The Gebrik Insulating Brick Cladding System has been in use since 1980, during which time it has been widely used throughout Europe. Gebrik is a factory-produced insulating brick cladding system consisting of prefabricated panels and corners manufactured with natural clay brick slips, fixings, expandable PU foam, adhesive and loose brick slips to ‘stitch’ panels and maintain a traditional brick bond. It has been independently tested in the United Kingdom, Belgium and France and has been accredited by UBAtc, CSTC and British Board of Agrément (BBA).
Gebrik is manufactured in Belgium by Wall & Façade NV (W&F) of the Isosystems AG group and is supplied exclusively in the UK to Aquarian Cladding Systems Limited (ACS) with a 10-year insurance-backed manufacturer’s product guarantee from W&F. For a claim under the guarantee to be brought, notice must be given to W&F of the problem by registered letter within 8 days of the problem arising. The guarantee is not assignable by ACS without W&F’s prior written consent. ACS will, at the request of a buyer of the system, use reasonable endeavours to request W&F’s consent to an assignment of the benefit of the guarantee to such buyer (or as it may direct).
For details of the additional warranties provided by ACS to purchasers of goods from ACS, please refer to our terms and conditions of sale.
The MechSlip Brick Cladding System is a non-combustible, mechanically-fixed brick slip cladding system, developed by Ash & Lacy and Ibstock Kevington, which has been used in the UK since 2018. The unique system includes brick slips cut from standard Ibstock bricks (or other suppliers’ bricks subject to approval), with grooves cut into the slips to enable them to be secured to a metal cladding support system on site.
MechSlip has been independently tested in the UK, is supplied with a BBA certificate, and is supplied to ACS with certain warranties from Ash & Lacy, the benefit of which are not assignable by ACS to its customers without Ash & Lacy’s prior written consent. ACS will, at the request of a buyer of the system, use reasonable endeavours to request Ash & Lacy’s consent to an assignment to such buyer (or as it may direct) of the benefit of the warranties given by Ash & Lacy in its contract with ACS.
However, in the case of this system, Ash & Lacy offer a 25-year manufacturer’s system warranty subject to satisfactory completion of a warranty registration application and satisfaction of the detailed terms and conditions set out in a warranty certificate to be issued by Ash & Lacy. If registration of the warranty is approved, the 25-year manufacturer’s warranty given by Ash & Lacy is in favour only of the owner of the building and it is not assignable. ACS may provide copies of documentation relating to the Ash & Lacy manufacturer’s warranty, but ACS makes no warranty or representation as to the eventual form of any warranty certificate (containing the scope, terms and conditions of the Ash & Lacy manufacturer’s warranty) or that such a warranty will eventually be given by Ash & Lacy. It shall be the responsibility of the buyer of the system from ACS or, as the case may be, the building owner to submit the necessary warranty registration form and to satisfy and meet any conditions set out in the warranty certificate.
For details of the additional warranties provided by ACS to purchasers of goods from ACS, please refer to our standard terms and conditions of sale.
The NaturAL-X Brick Cladding System is a non-combustible, mechanically-fixed brick slip cladding system, developed by Ash & Lacy, which has been used in the UK since 2020. The unique system includes extruded clay brick slips in a specific range of colours and textures, multi-patterns and surface textures and a metal cladding support system.
NaturAL-X has been independently tested in the UK, is supplied with a BBA certificate, and is supplied to ACS with certain warranties from Ash & Lacy, the benefit of which are not assignable by ACS to its customers without Ash & Lacy’s prior written consent. ACS will, at the request of a buyer of the system, use reasonable endeavours to request Ash & Lacy’s consent to an assignment to such buyer (or as it may direct) of the benefit of the warranties given by Ash & Lacy in its contract with ACS.
However, in the case of this system, Ash & Lacy offer a 25-year manufacturer’s system warranty subject to satisfactory completion of a warranty registration application and satisfaction of the detailed terms and conditions set out in a warranty certificate to be issued by Ash & Lacy. If registration of the warranty is approved, the 25-year manufacturer’s warranty given by Ash & Lacy is in favour only of the owner of the building and it is not assignable. ACS may provide copies of documentation relating to the Ash & Lacy manufacturer’s warranty, but ACS makes no warranty or representation as to the eventual form of any warranty certificate (containing the scope, terms and conditions of the Ash & Lacy manufacturer’s warranty) or that such a warranty will eventually be given by Ash & Lacy. It shall be the responsibility of the buyer of the system from ACS or, as the case may be, the building owner to submit the necessary warranty registration form and to satisfy and meet any conditions set out in the warranty certificate.
For details of the additional warranties provided by ACS to purchasers of goods from ACS, please refer to ACS’ standard terms and conditions of sale.
It should be noted that, where a BBA certificate has been issued, such certificates contain detailed conditions which must be met, including, in most cases, a condition that the relevant goods must be installed by an installer who has been trained by the manufacturer of the goods or their agent.
