Double Brick Vs Timber Framed Construction

Thinking of building a new home, renovating, or extending your existing?
Read on for insight into the differences between timber frame construction and double brick construction.

In Western Australia, especially in and around the Perth area it has long been thought that double brick construction is the best form of construction. Most volume builders in Perth will only build using this method.

On the contrary the majority of residential builders Australia wide prefer using timber framed construction or steel framed construction methods.

Double brick construction has its benefits as does timber framed construction.

It will depend on several variables as to what you chose as a building method and each person will have their own opinion and preferences.
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This comprehensive comparison will help you to make your decision.

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Double brick construction

Double brick construction consists of two panels of masonry which can be made of clay bricks, cement bricks and or concrete blocks. The outer layer can be rendered masonry or face brick with no need to render.

There is a cavity in between the two panels to stop moisture from getting between the outer and inner panels, steel brick ties join the panels together.

The advantages of double brick construction:

1. Solid construction which has little maintenance over time
2. Great sound insulation due to the thickness of the bricks, so less noise complaints from room to room or house to house in medium to high density developments
3. Bricks have a high thermal mass and can keep a house cool on summer days and warm a on cold winter days, however a house may remain very warm and require a lot of cooling when experiencing consecutive hot days as we do here in Perth
4. Masonry construction is made up of inorganic materials and therefore termites are not attracted to such
5. More fire resistant than timber framed construction

The disadvantages of double brick construction:

1. Can be more expensive in most cases due to the cost of labor and materials. This is chnaging as I now update this blog in March 2020, timber frame constructon is not always cheaper than double brick due to the cost of brick sin Perth Western Australia being very cheap compared with when this blog was originally written in 2016. Also the cost of labour to build a brick house has dropped in Perth too. 
2. Can take a significantly longer time to build than timber framed construction due to the time it takes to cure the concrete on the slab along with the time it takes to lay the bricks
3. Not as flexible as timber and therefore can restrict on design elements, most masonry buildings will be very standard square or rectangle shapes due to the inflexibility of bricks, i.e you cannot easily cut bricks to make intricate patterns or designs, along with this bricks are heavy and harder to work with
4. A double layer of masonry creates a thick space that could be better used for floor space, when considering a normal size house of around 140m2 this extra space could be the equivalent of 8-10m2 lost in masonry construction
5. Due to the weight of bricks it can create more engineering needed in the concrete slab which will add to the cost
6. Over time double brick construction can crack which can cause very costly maintenance, if not built properly this can happen sooner than expected and again create headaches on the budget

Timber Frame construction

Timber framed construction is the method of building structures using heavy timbers. Timber framed buildings can be lined internally with Gyprock or you may wish to do reverse brick veneer and use bricks as the internal wall which better improves the solar passive design.

The external can be cladded using several materials depending on the design you are after.
Insulation fills the gap between the exterior cladding and the Gyprock.

The advantages to timber framed construction:

1. Cheaper in most cases due to labor and materials however this is changing now in 2020 as the price of timber goes up and the cost of bricks is very low in Perth Western Australia. 
2. Much more flexible than brick work due to it being a light weight construction you can design and build almost anything you wish, above is a slide show of recent works carried out by Distinct Renovations which shows the ability to build intricate designs that go beyond your imagination
3. Timber can easily obtain very high energy ratings due to lightweight construction having low thermal mass and therefore with the right insulation can change from cool to hot in an efficient and timely manner to adapt to the weather conditions. Due to its great insulation properties, framed homes can be found in all countries across the world from colder climates in Denmark to hot climates here in Western Australia
4. Framed construction has a huge variety of external cladding eg. Scyon linea by James Hardie, matrix cladding James Hardie, blue board cladding which can be rendered, other types of weatherboards, the list goes on for external cladding options
5. Much quicker construction times than double brick, some framed homes can be built in as little as 8-10 weeks, due to the timing on each aspect of the construction. This can be further enhanced due to the availability to purchase pre-fabricated stud walls and roof trusses
6. If you chose timber framed construction and clad your home, you will save significant space due to the width of cladding being quite thin which essentially creates more room in the inside spaces of the home, this is a great benefit when building on small blocks which seem to be the norm these days
7. Timber has a much lower embodied energy than clay bricks, most of the embodied energy in bricks is from the in-depth manufacturing process. Therefore, timber is much more sustainable and has a better impact on the environment

The disadvantages of timber framed construction:

1. Not as solid as double brick construction
2. Can increase the chance of vermin notably termites, however this can be prevented with termite treated timber and installing and maintaining a pest barrier around your home, all renovations completed by Distinct renovations include a pest barrier
3. Timber homes can catch on fire much quicker than double brick homes, however this can also be prevented by working with fire resistant products.

Since writing this blog back in early 2016  I have now moved out of a solid double brick home and into a lovely brand new timber frame home with lovely high raking ceilings. I wanted to update this blog to let everyone know, first hand how amazingly quick it is to cool your home down on those hot summer nights we have in Perth.

We open the doors and windows at night and due to the lightweight construction our home can cool down in a matter of minutes which is much quicker than any air-conditioner could do in a double brick home! The house then remains cool over night.

Timber frame constructed homes may be "light weight" in construction but I can assure anyone thinking of building one that they are more comfortable to live in when compered to double brick homes. Not too mention the electricity and gas bills which are reduced due to less energy wasted on heating and cooling!

I hope this blog article has helped you decide on which form of construction you will chose on your next project. Distinct Renovations prefer to build with timber framed construction, based on the above benefits particularly for the energy efficiency and the environmental impacts.

However, being builders in Perth we understand the love of bricks and can also work with double brick, brick veneer, reverse brick veneer or any construction method which you prefer.
If you have any questions or want to discuss your next project please contact us now.
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