Author: Haroon Khalil

Two bricks are struck against each other slightly. A good brick has a clear ringing sound, and the bricks should not get break.

The hardness of a brick surface is determined by making a scratch on the surface of a brick with the help of a finger nail. If no impression is left on the surface of the brick, the brick is considered to be hard.

Twenty bricks are taken at random and their dimensions, length, width and depth are measured. Variations in dimensions generally allowed up to ± 3% for class one and ± 8% for other classes.

The presence of soluble salts causes efflorescence on the surface of the brick. Here also five test samples of bricks are taken at random. The brick is placed in a dish with 2.5 cm immersed in distilled water. The brick is allowed to absorb the water fully, and then the water evaporates through it. When…

For the test, five bricks are taken at random from the lot. They are dried in an oven at 110–115°C till they attain constant weight. Generally it takes 48 hours. Bricks are then cooled at room temperature, which generally takes 4–6 hours and are then weighed. Let the weight of a dry brick be W1. Bricks…

As per norms, five bricks are taken at random and their dimensions are measured accurately to 1 mm. They are immersed in water at 25–29°C for a period of 24 hours. After that they are taken out, and excess moisture is allowed to drain. If the bricks have frogs they are filled with C.M 1:3.…

Before recommending bricks for construction work, their suitability is to be assessed by conducting the following tests: The sampling and testing of bricks are carried out as per IS: 3495 – 1992 and are as shown in Table 3.2. Table 3.2 Sampling and testing of bricks Source: IS: 3495–1992.

The classification of bricks under the following four categories on the basis of constituents, preparation and burning is called quality classification: 1. First-class Bricks First-class bricks are table-moulded bricks and are burnt in kilns. These bricks should not have any defects like cracks, stones or lumps of clay. They should be of standard size and…

Bricks are broadly classified into two broad categories as follows: Sun-dried bricks also called un-burnt or katcha bricks, and these are dried directly under the sun after the process of moulding. These bricks are of inferior quality and are used for the construction of temporary and cheap structures. Such bricks should not be used in areas…

The qualities of good bricks are as follows: