Brick vs. Fiber Cement Siding

Video 2 of 3: See Brick Veneer and Vinyl Video
This video shows that homes built with brick offer dramatically more protection from wind-blown debris than homes built with vinyl or fiber-cement siding. The study, conducted at the Wind Science and Engineering Research Center at Texas Tech University, demonstrated that a medium-sized wind-blown object, such as a 7.5-foot long 2 x 4, would penetrate walls clad with vinyl or fiber-cement siding at a speed of 25 miles per hour (mph). By comparison, the same object would need to travel at a speed exceeding 80 mph in order to penetrate the wall of a brick home.

In a test that simulated wind-blown debris traveling at a speed of 34 mph, the 2 x 4 bounced off the brick veneer with no damage to the interior wall. When the same test was conducted on a vinyl or fiber-cement sided wall, the 2 x 4 easily penetrated the wall, with more than five feet of the timber passing through the interior wall. The test was representative of debris that would be generated at wind speeds between 100 and 140 mph.

All walls in these videos are of typical residential construction: 2x4 studs with fiberglass insulation between them, gypsum board on the inside of the studs and OSB sheathing on the outside of the studs. The only difference in the walls is the exterior cladding.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Brick
• Missile Impact
• Residential
• Fiber Cement
• Building Materials
• Brick Veneer
• Siding
• Vinyl Siding

[BrickIndustry]

If wind can actually move a tree or a car as you describe, it sounds like an EF4 or EF5 tornado. These events account for less than 1% of all tornadoes and have wind speeds of AT LEAST 166 m.p.h. In such cases, the best thing to do is to protect yourself. Because no common residential wall system is designed for such events, the big news about brick veneer is that it provides superior protection in high winds - a claim that fiber cement and vinyl siding cannot make. Stephen Sears BIA

[reavch]

Why does the "misle" used in this video look nothing like the "misle" used in the brick video??  Clearly not a 2X4.

[datzfast]

in a tornado i suppose a tree or an auto or something bigger than a 15 pound projectile is going to hit the home so brick really wont make any difference.