The construction industry has gone through tremendous changes with more and more innovative solutions. The introduction of smart technology in the industry means that a wide variety of designs is now available for us to choose from.
Brick slips are one such product born as a result of this amalgamation. These are specially manufactured tiles. Upon installation, they give the texture and appearance of real clay bricks.
This gives the appearance of a continual run of brickwork from the foundation to the roof line and maintains an architect’s vision, despite a frame being used to support the structure.
Over time these slips can start to come away or fail to leave unsightly gaps and can lead to further structural deterioration if water is allowed to seep in.
Repair of brick slips requires specialist equipment, firstly one is typically working at height. The bricks need to match in with the rest so must be carefully matched and if the new brick slips are not correctly bonded it will fail again.
In addition to their aesthetic appeal mainly due to their raw look, they are truly functional in catering to many design problems.
As the brick slip repair and replacement is not so complex, their applications are numerous and some are listed below.
- Brick slips are tiles so they occupy very little space. Space is a scarce commodity now and the strain on housing is pushing the prices even higher. So, there is never enough space to waste and the focus is always on conserving as much as possible. By using brick slips, you can make your desired feature walls without taking up too much space. Actual brick wall as feature wall usually involves so much fuss, so brick slips can be a preferred alternative.
- Brick slips are very instrumental in covering corners and other shady spots. Without much fuss, you can put brick slips on areas where installing real bricks is not feasible due to congested spaces. The designer’s creativity will come into play here as these have wide potential. You can use brick corners for a more refined appearance.
- Suppose you have a featured brick wall and it is crumbling, what do you do now? Do you build it from scratch? But it will be expensive and will require too much work. Brick slips can solve your problem pretty easily. All you have to do is clean up the crumbling portions of the wall and replace them with brick slips. With this cosmetic surgery, your wall is going to look just fine without creating a dent in your wallet.
- You can even use brick slips on external affected areas of walls. Though it won’t hold for long by using adhesive of good quality, it will hold on for a considerable time. Brick slips made exclusively for external use are also available today.
- Fireplaces and chimneys though not so common today, are great to give a traditional classy touch. The brick slips can be used to clad your chimney breasts. They will be indistinguishable from the real bricks in both cases. Dummy chimneys are mostly made using brick slips.
- Though commercial uses are rather limited, brick slips can still be used in offices and restaurants for giving a unique look. Kitchens and bathrooms are also common places where brick slips are used. Feature walls, as described above, are the biggest recipients of brick slips.
- In addition to slips, headers and corners are also available. With different ranges available in the market, you can customize your place as per your liking instead of going on for the traditional, commonly used one.