IIIrd Semester

Civil Engineering
GCET

Bricks
Farhat Un Nisa
 GLAZED BRICKS
• A glazed brick is a brick with a ceramic coating.
• Its exterior surface will have been fused with a
particular type of glazed ceramic that gives a
glossy finish.
• These types of bricks are usually fired twice, as
opposed to regular facing bricks and engineering
bricks, which are often subject to a single firing.
• The second firing fuses the ceramic finish to the
brick’s surface.
• BENEFITS
1. Versatility
• Due to their exceptional weight and extra coat, they are able to
withstand most harsh weather conditions.

• Have been used repeatedly in countries with below freezing

temperatures as well as devastatingly hot climates.

2. Minimal maintenance
• Easy cleaning

• The ceramic coating is impervious to staining and damage from many

industrial cleaning chemicals, meaning the brick colour wouldn’t be
damaged if they came into contact with anything like this.

• In addition, the chance of mould or mildew growing on any exterior

glazed brick or interior glazed brick is very low.
3. Fire resistance
Their materials are fireproof.
4. Durability
maintain a longer life on average compared to the
average facing brick
• 5. Aesthetics
The ceramic can be colored to any shade during the
firing process
Fire-clays:
• Fire-clay is a refractory clay which is capable of resisting
a high temperature without being melted or softened.
• A refractory material is able to stand a high
temperature without losing its shape.
• Thus fire-clay is used in manufacture of fire-bricks,
crucibles, lining materials for furnaces, hollow tiles, etc.
• Earth that is available from under the coal seams is
generally found to be good fire-clay.
• Constituents of a good fire-clay are two-alumina (25-
35%)and silica(65-75%).
• Impurities such as lime, magnesia. iron oxide and
alkalies should not exceed 5 per cent.
Depending upon the fire resisting capacity, fire-clays
are classified into the following three categories:
• High duty fire-clays can resist temperature range of
482°C to 1648°C;
• Medium duty fire-days can resist tempera­ture range
of 1315°C to 1482°G, and
• Low duty fire-clays can resist temperature up to
870°C only.
Fire-bricks :
• These bricks arc made from fire-clay. Process of manufacture
is the same as that of ordinary clay bricks.
• Burning and cooling of fire-bricks are done gradually.
• These bricks arc usually white or yellowish white in
• colour.
• Weight of a fire-brick is about 3 to 3·50 kg.
• Fire­bricks can resist high temperature without softening or
melting.
• Hence, they are used for linings of furnaces and construction
of boilers, chambers, chimneys, etc.
• Following are the varieties of fire-bricks:
( 1) Acidic bricks
(2) Basic bricks
 Sand-lime Or Calcium Silicate Bricks

Raw materials:
( 1) Sand (88-92%)
(2) Lime (8-12%)
(3) Water (soluble salt or organic matter in excess of 0·25 per
cent should not be used)
(4) Pigment. (0·2-3 per cent of the total weight of the brick)

#Finely divided clay, if present in very small amount of less than

4 per cent, affords advantages of easier pressing, densification
and smoother texture.
 Manufacturing process

Raw Material Mixing •Sand, lime and pigment are taken in suitable propor­tions and they are thoroughly mixed with 3 to 5 per cent of water.

Brick Moulding
•The semi- dry material is moulded in the shape of bricks in a specially designed rotary table press under mechanical pressure.
•The applied pressure varies from 315 to 630 kg/cm2

Autoclaving •Bricks are then placed in a closed chamber and subjected to saturated steam pressure of about 8·50 to 16·00 kg per cm2 for 6 to 12 hours.

