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Urban developers in Ireland are discovering a new way to maximise returns on their property investments using Novabrik, the dry-build brick cladding system from County Tyrone-based Acheson and Glover.

With the price of new development sites rocketing, the innovative product is increasingly being used for projects in which additional storeys are added to existing buildings using timber frame kits. This approach helps to reduce the weight of the new structures thereby minimising the need for alterations to the existing building – and their cost.

One of the latest such projects to be completed is a single floor of apartments built on top of a three-storey block at Creevagh Road, Dundrum, County Dublin. In this case, weight was less of an issue than is the norm as the original building had been designed to accommodate an extra floor. Completed in 2003, it was among the first in Dublin to feature Acheson & Glover’s eye-catching Heritage range of facing brick.

For developer, Ray Brogan, one of the project’s main challenges was that the building occupied almost all of the site it stands on. This created access problems and meant that all materials used in the project had to be stored on the roof.

Using Novabrik however meant that this was not a problem. Around 400m2 of the product was lifted onto the roof at the same time as the new structure’s timber frame, supplied by Younger Homes. And, because Novabrik is a dry method of construction, no storage space was required for wet materials.

Throughout the construction phase, Acheson & Glover provided on-site training and supervision to ensure the product was installed correctly.

Ray says that another benefit of the system is that unlike traditional brick there is no limit to the number of courses that can be laid at any one time.

“This meant that our installers were able to complete whole sections of the new structure to make best use of the limited space available.

“I’ve been extremely impressed by the product. There were cost advantages in using Novabrik and potentially, it can help to reduce the build time by 50 per cent compared to brick and block structures.

“In our case, speed was particularly important to minimise disruption to tenants as well as the neighbourhood as a whole.

“Originally we had considered timber cladding but eventually decided against it on the grounds that it would have been much more expensive in the long term because of the upkeep that would have been required.

“Novabrik looks great on the new extension and complements the original building really well. It has all the maintenance and durability benefits of traditional construction products but all the advantages of modern construction techniques”.