Chapter 2: Bricks Department of CE

Brick

A brick is building material used to make walls,

arches, floors, pavements (footpath, streets),
and other elements in masonry construction. The
bricks are obtained by moulding clay in
rectangular blocks of uniform size and then by The following are the different types of brick works:
drying and burning (at around 1150oC) these (i) First Class brick-work, (ii) Second Class brick-
blocks. work and (iii) Third Class brick-work.
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China great wall

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Brick buildings in Venice, Italy

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Advantages of Bricks:
 Economical (raw material is easily available)
 Hard and durable
 Compressive strength is good enough for
ordinary construction
 Different orientations and sizes give different
surface textures
 Very low maintenance cost is required
 Demolishing of brick structures is very easy,
less time consuming and hence economic
 Reusable and recyclable
 Highly fire resistant (need research to proof it)
Department of CE
Disadvantages of Bricks:
 Time consuming construction
 Cannot be used in high seismic zones
 Since bricks absorb water easily, therefore, it
causes efflorescence, also risk of fire spalling due
to high pore pressure.
 Very less tensile strength
 Rough surfaces of bricks may need more mortar
for plastering (i.e. expensive)
 Cleaning brick surfaces is a hard job
 Color of low quality brick changes when exposed
to sun for a long period of time
 Produces more CO2 during manufacturing
process, i.e. not environmental friendly material
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Stretcher: Longer face of brick.

Header: Face of the brick showing breadth and
height is known as header.
Closer: Piece of a brick used to close up the bond
at the end of the course.
King closer: Obtained by cutting a corner of the
brick joining middle points of width and length of
the brick. It is used near door and window openings.
Queen closer: It is a piece of brick obtained by
cutting the brick longitudinally in two equal
parts.
Bat: It is a piece of brick and is designated according
to length of the brick.

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Types of bond in brick masonry:

Bonding is necessary to eliminate continuous vertical joints in masonry and thus improving strength and
stability of masonry. Bonding helps to distribute load to adjacent bricks.
(i) English bond, (ii) Flemish bond, (iii) Header bond, (iv) Stretcher bond, (v) Raking bond, (vi) Garden wall
bond, (vii) Facing bond, (viii) Dutch bond, (ix) English cross-bond, (x) Zig-Zag bond, (xi) Silverlock’s bond.

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English bond is considered as the strongest and most

widely used brick bond in construction work. It consists of
alternate course of headers and stretchers. In this
arrangement, vertical joints in the header and stretcher
courses come over each other. To break the vertical joints
in the consecutive courses queen closer should be placed
after the first header in every header course.

Flemish Bond: In this brick bond, each course consists of

alternate headers and stretchers. Every header is
centrally supported over the stretchers below it. To
break the vertical joints in the successive courses queen
closers are placed in alternate courses next to the queen
header. Bats are essentially required for the walls having
their thickness equal to odd numbers of half bricks. Flemish
bond gives better appearance than English bond.

http://www.dailycivil.com/difference-between-english-bond-and-flemish-bond/
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Difference between English bond and Flemish bond are as follows:

 English bond is much stronger than Flemish bond as it contains a larger proportion of headers.
 In English bond, queen closer is placed after the first header, while in Flemish bond, the header is
centrally supported over the stretchers below it.
 Flemish bond is economical as it uses broken brick bats, although it requires some extra mortar for
additional joints.
 Uses of Flemish bond is a bit difficult than English bond. Flemish bond requires more skilled labor
and supervision.

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Header bond: All the bricks are laid as headers on the

face. Used for facing of curved surfaces

Stretcher bond: All the bricks are laid as stretchers on the face.
As this bond does not develop proper internal bond so not
preferable for walls having thickness more than one half brick.

Raking bond: This is a bond in brick work in which the bonding

bricks are laid at any angle other than zero or ninety degrees. This
arrangement helps to increase the longitudinal stability of thick
walls built in English bond.
There are two common forms of raking bond ;
(i) Herring hone bond
(ii) Diagonal bond.

