Bricks
Building Bricks may be defined as Srtuctural unit of rectangular shape and conveneant size that are made from suitable type of clay.by different processes involving moulding,drying and burning.
Brick is the most basic and flavoured material for common construction trough out the world.
Properties of Bricks
- Physical properties
- Mechanical properties
- Thermal properties
- Durability
Physical properties
These include shape,size,colour and density.
Shape
Standard shape of and ideal brick is truely rectangular.It has well defined and sharp edges and corners.The surface of the brick is rectangular and even.
Size
The size of the brick use in construction varies from country to country and from place to place in the same country.In our country(Sri Lanka)the recommend standard size of an ideal brick is 215mm x 102.5mm x 65mm.With mortar joint gives net dimensions of 225mm x 112.5mm x 75mm.These dimensions have been found very conveneant in handle in the brick during the construction and also making quantity estimates.527 such will be required for completing one cubic meter(m3)of brick masonry.
Colour
The most colour on building brick fault under the class Red.It may varies from deep Red to Buff and Purple.Very dark shade of red indicate over burn.Where as yellow colour often indicate of under burning.
Density
The density of brick or weight per unit volume depends mostly on the types of clay.Uses and the methods of the brick moulding(soft mud,stiff mud,hard press etc.)In the case of standard bricks,density varies from 1600kg/m3 to 1900kg/m3.The single brick(215mm x 102.5mm x 65mm) will weight between 3.04kg to 3.6kg.
