Different answers to different situations. What each costs and why, where each belongs, and the energy point everyone gets wrong: neither material insulates — the cavity behind the panels does.
They are not really competitors; they answer different situations. If the brick is sound and the building should look like brick, repoint it — nothing is cheaper or lasts longer. If the front is a mixed wall of block, patches and old signage, or the owner wants a modern face, aluminum composite panels over the existing wall are the fastest, lightest and least expensive way to get one, and they give you the chance to add continuous insulation the brick wall never had. New brick — rebuilding a failed wall or laying a new veneer — is the expensive option, because brick is heavy and needs structure to carry it. The energy comparison is the part people get wrong: neither material insulates; the insulation you add behind the panels does, and that is where the value is.
| Aluminum composite panels (ACM) over the existing wall | Brick: repoint / rebuild / new veneer | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A subframe over the existing wall, insulation in the cavity if wanted, 4 mm factory-finished panels on the face | Restoring the existing brick, rebuilding a failed section, or laying a new brick veneer with ties and a cavity |
| Weight added | ~1–2 lb/sq ft incl. subframe | New veneer ~40 lb/sq ft: needs a shelf angle or foundation |
| Demolition | None; goes over what is there | Repoint: none. Rebuild/veneer: partial or full removal |
| Speed | Days to a few weeks on a storefront front | Weeks to months; weather-dependent, mortar cures |
| Look | Flat, any colour, sharp modules; modern | Brick; matches the neighbourhood and the rest of the building |
| Landmarks (LPC) | Generally not permitted on a designated street facade | The expected material; repoint to match |
| Fire | Core must be fire-rated (FR/A2) where the code requires; specified before order | Non-combustible |
| Maintenance | Wash; sealant joints every ~15–20 yrs | Repoint every 25–40 yrs; brick lasts a century |
| Finish life | 20–25-yr PVDF warranty; 40+ yrs service | Indefinite |
| Energy | Nothing from the panel; everything from the continuous insulation you put behind it | Some thermal mass; almost no R-value from the brick itself |
| Cost | Lowest per square foot of any facade change on an existing building; most of the money is the subframe, insulation and labour | Repoint: modest. Rebuild or new veneer: several times an ACM re-clad, plus structure to carry it |
| Where it wins | A commercial front that needs a new face fast; a modern look; hiding a mixed or failed wall | A landmark or a residential street; a wall that is sound and only needs care; a building that must stay brick |
ACM. The panel is the cheap part. An ACM re-clad costs what it costs because of the aluminum subframe, the flashing and closures around openings, the insulation if you add it, and skilled labour to fold and hang the trays straight. On a storefront fascia of a few hundred square feet it is a small job; on a whole elevation it scales with the openings, because every window and door is a detail. No demolition and no new structure, which is what keeps it below every masonry option. Brick. Repointing sound brick is modest and worth doing. Rebuilding a wall or adding a brick veneer multiplies the cost: the brick, the mortar and the mason’s time, plus a shelf angle or a foundation to carry forty pounds a square foot, ties, a cavity, weeps and flashing, and scaffolding for the weeks it takes. We do not publish a per-square-foot price for either because it moves too much with the wall behind; send a photo and we will quote both ways. See aluminum composite panels for the system.
A 4-millimetre aluminum panel has no insulating value; neither, for practical purposes, does a brick — a wythe of brick is worth less than R-1. What changes a wall’s energy performance is continuous insulation, and the ACM subframe creates exactly the cavity to put it in: two to three inches of mineral wool or rigid foam behind the panels, outside the structure, with no studs bridging it. That is the rain-screen wall — see rain-screen systems — and on a masonry building it can be the difference between a wall at R-3 and a wall at R-15 without touching the inside. A brick re-clad cannot do this without a full cavity-wall rebuild. Brick’s advantage is thermal mass, which evens out daily swings, and it is real but small next to continuous insulation. For a building watching its Local Law 97 numbers, the panel is a means to an end: the insulation behind it is the upgrade.
ACM reads as modern: flat, one colour, sharp joints; the Gran Prix front on Flatbush Avenue and 2535 Frederick Douglass Boulevard are what it looks like done well. On a commercial avenue that is an asset. On a designated landmark street facade it is not permitted, and on a residential block of brownstones it can look like an intruder; there the answer is repointing, or a new brick to match. Some buildings do both — brick above, an ACM fascia over the storefront — which is the commonest mixed-use answer in Brooklyn and Queens.
ACM comes with polyethylene or fire-rated cores, and New York restricts the polyethylene core by height and occupancy; the fire-rated core is our default and the core is fixed in the specification before anything is ordered. Brick is non-combustible and needs no such line. On life: a PVDF-finished panel carries a 20–25-year finish warranty and serves far longer; sealant joints want renewing in fifteen to twenty years. Brick, repointed on its cycle, lasts a century. If the building is meant to stand as it is for a hundred years and it is brick, keep it brick. If it is a storefront that will be refaced again in thirty, ACM.
Over an existing wall, yes, by a wide margin against rebuilding or adding a brick veneer, because there is no demolition and no new structure to carry weight. Repointing sound brick is cheaper still and usually the right answer when the brick is good.
No; the panel is 4 mm of aluminum and core. The insulation goes in the cavity the subframe creates — two to three inches of continuous mineral wool or foam — and that is where the energy value comes from.
Brick alone is not: a wythe of brick is under R-1. It has thermal mass, which helps a little. A brick wall re-clad with ACM over continuous insulation performs far better than either wall on its own.
Generally not on a designated street facade; Landmarks expects the original material. On a rear or non-designated facade it is often possible with approval.
The PVDF finish is warranted 20–25 years and the panels serve well beyond that; sealant joints are renewed every 15–20 years. Brick, repointed on its cycle, lasts a century.
Aluminum Composite Panels Rain-Screen Systems Energy Performance & LL97 Storefront Replacement All Comparisons
About this page. Written by Alex GC Inc. d/b/a Alex Glass Construction and reviewed before publication by Aleksandr Chernovolenko, Managing Partner, with our design and estimating lead and a field foreman. Our foremen hold the NYC DOB Site Safety Training supervisor card and our crews the 40-hour worker card; we are certified to fabricate, install and service Alutech and Everest aluminum systems. Facts are drawn from our own projects, manufacturer test data and the applicable codes; where we are giving an opinion, we say so. Last reviewed September 2026. Credentials
Send a photo of the wall. We will tell you whether it wants repointing, ACM over insulation, or new brick, and quote it.
