Typical thermal conductivity: 0.70 – 1.28 W/mK.

Dense aggregate concrete blocks are manufactured from cement, sand and aggregates. Their distinctive properties of durability and strength make them an ideal and cost-effect solution for all types of load-bearing walls. In use from the 1940s onwards, dense aggregate blocks are very much the work-horse of the construction industry. Types of concrete block: 'Dense', 'Lightweight', 'Aerated' Concrete blocks’ advantageous properties are reflected in their myriad of variations of strength, insulating and sound-reducing properties. Today, the immense versatility of concrete blocks is demonstrated in their use throughout a building from its foundation walls, through cavity walls, monolithic walls, partition walls, separating walls and as a component of ‘beam and block’ flooring. Early cavity walls used brick in both leaves, but as the economics of using a cheaper substitute became apparent, concrete block largely replaced brick as the inner leaf from the 1950s onwards.

These early lightweight blocks were popular as internal partition walls because of their ease-of-use and cheapness, but it was only as a result of the development of cavity walls and the advent of mass housing programmes of the post-war years that the industry dramatically expanded.Ĭavity walling became adopted in the 1920s (led by house-builders Costains) because, although slightly more expensive to build, the perceived advantage was that the technique successfully overcame the problem of water penetration that traditionally plagued solid masonry wall construction. The earliest blocks manufactured in the UK were made using cement mixed with locally available aggregates – often waste products of industrial processes such as breeze (cinders retrieved from gasworks and coke ovens – from the French ‘braise’ meaning ‘hot coals’) and clinker (blast furnace slag). In the early twentieth century block manufacturing became an established industry. The mix, cast in wooden moulds, consisted of powdered limestone and clay mixed with water. In 1827, Joseph Aspidin devised the basic mix that we would still recognise today. Though history records the use of concrete blocks by the Romans, Greeks and even Egyptians (some of the two-tonne blocks that make up the Pyramids are believed to be a primitive form of concrete), modern-type blocks were first cast, albeit in modest quantities, in around the middle of the nineteenth century.

Insulated concrete form (ICF) masonry blocks Register for a web login today and link this with your Jewson Trade Account number to receive personalised prices online.Aerated masonry concrete or ‘aircrete’ blocks Again, just add the size of your wall for a total estimate of bricks and blocks you'll need, or enter 1.0 metres into both height and length for the number of bricks per m2.

Here you can enter your own brick dimensions in height and length (width does not affect how many bricks per m2 you need) and a custom mortar joint. We understand not all brick, breeze block and concrete block dimensions are standard, and you might not want to use a 10mm joint between blocks. If you look below the Standard Size Brick Calculator, you'll also find our Custom Size Brick Calculator. The Standard Size Calculator is based on standard breeze block dimensions of 440mm x 215mm x 100mm with a 10mm mortar joint, or a standard house brick size of 215mm x 65mm x 102.5mm. If you'd like to know how many bricks per m2 of wall, just enter 1.0 metres into both boxes and the brick calculator will give you the number you need. Just enter the height and length of your wall in metres and the brick calculator will use a standard house brick size or typical breeze block dimensions to estimate how many you need. Use the Jewson Brick Calculator to answer the question: 'How many bricks do I need?'.

Breeze block size