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Defects in brick masonry:

The most common causes of defects in brick masonry are described below:
1. Sulphate attack
2. Efflorescence
3. Corrosion of embedded iron or steel
4. Shrinkage on drying

1. Sulphate attack: Sulphate salts present in

brickwork react with alumina content of cement
and with hydraulic lime in the lime mortar causing
considerable increase in the volume of mortar.
This, in turn results in chipping and spalling of
bricks and formation of cracks in joints.

Sulphate attack

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2. Efflorescence:
Soluble salts in brick absorb moisture from atmosphere
and come out on the surface of brick as whitish substance.
As the moisture dries out the salts crystallize. It is hardly
harmful to brick but gives unwanted appearance of the
brick surface or plaster. Brushing and washing the surface
with water repeatedly can remove efflorescence.

What Causes Efflorescence?

1. Water-soluble salts must be present.
2. Moisture must be available to transform salts into a
soluble solution.
3. Salts must be able to move through a material to its
surface. The moisture will then evaporate and cause the
salts to crystallize, resulting in efflorescence. Efflorescence

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3. Corrosion of embedded iron or steel:

Iron or steel embedded in brickwork gets corroded in the
presence of dampness. On corrosion, the metal expands in
volume and tends to crack the brickwork.

Corrosion of embedded steel

4. Shrinkage on drying:
Brickwork normally swells with the absorption of water and
subsequently shrinks when the water evaporates. In the process
of shrinkage, it develops cracks in the masonry joints.

Cracks in the masonry joints

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Fig. Typical brick field in Bangladesh

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Constituents of Brick Clay:

 Silica 55% (SiO2)
 Alumina 30% (Aluminium Oxide) Al2O3
 Iron Oxide 8% (Fe2O3)
 Magnesia 5% (Magnesium Oxide): MgO
 Lime 1% (CaO + CO2)
 Organic Matters 1%

Silica (SiO2):
As free sand it is mechanically mixed with clay and in combined form, it exists in chemical composition with
alumina. The presence of these constituents prevents cracking, shrinking, and warping of raw bricks. It
thus gives uniform shape to the bricks. The durability of bricks depends on the proper proportion of
silica in brick earth. The excess of silica destroys the cohesion between particles and the bricks become
brittle.

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Alumina (Al2O3):
It is the chief constituent of a good brick earth. A content of about 20% to 30% is necessary to form the
brick earth of a good quality. It gives plasticity to the earth so it helps in the moulding of the brick earth
and can give shape.
If alumina is present in excess with inadequate quantity of sand then the raw bricks shrink and warp
during drying, on burning they become too hard. So it is important to have an optimum content of
alumina.

Lime: Helps fusion of silica

More lime: (i) More silica will be melted, (ii) Can’t control shape, (iii) To be added in powder form

A small quantity of lime is essential in brick earth. The lime prevents the shrinkage of the raw
bricks. The sand alone is infusible, but it slightly fuses at kiln temperature in presence of lime.
Such fuse sand works as hard cementing material for brick particles.
The excess of lime causes the brick to melt and hence its shape is lost.

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Iron Oxide (Fe2O3):

 Gives color (color ingredient)
 Helps fusion of silica
A small quantity of oxide of iron is desirable in good brick earth. It helps as lime to fuse sand. It also
imparts red color to the bricks. The excess of oxide of iron makes the bricks dark blue or blackish. If
the quantity of iron oxide is comparatively less, the bricks will be yellowish in color.

Magnesia (MgO):
 Helps fusion
 More magnesia
(a) Black color
A small quantity of magnesia in brick earth imparts yellow color to the bricks and decreases
shrinkage. But excess amount of magnesia leads to the decay of bricks.

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Alkalies and Organic Matters

A small quantity of organic matter will assist burning bricks. But excess is bad, because if it is not
completely burnt, the bricks will be porous. Small quantities of alkalies will lower the fusion point of
clay.

