Please Note:
Our Technical Information is under review constantly and is updated with Consulting Structural Engineers advice. Our most recent Technical Manual and any addendums are available on request.
Empire Brick & Rail is a non-loadbearing sliced brick veneer layer for use in residential / commercial applications and internal fit-outs.
Empire Brick & Rail includes the brick facings & steel rails, with the site mixed mortar and appropriately rated fixings for the vertical and /or horizontal support structure supplied by the installer or builder.
The wall substrate and /or supporting structure is not part of the Empire Brick scope and requires design input by Building Designers. The base Empire Brick parameters are:
a) A weight of 50-52kg per m² for the combined 25mm brick facings, rail system and mortar.
b) The maximum stud / fixing centres on a standard vertical wall area is 600mm, for other areas such as soffits, soldier coursing or the like, please refer to Empire Brick.
Note: If Empire Brick & Rail is being considered for situations outside of this scope,
please contact Empire BRIKproducts.
Brick Facings:
The brick facings are cut from traditional clay brick units manufactured preferably to Exposure Grade standard.
Steel Railing System:
The cold-formed UniZinc & Magnaflow steel rails are manufactured in accordance with AS1397:2011
Structural performance:
Qualified building designers are responsible for the design of the support structure, framing specs or Rainscreen system that Empire Brick & Rail attaches to, including any control joint locations deemed necessary, joint/opening sealants, flashings, and compliance of the overall wall assembly with current applicable building standards.
The Empire Brick & Rail system can be fixed to all common substrates, provided that the appropriate fixings are chosen and used in the required manner for the substrate, intended loads, and corrosivity category of the location with any vertical or horizontal support structures also being appropriate to the substrate and corrosivity category.
If a vertical or horizontal top hat or batten supports are to be used, consideration must be given for the type of substrate they are to be fixed to.
The substrate must be correctly designed in accordance with the above, and with consideration for the weight that the Empire Brick & Rail system will place on the substrate.
System Weight:
Design weight of the entire 25mm thick Empire Brick & Rail system is nominally 50 - 52kg/m2 dependant on brick type.
When a weatherproof external wall is required, an appropriate rigid air barrier or pliable building membrane manufactured to AS 4200.1 and installed in accordance with AS 4200.2 is required to be fitted to the substrate prior to the Empire Brick & Rail system being installed as the decorative outer part of the veneer.
Any battens, top hats, screws, brackets, etc. inboard of the Empire Brick & Rail system shall be designed and certified by the building designers with consideration for the loads that Empire Brick & Rail system will place on the substrate and standards conformity of the overall walls.
The rail and fixings must be installed minimally at the recommended maximum of 600mm centres and fixing patterns. Both the Single & Double Groove system has been tested in Wind testing rigs to comply with AS/NZS 4284-2008.
The products under test withstood the maximum wind pressures capable of being exerted by the testing rig. (+/- 7kPa) Full test reports are available.
The guidelines contained within this web page / document are produced to act as a guide only for building design considerations.
Accordingly, neither the company, nor any of its employees undertakes any responsibility in any way whatsoever to any person or corporation or instrumentality for any omissions or errors contained therein however caused.