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Brick slipsThe biggest objection to external wall insulation is rarely the price. It is that the brick disappears. Brick slips solve that: the same facing brick, two centimetres thick, bonded onto the insulation. Below you will find how it works, how it differs from a real facing brick, and why it costs roughly twice as much.
A brick slip is not an imitation. It is the same fired clay as a facing brick, either sawn from a solid brick or produced straight away in that thin form. Once it has been pointed, the result is visually almost indistinguishable from traditional brickwork.
An ordinary facing brick is 90 mm thick and has to be laid. A slip of roughly 20 to 22 mm is bonded on. That makes this the solution wherever there is no room and no support for a new outer leaf.
Red, brown, multi-shaded, hand-moulded, sintered, lime-washed white: what exists as a facing brick largely exists as a slip as well. You can even stay close to the existing brick of your home, so that an extension or a side wall does not stand out.
Brick slips do not have to cover the whole facade. A popular approach is render on the large surfaces and brick slips on the front facade, the plinth or around the front door — the brick character where it counts, at a manageable price.
Brick slips fall under the Belgian standard NBN B 23-004, which among other things governs frost resistance through a freeze-thaw test. Belgian technical approvals (ATG) exist for complete brick slip systems on insulation — we work exclusively with such a system.
Not wanting to give up your brick is no reason to give up insulation.
— VediWorksBrick slips are not render with a different layer on top. Because the finish weighs tens of kilos per square metre instead of just a few, something fundamental changes in the system underneath.
| Component | With a render finish | With brick slips |
|---|---|---|
| Insulation board | EPS, mineral wool or wood fibre — the choice is free | Only rigid boards with tight dimensional tolerances. Fibre boards such as mineral wool and wood fibre are not suitable here: their mechanical properties fall short |
| Bonding | At least 40% of the board surface | At least 60% of the surface, and around the full perimeter of the bonding face |
| Mechanical fixing | Only where the substrate or the wind load calls for it | Always — the fixings help carry the load, not just the wind force |
| Reinforcement | Standard glass fibre mesh in the base coat | A heavier, coarser reinforcing mesh |
| Finish | Decorative render, applied wet on wet per facade area | Slip by slip, bonded with cement adhesive, double-bonded for full contact, then pointed separately |
| Pointing | Not applicable | Only once the adhesive has cured sufficiently — reckon on about a week in between |
Values taken from the Belgian execution guidelines for ETICS with hard claddings and from the technical approval of the chosen system. The exact number of fixings, the permitted building height and the maximum wind load are set out per system in that ATG; we provide you with the reference together with the quote. The closed-system rule applies to brick slips as well: only the components prescribed by the system holder may be used.
Three ways to finish an insulated facade, three very different interventions. This is the honest trade-off.
| Option | Appearance | Structural intervention | Guide price excl. VAT | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insulation + renderthe standard | Rendered facade, hundreds of colours and textures | The lightest: ± 11 to 21 cm thicker, no supporting structure needed | €110 – 150/m² | If you are open to a rendered facade. The best value for money |
| Insulation + brick slipsbrick lookThis page | Hard to tell apart from brickwork | The same thickness as render, but a heavier system and more fixings | €200 – 280/m² | If the brick appearance has to stay, or if the neighbourhood or the estate regulations call for it |
| New outer leafsolid facing brick | Real brickwork, with the depth of a solid brick | The heaviest: 90 mm of brick that is laid and has to rest on a supporting structure | We do not carry this out | For new build or a thorough renovation where the foundation already allows for it |
Not because of the margin, but because of the labour. Every slip is laid and aligned individually; the pointing is a separate pass that can only start once the adhesive has cured; the reinforcing mesh is heavier and more fixings go into the facade. With render a facade area is finished in one movement, with brick slips it is brick by brick.
That makes it a deliberate choice, not an upgrade we talk you into. If you do not need the brick appearance, you are better off insulating thicker with render than thinner with slips — see the trade-off on choosing insulation.
The fire classification always applies to the system as a whole, not to the slip on its own. A brick slip finish covers the insulation with a non-combustible ceramic material, which works out favourably in practice: existing Belgian approvals for EPS with pointed brick slips reach a high class. For buildings from ten metres up, Belgium imposes additional requirements on facade cladding in any case, and above 25 metres every facade component must be non-combustible. If it concerns an apartment building, say so straight away with your enquiry — then we look at it beforehand rather than afterwards.
In the facade price tool you choose the finish yourself, so that you see the difference between render and brick slips for your own facade in euros rather than in percentages.
VediWorks is one of Vedi Group's four companies. Interior painting, a post-construction clean or maintaining shared areas: one contact, the same crews, the same standard.
