Heard a guy at the supply yard say metric brick is a gimmick

I was picking up mortar at Builders Mart on Tuesday and overheard this older bricklayer tell a new guy that metric sized bricks are just a fad and don't lay right. I've been using metric modular bricks on the last three jobs in Raleigh and my courses come out way more consistent with less waste. I get that people get set in their ways, but have you guys actually tried them on a big wall?

3 comments

3 Comments

laura_wilson1d ago

That 300 foot wall in Raleigh you mentioned is exactly what sold me on em too. I ran a 150 foot garden wall last month and the metric bricks laid so clean I only had to make four cuts the whole job. The old heads can say what they want but the waste difference alone makes it worth switching.

alext521d ago

The 8x4x16 modular metric brick I used on a 200-foot retaining wall in Durham last month laid up so straight my string line barely moved. I had 3% waste versus the 7-8% I usually get with standard modular from the same supplier. That older bricklayer probably never ran a full pallet through a wall to see how the perpends line up without constant cutting. The coursing is just cleaner especially on long runs where a quarter inch throw here and there turns into a total mess by the time you reach the corner.

lilyt231d ago

On a 300 foot wall in Raleigh I had the same thing happen with the modular metric brick. I figured it out the hard way by wasting half a pallet trying to get everything straight. That extra bit of control on the perpends really does save you time and material. I started running a few test courses on the ground first before setting them in place just to make sure the coursing was consistent. It cut down my waste to almost zero on the last job.