Name: Faizal L.

Maliga
Subject: 5144 – CE 312
Assignment 1

Bricks are small rectangular blocks that can be used to form parts of buildings,

typically walls. The use of bricks dates back to before 7,000 BC, when the
earliest bricks were formed from hand-moulded mud and dried in the sun. During
the Industrial Revolution, mass-produced bricks became a common alternative to stone,
which could be more expensive, less predictable and more difficult to handle.

Bricks are still in common use today for the construction of walls and paving and for

more complex features such as columns, arches, fireplaces and chimneys. They remain
popular because they are relatively small and easy to handle, can be extremely strong
in compression, are durable and low maintenance, they can be built up
into complex shapes and can be visually attractive.

However, more recently, other materials have been developed that can be used as

alternatives for building walls or for cladding facades and for some building types,
particularly larger buildings, bricks can be seen as time consuming, expensive (although
this is disputed by the Brick Development Association), structurally limiting, and
requiring too much on-site labour. Some of these difficulties have been overcome by the
introduction of reinforcement systems and by the development of pre-
fabricated brick panels.

Solid clay bricks are better for a small rural producer

to make because:

 The form is simple. It is much easier to make

the mould and easier to mould the brick so
there is less chance of a poorly formed brick.

 You do not need a permanent kiln. It is

possible to build and fire a simple clamp or
field kiln.

 The bricks have good strength and can carry

the weight of a heavy roof without steel and
concrete reinforcement.

 They can be used to build arches.

  If the bricks are made and fired well, it is not necessary to render or plaster the
wall, and therefore building materials are saved.

 The bricks can be used to pave a floor.

Size

A brick has a length, width and height. The size or dimensions of a brick are
determined by how it is used in construction.

Width

The width of a brick should be small enough to allow a bricklayer to lift the brick with
one hand and place it on a bed of mortar. For the average person, the width should not
be more than 115 mm. If the brick was wider, the bricklayer would have to put down the
trowel while building the wall to pick up the brick with two hands and as a result, time
would be wasted. In addition, a wider brick would weigh more and therefore tire the
mason more quickly. In terms of brickmaking, a larger brick is also more difficult to fire

in a kiln.

Length
There is a very important relationship between the length of a brick and its width
because of how we use bricks to build a wall.

The length of a brick should be equal to twice its width plus 10 mm (for the mortar joint).
A brick with this length will be easier to build with because it will provide and even
surface on both sides of the wall.

For example, if you follow the rule of the length being twice the width plus 10 mm, if you
would like to have a brick 115 mm wide, then the ideal length would be 240 mm.

115 mm (width of brick)

115 mm (width of back)
+10 mm (thickness of mortar joint)
———
240 mm (length of brick)

Possible Brick Sizes

To choose your brick size, first contact the local public works department to see if
your country has a standard size. If not, you will have to choose your own size based on
the rules listed in this chapter. Possible brick sizes that you could choose from are
shown in the chart.

Possible Brick Sizes

Length Width Height
240 mm 115 mm 73 mm
230 mm 110 mm 70 mm
220 mm 105 mm 67 mm
215 mm 102 mm 65 mm
210 mm 100 mm 63 mm

Quality
 A good quality brick should
be regular in shape and size, with
smooth even sides and no cracks or
defects.

Normally poor quality bricks

are a result of using poor
techniques when making the bricks
but these errors can often be easily
corrected. You will find a list of
solutions to various problems on
pages 48 to 49. If you do have very
poor quality bricks, do not sell them
or build with them.

Strength

Bricks must have enough strength to carry the weight of the roof. If bricks have
been well- made and well-fired, you will hear a metallic sound or ring when they are
knocked together. If they make a dull sound, it could mean that they are either cracked
or underfired.
 A simple test for strength is to drop a brick from a height of 1.2 metres (shoulder
height). A good brick will not break. This test should be repeated with a wet brick (a
brick soaked in water for one week). If the soaked brick does not break when dropped,
the quality is good enough to build single storey structures. Note: should the bricks
dissolve or fall apart underwater, the bricks were probably underfired.

Drop a brick from a shoulder height A strong brick will not break or crack.
Molds

Because all clay shrinks when dried and fired, brick moulds must be larger than
the final size of the bricks. Good brickmaking clays shrink between 5% and 11% and
therefore the moulds should be 5% to 11% larger than the final size of the fired brick.

Note: It is essential to accurately calculate the shrinkage of the clay. Contact your
local public works department for assistance.

Shrinkage Rates and Mould Sizes

Fired Brick Size: 240 mm × 115 mm × 73 mm

Shrinkage Interior Mold Size

Rate Length Width Height
5% 253 mm 121 mm 77 mm
6% 256 mm 122 mm 78 mm
7% 258 mm 123 mm 79 mm
8% 261 mm 125 mm 80 mm
9% 264 mm 126 mm 81 mm
10% 267 mm 128 mm 81 mm
11% 270 mm 129 mm 82 mm
12% 273 mm 131 mm 83 mm

Reference:
http://www.nzdl.org/cgi-bin/library?e=d-00000-00---off-0cdl--00-0----0-10-0---0---0direct-
10---4-------0-1l--11-en-50---20-about---00-0-1-00-0--4----0-0-11-10-0utfZz-8-
00&cl=CL1.60&d=HASH01ad5840597d37e4b11808c3.4.3&gt=1