Face bricks for family houses and non-traditional modern buildings

Klinker Centrum, the importer of facing bricks and brick cladding strips, offers its customers a very diverse range of products suitable not only for family homes and industrial or historical buildings but also for unconventional modern structures. The company has been collaborating with a number of European brick manufacturers for over twenty years, including family businesses with long-standing traditions.

Most of the products offered by Klinker Centrum come from Dutch, German, Belgian, or Polish brickworks, as these countries have deposits of high-quality raw materials for the production of ceramic products. These can be viewed in showrooms in Kostelec nad Orlicí and Brandýs nad Labem, where over 25,000 square meters of facing materials are in stock. Both pressed bricks, which have a unique structure and irregularly wrinkled surface, and smoother extruded bricks have found their place here. Due to the different production methods, both types of bricks have different properties and various uses. Pressed bricks have four visible sides and an irregular shape, while extruded bricks—such as klinker bricks—are visible from three sides, have a regular size, and very low porosity (up to six percent).

Schanzklinker for fortifications, facing bricks for "super-modern" creations

Among pressed bricks are also the so-called schanzklinker, characterized by a larger format and typical rustic surface structure. They are produced using original methods and are primarily used for the reconstruction of fortification buildings. Klinker Centrum supplied schanzklinker for the restoration of several fortresses and other historical sites, including Terezín or Josefov.

From more modern projects, the façade with a 3D effect on the protected housing building in Týniště nad Orlicí, recently built in collaboration with the construction company STATING and architects KARLÍNBLOK, is worth mentioning, as well as the so-called super-modern element in Hus Park in Prague-Chakovic by the Land05 studio and sculptor Matěj Hájek. This element is a decorative wall made of klinker bricks ČFPL.Melbourne, which has not only an interesting structure but also the ability to clean the air (through photocatalysis) thanks to a special nano-coating. Facing bricks from Klinker Centrum can also be found on the façade of a family house in Český Brod designed by the studio Sodomka Sodomková architekti. The WDF.VB.Grijs Z.Z. bricks in gray-beige were laid out in an unconventional herringbone pattern.

The durability of the facing bricks can also be admired in numerous older projects, among which the Gallery Vaňkovka by the studio Pelčák and Partner Architects or the Great World of Technology by architect Josef Pleskot are worth mentioning.

From white to black

However, it is not always possible to use facing bricks, for example, for technical reasons during renovations. In such cases, they can be replaced with brick cladding strips, which can be made by so-called extrusion from a screw brick press (in various thicknesses from 9 to 14 millimeters) or by cutting from facing bricks. Thus, they are not imitations, but a genuine fired product with the same properties as brick. The strips can be used indoors or outdoors in combination with a contact thermal insulation system for façades. Compared to facing bricks, this is a simpler solution and a more affordable option.

At Klinker Centrum, they offer bricks and cladding strips in a wide spectrum of color variations—from white to black. Different colors are achieved by combining special clays, sands, and firing technologies. The brick element is thus colored throughout its mass and does not lose its color over time. The newest generation of klinker strips is offered by the latest digital technology, so-called HD Print, which allows for a perfect design on the cladding tailored to the visions of the modern individual. HD Print can meet even the most demanding wishes of both architects and investors.

Extended format

The fired brick elements from Klinker Centrum are also 100% natural, without chemical additives and dyes. Not only can they be well combined with materials such as wood, stone, or traditional plaster, but it is also possible to combine bricks of different colors with each other. Either they can be alternated to create a "melange" effect, or different colors can be used for individual parts of the façade (stripes, shapes, or even entire walls) to achieve division. Different sizes and formats of bricks or cladding strips can also be combined—currently, the extended format in various lengths from 36 to 49 centimeters is very popular. Various colored grouts or mortars can also be used on the façade, achieving interesting contrasts or alternatively matching the grout with the color of the masonry.

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