavy items such as kitchen cabinets or a flat screen TV on a thermal block wall. But what about hanging some small bookshelves? Would the plastic plugs you drive a screw in be sufficient or is there a better fixture for this?

Hoopoe mentioned glue. Please explain. Do you mean drill a hole and glue the plastic plug in before putting in the screw? And what type of glue would be best for this?

[sometimewoodworker]

You can also drill thermal blocks, if necessary, as long as you use the right fixtures and obviously you need to consider weight issues more carefully. Again, it's a choice.

I understand that you cant hang heavy items such as kitchen cabinets or a flat screen TV on a thermal block wall. But what about hanging some small bookshelves? Would the plastic plugs you drive a screw in be sufficient or is there a better fixture for this?

I'm not sure where you got the idea that you can't hang heavy items on a "thermal block wall" assuming that you mean an AAC block wall.

You just have to understand that AAC blocks are relatively soft so you need to use more attachment points and longer screws and plugs. If you do that you can hang the heaviest cabinet you like.

If your flatscreen TV has a small plate that you attach to the wall, then you will have to find a way to make it larger so you can spread the weight over a bigger area.