Brick, basically, is an artificially created piece product from various materials, intended for arranging brickwork using a variety of mortars and used in various building and architectural structures.
Varieties of bricks Today,
bricks are represented by a huge assortment, a variety of types, sizes, shapes, applications, etc. It differs not only in shape, color, size, but also has different technical characteristics. They determine the scope, durability, operation properties and much more.
Brick is distinguished by areas of application:
– Facing brick
– it is intended for decorative cladding of walls, facades of structures, buildings, small and large architectural forms. Facing bricks are also used for interior work, because they come in different sizes, textures, and colors.
– ordinary brick (general construction)
– has a very different range of applications in construction. In the main, this is rubble (rough) masonry.
– Refractory bricks
– mainly used in industry, but also used in civil engineering. According to the materials used, bricks are divided into:
– Ceramic brick (natural clay material is used)
– Clinker brick (natural clay with its special processing is used)
– Silicate brick (used in the production of lime and sand)
– Firebrick, fireclay (Special refractory brick resistant to high temperatures)
– Hyper-pressed brick (brick obtained by pressing under high pressure using cement)
Now more about the varieties of bricks:
Ceramic bricks are divided into many types, ranging from general building bricks (ordinary) with low strength characteristics, moisture absorption, frost resistance and other characteristics, and ending with the “elite” of ceramic bricks – clinker bricks. An ordinary ordinary brick, as a rule, has not large strength indicators, usually M75-M125, high moisture absorption and low frost resistance (these are the main indicators of almost any brick). Ordinary bricks are usually used for general construction, the so-called “rough” masonry, therefore, it does not require high rates of basic brick characteristics. Clinker brick is also ceramic, only it is made using a more complex and expensive technology. Accordingly, such a brick is produced as a facing brick and it is used for facing and building various objects. Clinker has very high strength characteristics, low moisture absorption and high frost resistance. Minus ceramic bricks, its geometry. For an ordinary brick, this is not critical, but for a facing material it is important. Ceramic brick has the following characteristics:
- Moisture absorption for ordinary ceramics and conventional cladding ranges from 8-10%. For clinker bricks, this parameter will be 1.5-6%
- The strength grade for an ordinary brick will be M75-150, for facing ceramic bricks M125-200. For clinker bricks, this figure will be the highest M250-350
- The frost resistance of the “row” will be at the level of F-25, for clinker bricks it reaches F-100
- The inaccuracy of geometric dimensions can reach 2-3mm
Silicate brick is made from the main components: sand, lime and, accordingly, water. In production, the method of pressing (molding) blanks of the future brick and subsequent heat treatment is used. I produce sand-lime bricks both for cladding and for use as an ordinary building material. Silicate brick has medium strength, low frost resistance and high moisture absorption. A special feature of silicates is the almost exact geometry of the finished product.
Fireclay bricks are mainly used in industry for lining all kinds of furnaces where there is a high temperature. Basically it is the metallurgical industry. But refractory bricks are also used by private developers. In the production of such bricks, refractory clays are used, and the manufacturing technology is somewhat different from the previous options.
Hyper-pressed brick is a unique material that is produced by over-pressing (pressing under high pressure) and further thermal-moisture treatment of blanks. The uniqueness of this material lies in its further processing after receiving the workpiece. In hyper-pressed brick, you can get a variety of textures and reliefs, which are achieved by machining the workpiece. It is also possible to manufacture bricks of various sizes and shapes (shaped types of bricks are produced), with the addition of coloring pigments it is fashionable to obtain an extensive color gamut that satisfies a wide range of consumers. Such material is used mainly in civil engineering and is in great demand among private developers. From this material you can get an unimaginable variety of architectural forms in a variety of colors. The main producers in the post-Soviet space are two large plants, namely the Litos trademark (which is located in the Luhansk region) and its closest competitor, the Fagot plant. More information about the products can be found here. The technical characteristics of the finished brick are as follows
- Moisture absorption will be no more than 4-10%. Since this material is produced in a full-bodied and lightweight (hollow-body) version, hence the large range of values
- The strength grade is very high for such products, the indicator will be M150-350. Depends on the option of manufacturing solid or hollow bricks
- Frost resistance reaches values up to F-100
- There are no inaccuracies in geometric dimensions, possible deviations in dimensions up to 0.5 mm
Some details about the technical specifications that are given above:
Moisture absorption, a parameter that affects the service life (life) of the material. The lower this parameter, the less the material is exposed to the damaging effects of moisture, and accordingly, the period of its operation will be longer. Clinker varieties of bricks and bricks made by hyperpressing have the best performance.
The strength grade is the most important indicator of a modern brick. The strength grade is denoted by a capital letter M. The higher this indicator, the stronger the material is considered, but the brick adhesion index decreases (the ability to absorb moisture). The leaders in this characteristic are still the same – these are clinker bricks and hyper-pressed bricks.
Frost resistance is an indicator that determines the ability of a material to resist the destructive effects of the external environment. The higher it is, the better the resistance of the brick to destruction under the influence of seasonal weather changes.
The main dimensions, formats used in brick marking
Every brick has dimensions, width, length, thickness and, accordingly, three main faces:
– spoon (the main face of the brick)
– bed (the so-called work surface)
– poke (side surface, smallest)
Further, all types of bricks are divided by size and marked with an international standard:
- 1 nf (standardized brick size 250*120*65)
- 0.7 nF (so-called euro standard)
- 1.4 nf (also called one and a half)
- 2.1 nF (double brick)
The 1 nf format is used more, it is most common throughout the post-Soviet space. It has dimensions: length = 250mm, width = 120mm, height = 65mm.
Size and format
Any brick has three main parameters, dimensions:
- its length, the width of the brick and the thickness of the product, and the sides of the product corresponding to these parameters:
- – bed (main work surface) – spoon (front surface of the material)
- – poke (small, side)
The most commonly used brick is standard, single (1 NF), it has dimensions of 250x85x65 mm. It can also be noted that there are varieties of bricks called shaped products (mainly produced in the production of facing materials), there are reduced or enlarged (other than generally accepted sizes) in height or thickness. Such types of brick products are used mainly for decorating facades, arranging various architectural forms, and building individual architectural elements.
In the brick industry, there is such a thing as voidness. A brick is considered solid if there are no voids in it or the volume of voids is not more than 13%. A hollow product is considered to be a product in the presence of voids exceeding 13% of the total volume of the brick. Voids can be of various shapes, round, square, rectangular. Hollow bricks are mainly used for facing residential buildings, as it has a number of advantages. Hollow brick has lower weight and low thermal conductivity, which reduces the load on the foundation of the building and on its facade.
Brand strength
Strength grade – shows the load that can withstand a brick per square centimeter of its surface. The strength grade is indicated by the letter M and numbers indicating the load the product can withstand (for example, M-150). The higher the score, the stronger the material. You should also select the strength grade of the masonry mortar, it should not be lower than that of a brick.
In the production, sale, construction of various brick products, there are still a lot of nuances. This material contains only general informational points. You can learn more about the types of facing materials on our website.
We wish you all successful construction.