Bricks Incorporated

Case Studies

Oswego Illinois School District 308 was offered the opportunity to work with KS+A (Architects) in order to develop three new elementary schools.  As with most projects the client was searching for ways to build an attractive school for the growing community while meeting the budget allocated for the projects. 

By designing the veneer masonry system with the 16" Emperor brick in place of the more common 8" Closure brick, the architect was able to accomplish a number of items:

-Designer was able to create the appearance of a building using smaller veneer brick sizes

-Mason subcontractor bids were substantially lower when estimated based upon the Emperor brick size

-The School District is able direct the funds saved from the masonry package to other portions of the projects

-The three schools will be completed more quickly due to the speed of construction allowed by the usage of larger veneer clay masonry units 

Amount saved per school by using 16" Emperor brick: $63,000

Total amount saved over three schools by using 16" Emperor brick: $189,000

Current Costs: January 2006 Chicago - (Union Masonry Subcontractor)

4" Veneer (Face Brick) + 1" Air Space + 8" CMU (Block) backup: $23.00 - 26.00 per square foot

8" x 4" x 16" Structural Brick Wall (Hollow Core Brick): $18.75 - $23.00 per square foot

Savings: 12% to 18% savings per S.F. of masonry ($3.00 - $4.25 savings per square foot) 

Macondo Corporation (Architects) and Gustitus Group, Inc. (Consulting Architects) were searching for a match to the existing brick used on Herzl Elementary School.  The Chicago Public School had years of smoke residue, tar, and buildup from the elements as the school was originally constructed in 1915.

Bricks Incorporated was capable of blending three different shades of brick to create an acceptable blend.  In addition to the standard field brick the architect desired a special 135 degree corner shape brick.  Our skilled staff was also capable of providing an exact match to the new blend.

Power washing, tuckpointing, and other masonry repairs were completed by F&B Construction Services (Masonry Subcontractors) under the supervision of FH Paschen (General Contractors).

Should you architectural firm require such a match, please do not hesitate to contact one of our dedicated sales team.