Building
on a reputation...
Brickwork
Overview
Traditionally our strongest discipline, turning out brick work of the highest quality in the most efficient manor over the years has gained I-W much respect within the construction industry.
Contemporary
With it's high thermal mass architects are once again exploring different ways brick can be incorporated into the modern structure. Never shy of projects that require unusual techniques or materials to be crafted together, I-W have an unrivalled depth of experience in the art of brick laying.
Historical & Traditional
Heritage masonry is completely different to standard masonry. It gives us the opportunity to revive some of the forgotten skills whilst mixing in modern technology to make things better. Often giving us the opportunity to work with materials seldom relevant with standard masonry work.
Featured Project - St Pancras International
The works at St Pancras demanded a great deal of research as the brief was to match as close as possible the original components (the materials for the original works were all imported from the Midlands). The facing brick had to be made from the same clay as the originals (the only area where the clay is found in the UK is Leicestershire) and the lime mortar constituents had to be identical.
All bricks were hand made and thrown traditionally with the brick makers initials in the frog of each brick. In total over 80 trial mortar mixes were tried before one was found that met the strict criteria on colour and constituency.
Samples of all materials were taken from the original fabric and tested, patterns were also made to ensure the same profile and size were replicated. The original stone used came from extinct quarries therefore a worldwide search was undertaken by the British Geological Survey to find the closest petrological match to the original.
The challenge of 5mm jointing to match the existing, involved trials to discover the best methodology to recreate as close as possible the original, with special jointing tools being developed as required. The arches were particularly intricate, a combination of stone and red rubbers, with each brick being rubbed to fit into it’s final position.
After voting the western elevation at St Pancras the Supreme Winner at the 2006 Brick Awards, the judges were quoted "the finest revocation of brickwork that they had ever seen".
Additional scope: Blockwork Glass Blockwork Stone Masonry
IRVINE-WHITLOCK LTD