Manufacturing of bricks is completed with the following processes:

(i) Preparation of brick clay
(ii) Moulding of Bricks
(iii) Drying
(iv) Burning of bricks

Selection of the brick field:

 Site should be well connected with the road transportation facilities so as to transport your product.
 There should be plenty of the clay available which is to be used for the manufacturing of the bricks.
 All the necessary facilities for the workers should be checked and made available before starting the work.
 Site should be of plane topography.

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Moulding of Bricks:
Moulding of the bricks into the proper shape and size can be done manually with the hands or it can be
done with the help of machines.

Hand moulding on the table

Here the moulding is done on the table which is generally of the size 2m x 1m. It may take somewhat
longer time than the ground moulding.
It is again can be done in the following two manners:
(a) Moulding on the ground
(b) Moulding on the table (less efficiency, costly)

Machine Moulding:
Machine moulding is carried out with the help of a machine. It produces them in faster rate and in a better
shape than that in the hand moulding.

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Drying of Bricks:
Drying is done to reduce the water of about 2% moisture of raw brick (unburned). Drying of the bricks
at lower temperature is done to strengthen the bricks to have sufficient strength so that they do not
crack or crumble while holding and carrying them in hand. Finally bricks are to be stacked in the kiln,
but they must possess the sufficient strength to maintain their shape while the transportation and
loading operations, so drying of the bricks is important process.

Drying of the bricks can be done in two ways:

(a) Natural Drying: Natural drying is done by putting the bricks in the under the air circulation, generally
avoided to direct Sun-light.
(b) Artificial Drying: In artificial burning bricks are put under a temperature of about 120 degrees Celsius
in a tunnel like structure where arrangements are there to maintain the temperature.

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Burning of Bricks:
Burning is done to give strength.
Under burnt: Less strength, more porous, resulting, 2nd and 3rd class brick.
Over burnt: Jhama brick (i.e., Light weight brick)

Brick get strength during burning:

Bricks are burned at high temperature to gain the strength, durability, density and red color appearance.
All the water is removed at the temperature of 650oC but they are burnt at a temperature of about 1100oC
because the fusing of sand and lime takes place at this temperature and chemical bonding takes
between these materials after the temperature is cooled down resulting in the hard and dense mass.

Bricks can be burnt using the following methods:

(a) Clamp Burning
(b) Kiln Burning

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Clamp Burning:
Clamp is a temporary structure generally constructed over the ground with a height of about 4 to 6 m.
It is employed when the demand of the bricks is lower scale and when it is not a monsoon season. A
vertical brick and mud wall is constructed at the lower edge to support the stack of the brick. First layer of
fuel is laid as the bottom most layers with the coal, wood and other locally available material like cow
dung and husk. Another layer of about 4 to 5 rows of bricks is laid and then again a fuel layer is laid over
it. The thickness of the fuel layer goes on with the height of the clamp. After these alternate layers of the
bricks and fuel the top surface is covered with the mud so as to preserve the heat. Fire is ignited at the
bottom, once fire is started it is kept under fire by itself for one or two months and same time period is
needed for the cooling of the bricks.
Disadvantages of Clamp burning:
 Bricks at the bottom are over-burnt while at the top are under-burnt.
 Bricks loose their shape, and reason may be their descending downward once the fuel layer is burnt.
 This method cannot employ for the manufacturing of large number of bricks and it is costly in terms of
fuel because large amount of heat is wasted.
 It cannot be employed in monsoon season.
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Kiln Burning:
Kiln is a large oven used for the burning of bricks. Generally coal and other locally available materials like
wood, cow dung etc. can be used as fuel. They are of two types: (a) Intermittent Kilns and (b) Continuous
Kilns
Intermittent Kilns
Intermittent Kiln is also the periodic kind of kilns, because in such kilns only one process can take place at
one time. Various major processes which take place in the kilns are:
 Loading
 Unloading
 Cooling
 Burning of bricks

Continuous Kilns:
These kilns are called continuous because all the processes of loading, unloading, cooling, heating, pre-
heating take place simultaneously. They are used when the bricks are demanded in larger scale and in short
time. Bricks burning are completed in one day, so it is a fast method of burning.

