Every material contributes to LEED points in their own way.
The question is, “What is Greener?” Brick is green based on plentiful materials, close proximity to the site, and the thermal mass effect created by the thick wall of ‘baked dirt’. But is full bed depth brick ‘greener’ than thin brick?

Material Usage
1)     Like full brick, thin brick is ‘baked dirt’ but requires 80% less ‘plentiful material’, namely shale and clay.

When thin brick is produced in a split tile method as opposed to producing a full brick and cutting off the thin face; material and energy savings can be up to 80%. In everyday language: 1 full brick = 4 thin bricks.

If you designed your next building with 24,000 sq ft of thin brick versus full brick (168,000 pieces), you would save:

a)     300 tons of raw materials will never be excavated from our planet.

b)     500 mmbtu’s of natural gas will not be required (enough to heat your home for 8 years).

c)     More than 8 semi trucks will not be dispatched on our roads.

d)     425 gallons of diesel fuel will never be used (based on 250 mile one way trip).

Local Material Comparison
2)     Regardless of shipping distance, one truck load of thin brick will carry 44,000 more pieces – approximately 6,300 more useable square feet.

The 500 mile ‘rule’ is a formula to determine if 1, 2 or more points are awarded when the building’s materials originate from within 500 miles of the project site. In order to gain 1 point, you must procure material totaling 4.5% of the total building costs from local resources. The formula as stated by USGBC is: 10% of the total building material costs, which is defined as 45% of the total building cost (x 10% = 4.5% of the total building cost).

2 points are awarded for 20% local material usage (9% of total building costs) and an additional point will be gained (in the Innovation in design category) when 40% local material is met (18% of the total building costs).

How might knowing this requirement skew your exterior wall choice? In spite of distance travelled which material (thin or full brick) is really greener?

According to the USGBC, Thin brick may give you 1 Innovative in Design point, regardless of distance from the manufacturing plant to the project site. And, the overall wall system will determine the total contribution to the local material category.

Thermal Mass
3)     If the thermal mass effect is required for your project, a concrete wall system can be used in lieu of stud framing.

The Precast Concrete Institute, The Tilt-Up Concrete Association and the Insulated Concrete Form Association have detailed information to compare their wall systems to a stud frame system (which is the baseline used by USGBC). Using one of these systems as recommended by the respective organization’s recommendations will increase the energy efficiency of your building.

Understanding your wall system’s needs will help us determine the ‘greenest’ wall system for your project. After completing numerous analysis, we have found that blending the different thin brick wall systems and full brick elements makes the most cost efficient and sustainable solution.

Based on our review of LEED-NC Version 2009, we suggest that a LEED AP consider the following areas where thin brick may contribute to gaining LEED points.

1) MR Credit 5: Regional Materials: 1-2 points
Mined (as a by-product of coal strip mining) METROBRICK®’s raw materials are extracted from quarries that are located within 50 miles of our Canton, OH plant.

Canton, OH is located within 500 miles of all job sites/precast plants in a circle encompassing (starting North and working clockwise) All of Michigan; New York, NY; Norfolk, VA; Raleigh, NC; Nashville, TN; Champaign, IL; and Milwaukee, WI.

If a minimum of 10% of the product cost is derived from materials manufactured within 500 miles, then 1 LEED Point will be awarded.

If a minimum of 20% of the product cost is derived from materials manufactured within 500 miles, then 2 LEED Points will be awarded.

Given the job site is within 500 miles of Canton, OH; the thin brick material can be considered as a regional material. Given the precast plant is within 500 miles of the job site, the precast portion of the work can be considered as a regional material.

2) ID Credit 1 : Innovation in Design 1 – 5 Points.
The basis for quantifying the point(s) for thin brick is thin brick is 80% less material than full unit masonry (3 5/8” thick material compared to 5/8” material). The 80% environmental savings applies to the quantities of earth, water, natural gas and diesel fuel to extract, transport, process, manufacture, store, and deliver the finished product.

METROBRICK®’s thin brick is manufactured by the split tile method as compared to extruding and baking a full brick and cutting off the face.

METROBRICK® recommends that the LEED AP submit thin brick as an innovative material and ask to be awarded 1 to 5 points based on the amount of thin brick used on the project.
If the entire exterior skin is thin brick the LEED AP should ask for 5 points. The basis for being awarded 5 points is because thin brick affects 5 environmental categories to obtain the identical finished appearance as traditional masonry construction.

If thin brick is used as accent, then the LEED AP should ask for 1 point. Asking for one point as compared to 5 points (per i) above) is based on the % of the overall project affected by the thin brick.

METROBRICK® also recommends that the LEED AP ask to be awarded multiple points based on the number of different thin brick systems that are utilized on the building. For example, if thin brick is used in precast, the LEED AP should ask for 1 point. If thin brick is used in precast, cast in place, and as a field applied solution, the LEED AP should ask for 3 points.

The use of a wall / construction system using METROBRICK® thin brick may also help in the following LEED categories:
• Sustainable Sites
• Energy and Atmosphere
• Materials and Resources

THIN BRICK WEIGHT ADVANTAGE -
METROBRICK® weighs @ 20% of full bed brick

• METROBRICK® uses 20% of the raw material - clay and shale - to produce.

• It only takes 20% of the trucking to get the raw material from the mine to the factory.

• It only uses 20% of the amount of fuel (normally natural gas) to fire thin brick.

• Kiln emissions from thin brick are 20% of full bed brick.

• Delivery of finished thin brick can be done on any type of truck (Flat-bed, Box etc), allowing   back hauls. Full bed brick delivery trucks are normally owned by the brick manufacturer and   haul empty back to the brick plant.

• Trucks hauling full bed brick normally carry 12,000 bricks. Trucks hauling thin brick typically   haul over 60,000 bricks.

• Special cuts and sizes are available from METROBRICK® thus saving shipping of full   pieces that have to be cut at the job site with the excess discarded in landfills.

SITE DISTURBANCE

• No special or additional foundation is required for the structural support of METROBRICK®.

• The weight of METROBRICK® is engineered in the wall system. Full bed brick requires   additional foundation for its support, requiring additional steel and concrete.

• Post installation clean-up for thin brick is significantly less than full bed brick. Little or no   cleaning agents are required at the jobsite when using thin brick.

• If thin brick is used in precast concrete or tilt-up construction, scaffolding is not needed for   brick work. Panels can be erected from either outside or within the perimeter of the   structure, thus allowing more existing trees to remain.