Replies

1. 
   Bowz | May 09, 2006 03:34am | #1

   I ran into it once on a late 1800's farmhouse.

   We were doing a total bathroom gut, and the stud bays were bricked and mortared from sill to top plate, but only on the south side. I had guessed maybe it was an early version of thermal mass.

   Bowz

2. 
   Piffin | May 09, 2006 03:46am | #2

   they considered it thermal mass and insulation back then

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
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1. 
   experienced | May 09, 2006 03:55am | #3

   It made the walls more airtight, stopped convection in the wall cavity and added some R value. Used a fair bit in Ontario. Have only found it in one very old house in the Maritimes. They called it brick "noggin"

    

1. 
   wdwrkr | May 09, 2006 04:48am | #4

   thanks for the replies.  I guess that's more or less what I thought, but it's nice to get some confirmation.

1. 
   splat | May 09, 2006 06:05pm | #5

   My 1880 house in Prov RI has brick in the side walls of the house.  The front and back walls do not have the bricks.  The internal walls have a single layer of brick.  Also the joist space over the main beam is bricked as well.

   I was told by a local contractor it was fire prevention, which sounds accurate for my case, with neighboor houses closely spaced side by side.

   I'm sure it cuts down on the air leakage and definitely adds thermal mass (not sure if that's good).  A quick googling finds that brick has a darn low R value equivalent to 1/2 Plywood.

    

   It begs the question why didn't they just put up a brick exterior though!

   splat

1. 
   kate | May 10, 2006 02:02am | #8

   I think you will finfd that the nogging brick is really soft, of low quality & not fired very hard...the brickyard's "seconds"?

2. 
   wdwrkr | May 12, 2006 02:25am | #9

   To say that the brick was soft is an understatement.  In the process of removing the rotted sill, several bricks fell out.  These bricks we simply set off to the side.  Overnight we had a light rain and the next morning they were completely crumbled.  We found if you picked up a small pile and worked it with your hands for a minute you could turn it back into a wad of soft clay.

3. 
   IMERC | May 12, 2006 02:46am | #10

   sounds like thy weren't fired...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

   WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->

   Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

4. 
   seeyou | May 12, 2006 04:19am | #11

   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>sounds like thy weren't fired...From what I've seen, they were fired, but not much. Looks like they used the ones farthest away from the heat. 

   Its never too late to be up to date.

   http://grantlogan.net/

5. 
   IMERC | May 12, 2006 07:12am | #12

   so would they be the bargin basement bricks because of where they're at....Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

   WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->

   Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

3. 
   Snowmon | May 09, 2006 06:23pm | #6

   I heard this was done for fire-blocking.  Might have worked if it was relatively airtight.

   What they did not understand then is that it was not the fire-resistance of the blocking material but instead the airtightness of it that was most important.

   Of course the problem is that brick is like a sponge, so if it starts getting wet it is going to promote rot.  Perhaps it contributed to your sill problem.

   -The poster formerly known as csnow
4. 
   kate | May 10, 2006 01:59am | #7

   Pretty common in Southern Ny state, New Jersey, etc. - anywhere clay soil made brick-making attractive. 

   1760's house I lived in in NJ had bricks between the floor joists, too, between 1st & 2nd floor.

   That house had been moved, bricks & all, in the 1930's.