BRICK

A brick is a small man-made rectangular block typically made of fired and sun-dried clay, used to make wall. Bricks are mostly made of clay.

In India, the standard size of brick as recommended by Bureau of Indian Standards IS: 2691:1988 is 190x90x90mm. IS Code also states that with mortar thickness added the brick size shall be 200x100x100mm

Quality of Good Bricks-

1- The brick should be table mounted, well burnt in kilns, copper coloured, free from cracks and with sharp and square edges. The colour should be uniform and bright.

2-    The brick should be uniform in shape and should be of standard size.

3-   The brick should give a clear metallic ringing sound when struck with each other.

4-  The brick should not absorb water more than 20 percent by weight for first class brick and 22 percent for second class bricks, when soaked in cold water for a period of 24 hours.

5-  The brick when broken or fractured should show a bright homogeneous and uniform compact structure free from voids.

6-   The brick should not break in to pieces when dropped flat on hard ground from a height of about one metre.

7-  The brick should be sufficient hard. No impression should be left on brick surface when it is scratched with finger nail.

8-    No brick should have the crushing strength below 105kg/cm2.

9-    The brick should have low thermal conductivity and they should be sound proof.

10-The brick when soaked in water for 24 hours, should not show deposits of white salts when allowed to dry in shade.