Detectable Warning Bricks

By Bruce Woolner

Detectable warning bricks are a commonly used system of detectable warnings. Their prevalence in certain areas of the country is due to their low material cost and wide availability.

Detectable warning bricks are one of the most time consuming types of detectable warning to install. The area must be boxed out while pouring the surrounding concrete. This means that the installation of detectable warnings requires two trips. When the concrete is set, the form can be removed and the bed of sand or other materials leveled. The bricks are cut individually to fill the space and grout is sometimes used.

Although the bricks may provide a nice traditional look initially, they are a very high maintenance system. As with any brick covered surface, they must regularly be removed and re-set as they are prone to heaving which becomes a tripping hazard. Another problem is the growth of grass and weeds between the bricks. Cracking and fading are other potential concerns.

The truncated domes formed on top of the bricks have proven to have a short life span. They have very low tensile and shear strength so they break when impacted. Their compressive strength is not high enough to withstand heavy traffic loads which are common when trucks cut the corner at an intersection. Because the material is porous, water can be absorbed and then freeze, causing the domes to break apart.

The Armor-Tile polymer composite material has very high tensile, compressive and flexural strength and is not porous so it does not suffer damage from the harsh environment it is subjected to. Therefore there are no maintenance costs. In addition, the installation cost is virtually nothing.

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