Posts

Four ways to create attractive brick soffits

A new 8-page brochure and online animation from brick support specialist, ANCON, show just how simple it is to create suspended masonry soffits on virtually any brick building, regardless of soffit dimensions, brick type or bond pattern. The new resources are available at www.ancon.co.uk/Nexus.

An increasingly popular design choice for architects, deep brick-faced reveals and soffits add extra depth to a building façade, maintaining the colour and texture of the main brick façade typically above door and window openings.

Key to achieving this aesthetic is the design of the supporting steelwork which is hidden from view and this is where Ancon’s expertise comes in. Ancon provides four effective, yet distinctly different, soffit suspension solutions, all covered in a new technical brochure.

Ancon’s recommended solution and latest innovation, Nexus, developed in partnership with cut brick specialist Ibstock Kevington, offers a modular lightweight steel alternative to cast concrete brick-faced soffits.

The Ancon-Ibstock Nexus system is easier to handle on site than precast concrete soffit systems, without the need for mechanical lifting equipment, meaning it is far faster and simpler to fix and provides contractors with a more cost-effective solution.

To demonstrate the speed and simplicity of Nexus, an animated installation video is now available at www.ancon.co.uk/Nexus, which takes the viewer step by step through the process from initial fixing of the Ancon MDC Nexus support system, through the bolting on of the lightweight Nexus brick faced soffit unit and how it can be adjusted and levelled in all three planes, to the final pointing of the brick slip face.

Available in virtually any brick type in a wide range of bonds and shapes, Nexus offers the designer complete flexibility.

For more information on Nexus or the three other Ancon soffit fixing systems, call 0114 275 5224 or visit www.ancon.co.uk/Nexus.
/0 Comments/by

Investment in new Midlands cutting centre at Ibstock Brickworks

The UK’s largest brick maker, Ibstock has opened a new state-of-the-art cutting centre for its Chesterton brick works as part of its ongoing investment programme.

The investment has resulted in doubling of production at the site, the installation of the fastest slipsaw in the UK – capable of processing 8,000 bricks a day – and increased staff numbers.

Ibstock’s Chesterton site specialises in custom made brick shapes from the Ibstock-Kevington range of special shapes and prefabricated solutions including Faststack, Fastwall, arches and underslung soffits.

Iain Durrant, operations director at Ibstock-Kevington, says: “Our Chesterton factory is well placed to support the supply of our specials range across the UK.  We know many construction professionals are seeking ways to speed-up build timescales and the investment is designed to support our range of products and solutions which can help to do just that.

“Our site at Chesterton is one of the most efficient factories of its type in the world and the new cutting centre adds to what it offers to meet demand across construction.”

Ibstock is also investing £55 million in its site in Ibstock, Leicestershire.  The new state-of-the-art production facility is set to boost manufacture by an additional 100 million bricks per year – enough to build around 15,000 new houses.

For more information, visit www.ibstock.com or call 0844 800 4575.

/by

Is this the world’s fastest brickie?

2016 update: Whilst the below video is undoubtedly impressive and a true demonstration of skilled handiwork, many of you quite rightly pointed out that the subject is not technically a brickie, as laying a brick pathway is totally different to building a brick wall using mortar. We decided to see if anybody else was worthy of the impressive title of “the World’s fastest brickie” and soon came across an amazing story about Paul Baker, an 85-year-old Wadalba man who has previously suffered a broken neck, a major hip replacement and carpel tunnel operations on both hands, who this year attempted to enter the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s fastest bricklayer.

In May last year Mr Baker attempted to lay 1,000 bricks in one hour, a target set to beat the current record of 914 bricks laid by Bob Boil in 1987 – an American man half his age. Paul got off to an amazing start, laying 400 bricks within the first half hour. However, shortly after tiredness began to take hold and once the hour was up the total number of bricks he had laid was 756, somewhat shy of the current record.

Whilst Paul fell short of entering the Guinness Book of World Records, he did surpass the American National record of 644 laid by Jerry Goodman. “I was very happy with that” said Mr. Baker following the attempt.

So perhaps not the “World’s Fastest Brickie”, but certainly worth a mention. Well done Paul! See a video of his attempt here.

Original story:

A viral video is currently doing the rounds in the construction industry, capturing what many are beginning to call the world’s fastest workman in action.

Captured on camera in Essex the bricklayer is recorded by a co-worker assembling a driveway in super quick fashion and dropping 154 bricks in the unbelievable time of just one minute 40 seconds – that’s a laying speed of more than 90 bricks a minute or 8 bricks every 3 seconds.

Is this the fastest workman in the world? Watch video below:

In a race against a robot, it’s difficult to say which one is the fastest.

What do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

/by