Commercial Brickwork

Brickwork for schools, public-sector and commercial buildings

Alongside housing, KW Brickwork has worked on new school buildings, Ministry of Defence projects and hospital buildings. The photos on this page come from that work. They show facing brick cladding to single-storey buildings and to larger buildings clad with wall panels, in buff and white-grey facing bricks with dark engineering-brick courses at the base, built off scaffold.

Commercial work asks for the same core skills as housing, but the setting is different. Elevations are long and plain, so any wander in the bond or gauge shows. The brickwork often goes on after the main structure is in place, which means building to fixed openings and panel lines rather than setting them yourself. And the site rules are stricter: inductions, permits, set working areas and, on some sites, controlled access.

What the photos show

The finished buildings in our gallery are single-storey blocks with long runs of facing brick, dark brick plinths and window openings in regular bays. On the larger buildings the facing brick is built as a cladding skin against white wall panels, with a dark engineering-brick base course and, in places, contrasting dark brick panels set into white-grey brickwork around red-framed windows. The work is built off tube-and-fitting scaffold, with corners racked back cleanly between lifts.

Contrasting bricks and plinth courses need careful setting out. The change of colour has to land on the same course all the way round, panels have to line through with openings, and the bond has to carry across without awkward cuts. That comes down to setting out properly before the first course goes down.

Working with main contractors

On commercial jobs we are usually a subcontractor to the main contractor. We work to their drawings, specification, method statements and site rules, and fit our sequence around the frame, cladding, roofing and M&E trades. We keep our area of the scaffold clear and stack materials where the scaffold design allows. We're used to working inside secure sites and following the access arrangements they require.

We don't publish the names of sites, clients or main contractors without permission, so the photos on this page are described by what they show rather than where they were taken.

Materials and details

Commercial specifications tend to be tighter than housing ones. There may be specific brick and mortar designations, engineering bricks below DPC, stainless steel ties and support systems, cavity barriers and fire-stopping, and movement joints at set spacings. We read the specification and the details before we price, build to them on site, and ask the designer when something doesn't add up rather than guessing. Where a manufacturer's system is specified, such as a cladding support or tie system, we install it to the manufacturer's instructions.

Qualified to do the work

Kris holds the NOCN Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Trowel Occupations (Construction), which is regulated by Ofqual. Its units include erecting masonry cladding, setting out masonry structures, and confirming work activities, resources and methods of work, all assessed in the workplace. The full list is on our Qualifications page.

Typical scope

Commercial packages range from brick cladding to a single-storey classroom block to a full facing brick and blockwork package on a larger building. Send us the drawings and programme and we'll tell you honestly whether it fits our capacity and when we could start.