Distribution •Bricks arc taken out of chamber and they can then be dispatched for use
 Advantages
• If plaster is to be provided on sand lime bricks, the
quantity of mortar required will be less as they are
uniform in shape and size.
• Hard and strong.
• Uniform in color and texture.
Disadvantages of sand-lime bricks
• These bricks are not suitable for furnace brickwork because
they will disintegrate, if exposed to heat for a long time.
• These bricks are weak in offering resistance to abrasion.
Hence they cannot be used as paving material.
• These bricks cannot be used for foundation work as they are
less water resistant than clay bricks.
• Where suitable clay for the manufacture of clay bricks is
available in plenty, these bricks will prove to be
uneconomical.
Uses:
• Sand-lime bricks are used for ornamental work and they
can be used in place of ordinary clay bricks in building
industry.
• They are widely used in West Germany and Russia and are
Brick Masonry
• Terminology:
• Arrises: The edges formed by the intersection
of plane surfaces of a brick are called arrises.
• Stretcher: This is a brick laid with its length
parallel to the face of wall.
• Bed joint: The horizontal layer of mortar upon
which bricks are laid is called a bed joint.
• Perpends: The vertical joints either in the
length or in the cross direction is called
perpends.
• Lap: The horizontal distance between the
vertical joint in two successive course is termed
as lap.
Closers
• The portions made by cutting across their length
in such a manner that their one stretcher face
remains uncut or half cut.
Bats
• The portions mad by cutting standard bricks across
their width are known as brick bats.
• These are named according their fraction of full
length of a standard brick.
Quoins
• The external corners of walls are called quoins
• The brick which form the external corner is known
as quoin brick.
Masonry Wall Requirements
The usual functional requirements of a masonry wall
include:
• Adequate strength to support imposed loads
• Sufficient water tightness
• Sufficient visual privacy and sound transmission
• Appropriate fire resistance
• Ability to accommodate heating, air conditioning,
electrical, and plumbing equipment
• Ability to receive various finish materials and Cost
• Ability to provide openings such as doors and
window
• What is a bond?
• When bricks are laid adjacent to each other forming
a groove in between the bricks which is filled by
cement mortar is called a bond.
• Bonding helps in even distribution of loads over a
large area.
Good bond is possible if:
• Uniform size bricks are used
• Length of the brick is twice its width plus one joint inorder
to obtain a uniform lap.
• Minimum of 1/4th of the brick is placed along the length
of the wall and ½ of the brick should be placed across the
thickness of the wall.
• Use of brick bats is avoided
• The centre line of header and stretcher in the alternate
courses is made to coincide with each other in order to
obtain a stable wall.
• Stretchers are used in the facing.
• Headers are used in the hearting.
• To increase the stability and bonding, every sixth course
should be provided as a header course on both sides of the
wall.
 BONDS IN BRICK
Stretcher Bond
• All bricks are arranged in stretcher course.
• Mainly used in one brick partition wall.
• Walls constructed with stretcher bonds are not stable enough to
stand alone in case of longer span and height. Thus they need
supporting structure such as brick masonry columns at regular
intervals.
HEADER BOND
• All bricks are arranged in header courses.
• Header bond is used for the construction of walls
with full brick thickness
• It is used for curved surfaces since the length will be
less
 English Bond
• The strongest bond
• This bond maximizes the strength
of wall
• Pattern on the face of the wall
shows distinctive courses of
headers & stretchers.
• To break the continuity of vertical
joints, quoin closer is used in the
beginning and end of a wall after
first header.
• The number of mortar joints in a
header course is nearly double
than that in a stretcher course.
Flemish Bond
• Not such a strong as English bond
• Decorative pattern on face of the wall shows
alternate headers & stretchers in each with the
headers centered under and over stretchers in
adjacent courses.
• Single Flemish bond is a combination of English
bond and Flemish bond.
• In this type of construction, the front exposed
surface of wall consists of Flemish bond and the
back surface of the wall consists of English bond in
each course.
• Minimum thickness required for single Flemish
bond is one and a half brick thickness.
• The main purpose of using single Flemish bond is to
provide greater aesthetic appearance on the front
surface with required strength in the brickwork with
English bond
• Double Flemish Bond has the same appearance
both in the front and back elevations, i.e. each
course consists of alternate header and stretcher.
• This type of bonding is comparatively weaker than
English bond.
• Raking Bond.
• The walls which are more than two-brick thick will
become weaker in longitudinal strength, as the
headers being used in the interior of the wall to
increase the transverse strength. This defect is
removed by using raking bond (rake means
inclination).
• In this bond the bricks are laid at some inclination
to the face of the wall.
 Garden Wall Bond.
• In the English garden bond, one course of headers is
used after every three to four courses of stretchers.
• In the Flemish garden bond, in each course one
header is used after every three or four stretchers.
 Bonds at Connections
Places where walls in different directions are
united are called CONNECTIONS. For effective
connections:
• Vertical joints should not be continuous
• Use of broken bricks should be minimized
• Connections should be strong enough to resist
differential settlement
Connections are of two types:
• Junctions
• Quoins
Junctions
A connection between a main wall and a partition wall
•The header course of the cross wall enters the
stretcher course of main wall
•The alternate courses of cross wall are simply
abutting the main wall
 Junction

