Brick veneer vs double brick: what is the difference

Most Melbourne homes are one of two things: brick veneer or double brick. They look the same from the street, but underneath they behave very differently.

Brick veneer

Brick veneer is a single skin of brick on the outside, with a timber or steel frame doing the structural work behind it. The brick is not holding the house up. It carries its own weight and keeps the weather out, and the frame carries the roof and floors.

• Faster and cheaper to build than double brick.
• The frame lets you insulate the wall cavity easily, which suits Melbourne's cold mornings and hot afternoons.
• Almost every project home built here in the last few decades is brick veneer.

Double brick (cavity)

Double brick, or cavity brick, is two skins of brick with a gap between them. Both skins are real masonry and the wall is structural. Wall ties bridge the cavity and hold the two skins together, and the cavity stops water crossing from outside to inside.

• Heavier, slower and more expensive to build.
• Holds temperature well, so rooms stay steadier through the day.
• Solid and quiet, with good resistance to knocks and noise.

Which suits your job

If you are building new, brick veneer is usually the practical choice and easy to insulate. Double brick costs more but gives you mass, quiet and a wall that feels permanent. Many older Melbourne homes are double brick or solid brick, and that matters when you renovate, because you cannot treat them like a modern veneer wall.

The honest answer depends on the home, the budget and what you want the wall to do. If you are not sure what you already have, a look at the wall thickness and the window reveals usually tells the story.

Send us a photo of your wall and your suburb and we will tell you what you are working with and the best way forward.