For a manufacturer’s product or system warranty (or guarantee) and any relevant certification to be valid, it is the designer’s responsibility to obtain, understand and use the generic detailing techniques available for the safe application of any of its brick cladding systems. ACS will ‘signpost’ the designer to all relevant test data, certification and generic drawings, which are available from each system manufacturer, but does not accept responsibility for the project-specific design. Please refer to ACS’s terms and conditions of supply and clause 10 (Disclaimer relating to Services and Advice) and clause 13 (Limitation of Liability) in particular.
It is the designer’s responsibility to ensure the substrate to which the brick cladding system is fixed is designed to the appropriate Code of Practice and that pull-out tests are carried out on the substrate by a suitably qualified engineer.
Where pull-out data is available, the designer may provide it to the system manufacturer to obtain further comment to ensure its suitability. Alternatively, consideration should be given to providing a sample of the substrate to which the system will be fixed so that it shall be tested by the system manufacturer, and a report submitted for consideration by the designer.
It is considered good practice for a pre-installation survey of the building to be carried out to determine whether any repairs are required to the substrate and, if so required, for the repairs to be carried out before application of the system. The survey would, as ACS understands it, be expected to include tests conducted on the structural frame of the building by manufacturer-approved installers, or a suitably qualified engineer, to determine the pull-out resistance of the proposed mechanical fixings against the substrate to which the brick cladding system will be applied. This will enable a final assessment and recommendation on the type and number of fixings and/or brackets required to withstand the building’s expected wind loading, based on calculations using the relevant wind speed data for the site, and the pull-out resistances of the chosen system.
ACS can provide U-Value calculations for most construction methods upon request, using the JPA Designer U-Value Calculator, which has been approved by the BRE. The calculator also performs interstitial condensation risk analysis to ISO 13788 and BS 5250:2011. The data within the calculator is provided to JPA by other material suppliers, so ACS will not accept responsibility for the accuracy of the pre-loaded data as it does not supply, design or produce those materials that contribute to the overall calculation.
For most of the relevant manufacturer’s product or system warranties and guarantees and relevant certifications to be valid, installation of the brick cladding systems must be carried out in accordance with the manufacturer’s requirements, instructions and recommendations. Furthermore, it is a condition of most (if not all) relevant BBA Certificates that the system is installed by installers have successfully undergone training provided by the relevant manufacturer or its agent. Purchasers of the system should therefore review the terms of those warranties, guarantees and certificates carefully.
It is considered good practice for the appointed cladding company and its installers, and/or supervisor(s), to demonstrate to the appointing contractor (“Principal Contractor”), before appointment, that they understand the principles of the specified brick cladding system and their commitment to safely install it in accordance with the relevant manufacturer’s instructions, independent testing and certification. Before a cladding contractor is appointed, the Principal Contractor should carry out their own due diligence and checks in relation to the above matters.
Regular checks should be made on the installed system and any damaged areas must be repaired using the appropriate components and procedures in accordance with the relevant manufacturer’s guidance.
For further information, please refer to the relevant Operations and Maintenance manual, available from ACS.
As a distributor of unique brick cladding systems, ACS may from time to time be asked by architects and main contractors (as well as cladding companies wishing to purchase such systems) to share its knowledge and experience relating to the safe and successful installation of the systems. Any sharing of any such knowledge or experience (as with the giving of any responses to enquiries) by ACS and its agents or employees is, at all times, subject to ACS’s terms and conditions of supply and clauses 10 (Disclaimer relating to Services and Advice) and clause 13 (Limitation of Liability) in particular.
As more particularly set out in (and subject to) ACS’s terms and conditions of supply, ACS is not responsible for the financial performance, design, installation and management of the cladding company. All work undertaken on site by the cladding company or any installer or supervisor is the responsibility of the cladding company, installer or supervisor under the management of the appointing Principal Contractor.
For the avoidance of doubt, ACS does not propose (and does not purport) to enter a contract for the provision of goods or services with any party (such as architects and Principal Contractors) other than the ultimate purchaser of the goods ACS supplies, such purchaser usually being the cladding company appointed by the Principal Contractor. If, however, ACS is deemed for any reason to have provided free services to an architect, Principal Contractor or any other contractor, ACS’s terms and conditions of supply (and clauses 10 (Disclaimer relating to Services and Advice) and clause 13 (Limitation of Liability) in particular) will apply to the provision of such services. In that regard, please note that, save as expressly set out in the terms, ACS’s terms and conditions exclude liability for any loss of profit, loss of business, depletion of goodwill or indirect or consequential loss arising under or in connection with a contract for the purchase of goods and impose an overall cap on ACS’s liability under such a contract equal to 110% of the price of the goods to which any claim relates.
To download the Design & Installation Policy in .PDF format, please click this link: Aquarian Cladding Design & Installation Policy – July 2025