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Comparison of clamp burning and Kiln burning:

Clamp Burning Kiln Burning

(1) Capacity Low High
(2) Cost of Fuel Low High
(3) Initial Cost Very low High
(4) Quantity of Bricks 60 % is good 90 % is good
(5) Regulation of Temperature Not possible Controlled
(6) Skilled Supervision Not necessary Necessary
(7) Structure Temporary Permanent
(8) Time of Burning and Cooling 2 to 6 months Burning for chamber – 24 hours, cooling 12 days
(9) Wastage of Heat High The hot flue gas is used for drying and free heating

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Sizes of Bricks:
In Bangladesh, the standard size of bricks is 9.5" × 4.5" × 2.75". With mortar, the final size becomes
10" × 5" × 3". The sizes of the walls which are constructed in Bangladesh are 5", 10", 15", 20", 25" and 30".

Function of frog mark of brick:

Frog is necessary for the proper bonding of the bricks and
for the advertisement of the manufacturer (i.e. acts as a key
for mortar). The mortar accumulated in the frog forms a
very good key for subsequent course of brick above it.
Manufacturers generally engrave their trade name in the frog
which is a very good advertisement for the manufacturer.

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Qualities/Characteristics of good bricks:

 Bricks should be uniform in color, size, and shape.
 They should be sound and compact.
 They should be free from cracks and other flaws such as air bubbles, stone nodules, etc.
 They should not absorb more than 1/5 of their own weight of water when immerged in water for
24 hours (15 to 20% of dry weight)
 The compressive strength of bricks should be in the range of 5000 to 8000 psi
 The percentage of soluble salts (sulphates of calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium) should
not exceed 2.5 % in burnt bricks, because the presence of excess soluble salts causes efflorescence.
 They should be neither over burnt nor under burnt.
 They weight should be generally 6 lbs per brick and the weight per cft should not be less than 125 lbs.
 They should have low thermal conductivity.
 They should be non-inflammable and incombustible.
 Bricks should not change in volume when wetted.

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Types of Tests On Bricks for Construction Purpose:

Following tests are conducted on bricks to determine its suitability for construction work.
1. Absorption test
2. Crushing strength test
3. Hardness test
4. Shape and size
5. Color test
6. Soundness test
7. Structure of brick
8. Presence of soluble salts (Efflorescence Test)
9. T-test
1. Absorption Test on Bricks: Submersed the brick for 24h in the water
and take the measurement in wet and dry conditions.
Absorption capacity: Mass in wet condition – Mass in dry condition
For a good quality brick the amount of water absorption should not exceed
20% of weight of dry brick. Absorption Test

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Types of Tests On Bricks for Construction Purpose:

2. Compressive Strength Test on Bricks: Apply load on it until brick

breaks. Note down the value of failure load and find out the crushing
strength value of brick. The compressive strength of bricks should be
in the range of 5000 to 8000 psi

3. Color Test of Bricks: A good brick should

possess bright and uniform color throughout its Compressive Strength Test
body.

Color Test

4. Hardness Test on Bricks: A good brick should resist scratches against sharp
things. So, for this test a sharp tool or finger nail is used to make scratch on brick.
If there is no scratch impression on brick then it is said to be hard brick.
Hardness Test
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Types of Tests On Bricks for Construction Purpose:

5. Shape and Size Test on Bricks:

All bricks used for construction should be of same size. The shape of bricks should be purely
rectangular with sharp edges. In Bangladesh, the standard size of bricks is 9.5" × 4.5" × 2.75".

