Does Brick Size Matter?

Historically brick sizes in the UK varied quite a lot.  There was a move towards larger brick dimensions when the Government introduced a brick tax in 1784. 

As the brick tax was paid per brick, brick producers started to make bigger bricks as this meant fewer bricks were required to cover the same area.  The brick tax was withdrawn in 1850 as it was considered to be detrimental to industrial development.

However, by then many brick producers had invested in making bricks on machines rather than by hand and so continued to produce these larger brick sizes.  During this period the switch to larger brick sizes was particularly prominent in the Midlands and the North which is why you tend to find bigger bricks the further north you travel.

Nowadays most bricks in the UK are made to a standard brick size of 215mm long, 102.5mm wide and 65mm high (215 x 102.5 x 65mm) and laid with a nominal 10mm mortar joint.

However, there is a growing trend towards more non-standard brick dimensions, such as Wienerberger’s Roman and Megaline bricks. 

Longer, thinner formats are very much in vogue at the moment with brick heights below 50mm and brick lengths of more than 500mm not uncommon. These brick sizes are being used by architects and designers to make their contemporary projects stand out from the crowd. 

Whatever brick size is chosen for a project it is important to consider these brick size dimensions in the design stage of a project in order to minimise cutting and potential problems on site. 

The size of the brick and the size of mortar joint chosen will have a big impact on the setting out of the brickwork. 

It is important that areas such as window and door openings and brick piers etc. are correctly planned out, as different brick sizes and mortar profiles will affect these aspects of a project.

When it comes to special brick sizes our Roman range offers some exciting design opportunities to create truly spectacular projects. Architects and designers are increasingly looking to use more unusual or distinctive brick sizes for their projects. 

They are looking beyond the standard brick dimensions of 215 x 65mm commonly seen across the UK to longer and thinner formats. Our Roman range is the pinnacle of these more specialist brick dimensions and opens up a great deal of design possibilities.

Available in a range of contempory colours, the brick dimensions for the Roman range is 400 x 100 x 40mm.

These special bricks are produced on a customised line that gives them a very individual character. The combination of the contemporary brick dimensions, breadth of colours and distinctive textures make these bricks perfect for designers looking to give a feeling of exclusivity and prestige to a project.