The best bricks for Melbourne's weather and climate

Melbourne can throw a cold wet morning and a hot dry afternoon at a wall on the same day. A good brick handles that without fuss, so here is what matters.

Weather a Melbourne brick has to take

The brick on the outside of your home wears the lot.

• Driving rain off the bay in winter, often for days at a time
• Hot, dry northerlies in summer that bake a north and west wall
• Frost on a clear morning in the outer and higher suburbs
• Constant expansion and contraction as the temperature swings

A brick that soaks up water and holds it is the one that gives trouble down the track.

What to look for

For most Melbourne homes a quality clay face brick is hard to beat. It is fired hard, it sheds water well and it ages slowly.

• Low water absorption, so the wall dries out between downpours
• A solid, well fired body rather than a soft, chalky one
• An exposure grade rating suited to walls that cop wind and rain
• A colour and texture you are happy to live with for decades

Concrete bricks work too, though they can shift colour over the years. The bigger factor is always how well the wall is built, not just the brick itself.

Building for the conditions

The brick is only half the job. In Melbourne the detailing around it keeps water out and lets the wall breathe.

• Proper weep holes so any water that gets in can get back out
• A clean cavity kept free of mortar droppings
• Flashings done right at sills, lintels and the base of the wall
• Mortar matched to the brick so the joints do not fail before the brick does

Get those right and a Melbourne wall will stand quietly through every season.

If you are weighing up bricks for a build or extension, send through a photo of the site and your suburb and we will tell you what suits your aspect and exposure.