SBEC1822 & SBEQ1822 MATERIALS & SPECIFICATIONS

BRICKS
Muzani Mustapa
 Presenta/on Overview
Types and characteris3cs of brick
Proper3es and behavioural of brick
Manufacturing process of brick together with its
quality control aspects.

Learning Objec/ves
By the end of todays lectures you should able to:
Understand and appreciate the use of construc3on materials
(brick)
Describe what is construc3on material (brick) and applica3on
to construc3on projects
Acquire relevant informa3on from various sources
 Understanding bricks
Like LEGO, bricks are:
Good in compression
Poor in tension

The architecture of compression = bricks,

blocks, stone (heavyweight materials)
UK has a strong tradi3on of masonry
Brick heritage
Modern brick design
 Why we choose Brick?
Appearance ? e.g. Heritage vs. Modern
Selec3on criteria for bricks?
Sustainable?
 Selec/on criteria for bricks
Style / image of the building or to the client
Demands of the local planning authority or
Heritage Act (tradi3onal, local clays)
Balance between aesthe3c aims and
quan3able criteria:
Cost
Structural stability
Environmental comfort/sustainability
 Typical used of bricks

Structural uses such as founda3ons, walls and oors.

Decora3ve/ornamental uses: May be cast to form

molding and other decora3ve features; may be
carved; may be used in a variety of colours, textures,
bonds and joints.

May be concealed by other nish materials such as

plaster or paint, or may be exposed both on the
interior and exterior.
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 1 - Types of Bricks

There is a wide range of bricks available, varying

in :

material used (clay or cement)

method of manufacture
form of bricks (brick / block)
shape of bricks (solid, hollow, perforated)
SIZE OF BRICKS
w: width
l: length General Brick Specica/on
Malaysia Standard
MS 76: 1972
shall be hard, well burnt,
sound, square and clean.
h: height
BS 3921: 1985
Specied Dimensions Overall Measurement of 24
Bricks
Height: 75 + 1.6 mm 1560 + 45 mm
Width: 113.5 + 1.6 mm 2460 + 45 mm
Length: 225 + 3 mm 5160 + 75
 2 - Specica/on for bricks
Sec/on E
Brickworks (E1 E6)

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 Average weight
Average weight for a common solid
brick size 215mm x100mm x67mm
is between 2.90 kg to 3.30 kg

Bricks usually is packed and

transferred to site in pallete which
contained about 360 - 400 pieces
or brick. The quan3ty on each
pallete varies depending on the
size of the brick

Pallete of bricks
 Descrip/on & Classica/on of
Bricks
Bricks may be described as:
common,
facing (designed for good looks) or
engineering.
 Descrip/on & Classica/on of Bricks

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Descrip/on & Classica/on of Clay bricks

Common bricks are accepted for

use in general brick work with no
special claim for agrac3ve
appearances.

Walls built with common bricks
require rendering or plastering.
Common brick
Descrip/on & Classica/on of Bricks

Facing bricks
Quality burnt clay bricks, which
give agrac3ve appearance in their
color and texture.

It is used without rendering,
plastering, or other surface
treatments
Facing brick
Facing brick
may be textured (by rolling, drag facing, sand facing or wire
brushing) or coloured (e.g. by the addi3on of manganese dioxide to
the clay).
Descrip/on & Classica/on of Bricks

Engineering bricks are bricks burnt at

exceedingly high temperatures. They
possess a dense and strong semi-
vitreous body and conform to the
dened limits for strength and water
absorp3on.

Primarily used in civil engineering works
that require high load bearing capacity,
good damp-proof, and chemical
resis3ng characteris3cs
 Engineering brick

Class A Engineering Bricks have a comprehensive strength
greater than 70N/mm and water absorp3on less than
4.5%

Class B Engineering Bricks have a comprehensive strength
greater than 50N/mm and water absorp3on of less than
7%
 Class A & B Engineering Bricks

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Load bearing brick
Load bearing bricks, which can be either common or facing
bricks, conform to specied average compressive strength
Cement Bricks
Made from mixture of cement and sand with ra3o 1:6

Normally 216 x103 x 65 mm in size same as clay bricks.
 What are bricks made of?
Bricks are made from clay (except cement brick) by
burning it at high temperatures.

The clay is crushed and mixed with water to form a
elas3c material which can be molded (or shaping)
into dierent shapes and sizes.

Once red to a very high temperature it reaches a
hard and weather resistant form.
 Proper/es and Func/onal Performance of
Bricks
Strength
Aesthe3c appeal
Porosity
Fire resistance
Sound insula3on
Thermal insula3on
Wear resistance
Flexibility in applica3ons
Durability
 Strength
Bricks are well-known for their high compressive
strength. Their compressive strength depends on:

The raw materials used
The manufacturing process
The shape and size

Compressive pressure exceeding 28 N/mm2 (4,000 psi).