Right Angled Squint

Cross
Tee Junction
Junction
Tee junction in one brick thick external wall and ½ brick
internal wall

Plan of alternate courses

Tee junction in 1 1/2 brick thick external wall and 1
brick internal wall
Tee junction in 1 1/2 brick thick external wall and 1 ½
brick internal wall
Tee junction in 2 brick thick external wall
and 1 ½ brick internal wall
Cross-junction or Intersection
•A cross-junction is formed when two internal walls
cross each other at right angles.
•One of the walls may be called as the main wall while
the other of lesser thickness as cross-wall.
 Squint junction
• A squint junction is formed when an internal
wall meets an external continuous wall at an
angle other than 90°.
• Usually, the angle of squint is kept at 45
degrees, though squint junctions are not very
common in brickwork.
 QUOINS
• Quoin is the connection formed when two
external walls meet.
• Alternatively, quoin is the connection which is
formed when an external wall takes a turn.
Quoins are of two types :
1. Right-angle or square quoin.
2. Squint quoin
 Squint Quoins
Acute squint:
This is formed when the enclosed angle on the inside
of the two walls is less than 90° .
• Generally, the acute angle is kept equal to 60°
• Obtuse squint :
• This is formed when the enclosed angle on the
inside of the two walls is more than 90° .
• The angle generally varies from 105° to 135° , the
more common being 120°
 Defects in Brick Masonary
• Corrosion of embedded fixtures:-
• Iron or steel embedded in brick work gets
corroded in the presence of dampness .
• On corrosion the metal expands in volume and
tends to crack the brick work.
Crystallization of salts from bricks :-
• Occur in masonry made out of brick which contain
excessive soluble salts.
• When such bricks come in contact with water, the
soluble salts are dissolved and fine whitish crytals
are seen on the surface and this phenomenon is
also known as efflorescence.
Sulphate attack :-
• Sulphate salts present in bricks work react with
alumina content of cement in case of cement
mortar
• Due to this reaction, there is an increase in the
volume of mortar and it leads to chipping and
spalling of bricks.
• It occurs at places exposed to moisture as in
boundary walls, parapets, manholes,etc
Shrinkage on drying
• Formation of cracks in masonry joints is one form of
defect due to shrinkage.
• As brick are porous material it has tendency to
absorb water. When it absorbs water it swells and
when this absorbed water evaporates brick starts to
shrink. This shrinkage of brick creates cracks in brick
masonry joints.
Reinforced Brickwork
• The reinforced brick masonry consists of brick
masonry which has Steel reinforcement embedded
in the mortar.
• Strengthened by using mild steel, iron mesh or bars
• The property of reinforced brick masonry is that it is
capable of resisting compressive shear stress as well
as tensile shear stress.
• Can be used in beams over openings
• It has the property of resistance to the lateral
forces, thus, widely used in the seismic areas.
• For constructing retaining walls in brickwork, floor
slabs of short span
• Where there is increase in the longitudinal bond,
heavy compressive loads
• When the brickwork is supported on soil that is
susceptible to a large settlement.
• Generally, the first class bricks and rich and
dense cement mortar are used in the reinforced
brickwork.
 Walls
• Walls that are prone to tensile forces are needed to be reinforced, and both
horizontal and vertical reinforcement is required.

• It is necessary to provide horizontal reinforcement at your every three to four-

course, which consists of the Steel mesh.

• The vertical reinforcement is provided by using special bricks that have gross to pass
the reinforcement bars.

• The Reinforced brick wall is generally adopted where the regular walls could not
provide for lack of load consideration.

• The wall thickness of the reinforced brick wall is kept minimum, and
the arrangement of the bricks are laid one after the other longitudinally.

• After the construction of the Reinforced brick wall, it is important that to provide
a plaster of minimum thickness of 15mm to protect the Reinforcement from
• Generally, two strips of hoop iron are used per
header brick
• one hoop iron per stretcher brick i.e. one strand of
hoop iron (25mm x 2mm) for each half brick
thickness of the wall.
• Mild steel flats may also be used in place of hoop
iron. It is usual to reinforce every switch course.
Mild steel flat bars may have a width between 22 to
32 mm and a thickness equal to 0.25 to 16 mm.
 Piers
• The steel plates are provided at every fourth course
and steel bars are anchored in the foundation
concrete.
 Lintels
Steel bars of 6 to 12mm diameter
Slabs