6. Soundness Test of Bricks: Take a brick and strike it with a hammer or

take 2 bricks and strike struck with one another, if it gives clear metallic
sound, it is a good brick.

7. Structure of Bricks: Break the brick and observe the inner

portion of brick clearly. It should be free from lumps, homogeneous,
compact and free from defects such as holes, lumps etc.

Structure of Bricks
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Types of Tests On Bricks for Construction Purpose:

8. Efflorescence Test on Bricks: A good

quality brick should not contain any
soluble salts in it. If soluble salts are there,
then it will cause efflorescence on brick
surfaces.
Placed the brick in a water bath for 24
hours and dry it in shade. After drying, if Efflorescence Test
there is any white or grey color deposits,
then it is affected by Efflorescence.

9. T Test: Take two bricks and form a tee (T) and drop from a height of 6 ft
on a more or less solid surface. If they break they are not good bricks.

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Classification of Bricks:
First Class Bricks
o Uniform size and color, less porous and less permeable
o Well and uniformly burnt
o Emit metallic sound when struck with a hammer or another brick
o No cracks, rain spots, or flaws on the surface
o Not absorb one sixth of their weight of water when kept under First Class Bricks
water for 24 hours

Second Class Bricks

These bricks must possess the hardness and color of first class bricks
but are slightly irregular in shape, size or rough on the surface.
The absorption capacity is higher than 1st class brick.
More voids, i.e., higher porosity and permeability
Second Class Bricks
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Classification of Bricks:
Third Class Bricks
o Not sufficient burnt (absorb more water)
o Bigger than normal size due to less burnt
o Can be used for un-important construction
Third Class Bricks
Picked Jhama Bricks
o Very hard like stone, higher strength, high density, less
wear, less absorb water.
o Less void, i.e., less porosity and permeability

Jhama Bricks
o These are over-burnt bricks that being near the fire in the
kiln get fused and loose their shape.
o Used for constructing inferior structures, foundations of
structures, as road metal.
Jhama Bricks
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Classification of Bricks Based on Shape:

Bullnose Brick: These bricks are molded into round angles. Bullnose Brick
They are used for rounded corner.
Airbricks: These bricks contain holes to circulate air.
Channel Bricks: They are molded into the shape of a gutter or
channel. They are used in drains. Airbricks

Coping Bricks: They can be half round, chamfered, angled

varied according to the thickness of the wall.

Channel Bricks
Coping Bricks

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Classification of Bricks Based on Shape:

Cow Nose Bricks: Bricks having double bullnose known as Cow

Nose Bricks.
Capping Bricks: These bricks are used to cap the tops of parapets
or freestanding walls.
Cow Nose Bricks
Brick Veneers: These bricks are thin and used for cladding.
Curved Sector Bricks: These are curved in shape. They are used
in arcs, pavements etc.

Capping Bricks

Curved Sector Bricks Brick Veneers

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Classification of Bricks Based on Shape:

Hollow Bricks: These bricks are light, around one-third of the
weight of the normal bricks.
Hollow Bricks
Paving Bricks: They are used in garden park floors, pavements.
Withstand the abrasive action of traffic thus making the floor less
slippery.

Perforated Bricks: These bricks contain cylindrical holes, very

light in weight. They are used in the construction of the panels for
lightweight, structures, and multistoried frame structures.

Paving Bricks
Perforated Bricks
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Classification of Bricks Based on Shape:

Purpose Made Bricks: For specific purposes, these bricks are made
such as doors, window jambs, sewers, manholes, retaining walls,
chimneys, fireworks, cornices, corbels, arch and so on.

Classification of Bricks Based on Manufacturing Method:

Extruded Brick
Molded Brick
Dry pressed Brick

Classification of Bricks Based on Raw Materials:

Burnt Clay Brick
Fly ash clay Brick
Purpose Made Bricks
Concrete Brick
Sand-lime Brick
Firebrick

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