 Fire resistance
A 100 mm brickwork with 12.5 mm normal plastering will
provide a re-resistance of 2 hours
A 200 mm non-plastered brickwork will give a maximum
ra3ng of 6 hours for non-load bearing purposes.

Brick can support considerable load even when heated to

1000oC in contrast to concrete wall at only up to 450oC due
to loss of water of hydra3on.
 Sound Insula/on
The sound insula3on of brickwork is generally 45dB (decibels)
for a 4-1/2 inches thickness and 50dB (decibels) for a 9-inches
thickness for the frequency range of 200 to 2,000 Hz.
Pros and Cons of masonry
3 BRICK MANUFACTURING
 1 - Clay Quarries

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 2 - Clay Grinding

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 3 - Extruding / shaping

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 4 - Drying Racks

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 Drying Racks

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5 - Firing System
 Stacking Pagerns for even ring

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 Tunnel Kiln view

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 Tunnel Kiln temperatures

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 Gas Jet for ring process

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 7 - Fired Bricks

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 Over Fired Bricks

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 Prepara3on of Bricks
Clay bricks may also be made on an individual,
hand-made basis, which allows specials.

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 Hand Made Bricks

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 Hand Made Pagerns

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 Hand Made Brick

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 Hand Made Brick Wall - example

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 Specials shape bricks
A range of special shapes are available to
enhance the aesthe3c detailing of buildings
and landscaped areas

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 Specials shape bricks

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 More Specials

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 Problems with Specials

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Variety shapes of Bricks
Plinth stretcher brick
Plinth header brick
Single and double cant brick
 Single and double bull nose brick
Bull nose refers to a rounded corner on a brick. Bricks with two rounded corners are
double bull nose.
Squint brick
L shaped brick
Dog leg brick
Bricks Manufacturers in Malaysia
 5 - Construc/on of brickwork
Older buildings were built with whole brick
walls.
In the 1930s - cavity walls were introduced to
aid damp penetra3on
In the 1980s there was an energy crisis, and
the cavity was lled with glass-bre

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 Construc/on of brickwork
Brickwork is constructed by bedding bricks
into mortar.
3 types of brick bond (tradi3onal feel)
+ 1 (stack bonding) more to modern style of
architecture

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 Clause 5.1.3 & 5.1.4 (Sec/on E)
JKR 2005 Building Specica/on

All clay bricks shall be soaked in a suitable tank or pit to be provided by

the Contractor for at least half an hour before being laid and shall be kept
wet whilst being laid. The top of walls let o shall be thoroughly wet
before work is resumed. All constructed walling must be let wet and
properly protected from the direct sunlight during the following day. The
Contractor shall provide sucient means to ensure that this is done.

Cement sand bricks shall not be soaked but dipped in water before being
laid and all constructed brickwork shall be protected from direct sunlight
during the day on which it is laid and also during the following day
 Why clay bricks need to be soaked?
Bricks with high rates of absorp3on may
require pre-wevng (soak) well before laying
to prevent absorbing excessive water from the
mortar mix.
Trial and error experiments when bricks arrive
on site will determine the need to pre-wet
bricks.
 5.1 - Mortar
Mortar is a gap-lling glue to enable bricks
to be placed together it distributes loads
between separate walling components so that
they act as unit.
Mortar provides a bed for laying; bond units
together to give compressive and exural
strength and seals joints against rain
penetra3on.

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 The cost and quality of masonry work is
signicantly aected by the mortar used.

Mortars may account for as ligle as 7% of the

volume of the walls, but the role it plays and
the inuence it has on performance are far
greater than the propor3on indicates.
 Mortar shall consist of 1:6 - one
(1) part of cement to six (6)
Mortar parts of sand, with the addition
of an approved mortar plasticiser
used strictly in accordance with
the manufacturers instructions.

Mortar for brickwork below damp

proof course or ground floor level
shall be in the proportion of 1:3
(one part of cement and three
parts of sand)

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Clause 3.1 JKR 2005
Building Specica3on

Mortars should never be
re-tempered and should
be used within 45 mins
of mixing or be
discarded.

(To lay 1000 bricks you will need: 3 bags cement + 0.6m3 sand)
 Mortar proper3es

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 Mortar Proper3es

The following proper3es of a mortar are desirable:

It should have good plas3city.
It should be able to retain much of its water
Neither cement nor water should segregate or separate
from the mix.
Once hardened, mortar should exhibit similar moisture
and thermal movement characteris3cs to the bricks or
blocks laid in it.
Once laid it should develop its strength quickly.

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 Mortar Proper3es

Increased cement gives:

Quicker s3ness
Higher strength
Greater frost resistance
Less risk of sulphate agack
Less risk of rain through the mortar

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 Mortar Proper/es

Increased lime gives:

More working 3me
More workability
Greater exibility
Less rain through the joints.

