Can I Use Brick Slips Externally?
Yes, of course you can. Our Brick Slips are cut from real bricks, meaning they have the same properties as all the full bricks exposed to the elements in buildings around the country. You only need to consider what is behind the tiles.
The Advantages Of Using Brick Slips Rather Than Laying Full Bricks
It can be expensive, time-consuming and tricky to lay bricks, here’s why it’s cheaper, simpler and easier to use our brick slips.
Cost
By using brick slips, the cost is slightly less than full bricks in terms of the tiles themselves. This is because you can usually get two tiles from each brick, but the extra cost comes from the cutting needed, meaning you will save a small amount.
The greater financial saving comes in associated costs. The installation is much quicker, easier and can be done cheaper, the delivery costs will be cheaper as there is less weight involved in covering an area, and you will require much less mortar than in traditional brickwork.
The only additional cost to take away from these savings is either the adhesive, or backing system that you use to fix the tiles to the existing wall.
Simplicity
Whilst you will need some foundational courses in order to safely lay full bricks, the tiles simply adhere to the building- meaning less work and fewer potential complications.
External Installation
With an external installation, there is usually a choice to be made on how you install the tiles. Because these projects are often larger, it starts to become more efficient to think about backing systems. Some people choose to use these indoors, but the effort to cut them and fit them correctly often outweighs the time benefits.
Essentially these backing systems create a mechanical fixing between the substrate and the adhesive to give extra security to how they're fixed, in most systems they also provide extra insulation.
If you want to know about brick slip backing systems then contact us with your project details and we’ll go through the options.
Will It Look Exactly Like Full Brick?
Yes- once the tiles are installed and pointed you won’t be able to tell the difference, providing you’ve used our corner tiles where appropriate.
Where Can I Go Wrong?
In using brick slips externally, make sure you don’t scrimp on a couple of areas in particular- the tiles themselves and the adhesive.
Some brick slips are made from concrete or other materials to try to replicate brick but are cheaper. They will have different water absorption properties, are usually heavier and can fade over time in sunlight. We only use real clay bricks to make our tiles, meaning they will behave in exactly the same way as full bricks.
Due to the tiles being exposed to the elements they will absorb some moisture, which will, in turn, expose the adhesive to that moisture. This shouldn’t be a problem at all, so just don’t use anything cheap. Our adhesive has been rigorously tested in all weathers and adhered to many different surfaces over the years so it’s proven for the job.
Where Do I Start?
Browse our collection of brick slips, and order samples of the ones you like the most so you can see and feel them. Once you’ve chosen your blend you can use our calculation tool to work out how many you need. Any more questions you have though- please contact us and we’ll do everything we can to help!
