Upper Plenty House

We designed this reverse brick veneer house around 10 years ago. This photo gives a good idea of how reverse brick veneer construction works and how the bricks, which are located on the inside of the building, add to the thermal mass of the interior, and therefore increasing the thermal efficiency of the building. 

In this instance a series of steel structural frames were constructed over a concrete slab. Steel infill framing was then used to create the external cladding frame.  Bricks were then laid with a 50mm cavity to the inside skin of the building. Once the bricks were laid there was a significant amount of heat retained even within the unfinished building. External bulk insulation and sarking was then installed. The bulk insulation helps to isolate the thermal mass from the exterior to slow down the cooling or heating up of the bricks from the outside. Finally a hardy low maintenance colorbond corrugated sheet was used as the waterproof skin.

We maximized the north facing glazing to provide ample solar access into the house during the cooler months to warm the polished concrete slab and internal brick veneer walls. The eave overhang provides shading during the warmer months to ensure the interior remains cool.

In summary reverse brick veneer construction is considered to be a sound environmentally sustainable construction practice. As the bricks are located internally they add thermal mass to the building interior which acts to stabilize the indoor air temperature. The bricks can be bagged or rendered or left as face brick. This form of construction works remarkably well to retain warmth in winter and coolth in summer