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 5.2 - Bonds
Bonding is required to strengthen and
stabilise a brick wall and enable it to carry
ver3cal and horizontal loads.
Three main bond pagerns are used in modern
building and construc3on
Various bond pagerns are used to create
dierent aesthe3c eects.
Func/on of proper brick wall bonding
Bonding types

 English Bond

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English bond
 Flemish Bond

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Flemish bond
 Stretcher Bond

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Stretcher bond
 Stretcher bond (Half brickwall)
All half brick (113mm) walls and
partitions shall be reinforced at every
fourth course with approved brick
reinforcement commencing two
courses above floor level.

For block walling, reinforcement

shall be at every second course
commencing one course above
floor level.
 Whole Brick Wall

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 One and Half Brick Wall

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 One and Half Brick Wall

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 Cavity Wall Construc3on

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5.3 - Brick reinforcement
5.4 - Damp proof course
 Damp proof course why?

Dampness in buildings is a health hazard and

can cause damage to 3mber, plaster,
paintwork and possible structural failure.

A horizontal DPC must be laid with mortar

above and below the membrane, which
extends over the full width of the wall
including plaster thickness.
 Damp proof course why?

The DPC should overlap at

junc3ons, corners, etc. and
must be 150mm or greater.

Any wall of a room below

ground level must be
protected by a sealed
ver3cal DPC.
Water proofing / Damp proof course
 Tips!
When ordering or specifying clay bricks,
ensure the following points are discussed and
made known to the supplier:
Degree of exposure to weather condi3ons,
closeness to the sea, etc.
Performance record of the specied brick in the
area where you are building.
An undertaking or warranty from the supplier that
the bricks delivered are t for purpose.
Colour expecta3ons, par3cularly in the case of
face bricks.
Acceptable levels of breakage during delivery to
site.
 Workmanship Factors that aect Quality of
Brickwork
In prac3ce, brickwork is liable to suer certain degree of defects due to
the following human factors:-

Incorrect selec3on of mortar: As a general rule for brickwork, do not use

mortar with strength higher than necessary. Inves3ga3ons show that
compressive strength is not a crucial factor in the selec3on of correct
mortar. Instead, the workability, water reten3on and bonding are the
more important factors to consider.

Incorrect cement to water ra3o of mortar mix: Workers at job site tend to
mix mortar with a higher cement to water ra3o in order to ease work. This
may have an adverse eect on the nal strength and drying shrinkage of
mortar. The use of right cement water ra3o required for op3mizing the
degree of cement hydra3on will thus enhance the strength and
impermeability of mortar.
 Workmanship Factors that aect Quality of
Brickwork
Incorrect batching and mixing of mortar: Too oten mortar ingredients are not
batched properly and not mixed uniformly at job site. This will eventually aect
the workability and quality of mortar.

Incorrect join/ng procedure: The most commonly seen defects of brickwork

arise from incomplete or excessive thick lling of joints. Thick bed joint of 16-19
mm may reduce the strength of brickwork by 30% as compared to the normal 10
mm thickness.

Disturbance of bricks ager laying: Any disturbance of bricks ater laying for a
while will result in breaking the bond between bricks and mortar and give rise to
possible adverse eect on the strength of brickwork.

Failure to protect work from weather: Newly completed brickwork can be

adversely aected by exposure to unfavorable weather condi3ons such as curing
under hot sun and damage by rain. Polyurethane sheets can serve as a cheap
mean for whether protec3on.
GOOD PRACTICES: BRICKS
 Good prac/ce in handling bricks
Stack bricks on rm hard ground as close to
the structure as possible.
Make sure they are protected from storm
water and splashing mud.
Place a small stack of half bricks next to
planned door frames and windows, where
these sizes are regularly used.
Encourage brick masons to use these half
bricks rather than breaking whole bricks, thus
reducing unnecessary wastage.
 Storage on site
Bricks should be stored o the ground and
covered
 Alterna/ve for brick
Blockwork (interior use)
Autoclave concrete block

Plain/grey concrete blocks can

Fair faced blockwork / Polished simply be painted (and re-painted)
blockwork
 Alterna/ve for brick
Glass
 Other Alterna/ve..
For/crete

http://www.forticrete.co.uk/architectural-masonry/fairfaced-concrete-blocks.aspx
Other Alterna/ve..
 Other Alterna/ve..
Terracoha: red clay
Is thinner panels than full bricks
Agached to a frame, so non-loadbearing (no
structural problems)
Geometric shape
Terracoha
 Conclusions
There is much more on oer than just red bricks and
grey concrete blocks
Choices of unit, mortar and bond make a dierence.
And also choice of nishes and materials too
Other related / alterna3ve products like cast stone,
terracota, concrete masonry can be used eec3vely
Sustainable issue: Masonry can have a high recycled
content and create sustainable buildings