BRICK WORK

                                              BRICK WORK

Brickwork is masonry done with bricks and mortar and is generally used to build partition walls. In our site, all the external walls were of concrete and most of the internal walls were made of bricks. English bond was used and a ration of 1:4 (1 cement: 4 coarse sand) and 1:6 were used depending upon whether the wall is 4.5 inches or 9 inches. The reinforcement shall be 2 nos. M.S. round bars or as indicated. The diameter of bars was 8mm. The first layer of reinforcement was used at second course and then at every fourth course of brick work. The bars were properly anchored at their ends where the portions and or where these walls join with other walls. The in laid steel reinforcement was completely embedded in mortar..

Bricks can be of two types. These are:

1) Traditional Bricks-The dimension if traditional bricks vary from 21 cm to 25cm in length,10 to 13 cm in width and 7.5 cm in height in different parts of country .The commonly adopted normal size of traditional brick is 23 * 11.5*7.5 cm with a view to achieve uniformity in size of bricks all over country.

2) Modular Bricks- Indian standard institution has established a standard size of bricks such a brick is known as a modular brick. The normal size of brick is taken as 20*10*10 cm whereas its actual dimensions are 19*9*9 cm masonry with modular bricks workout to be cheaper there is saving in the consumption of bricks, mortar and labour as compared with masonry with traditional bricks.

Strength of brick masonry

The permissible compressive stress in brick masonry depends upon the following factors:

1. Type and strength of brick.

2. Mix of motor.

3. Size and shape of masonry construction.

The strength of brick masonry depends upon the strength of bricks used in the masonry construction. The strength of bricks depends upon the nature of soil used for making and the method adopted for molding and burning of bricks .since the nature of soil varies from region to region ,the average strength of bricks varies from as low as 30kg/sq cm to 150 kg /sq cm the basic compressive stress are different crushing strength.

There are many checks that can be applied to see the quality of bricks used on the site. Normally the bricks are tested for Compressive strength, water absorption, dimensional tolerances and efflorescence. However at small construction sites the quality of bricks can be assessed based on following, which is prevalent in many sites.

• Visual check – Bricks should be well burnt and of uniform size and color.

• Striking of two bricks together should produce a metallic ringing sound.

• It should have surface so hard that can’t be scratched by the fingernails.

• A good brick should not break if dropped in standing position from one metre above ground level.

• A good brick shouldn’t absorb moisture of more than 15-20% by weight, when soaked in water For example; a good brick of 2 kg shouldn’t weigh more than 2.3 to 2.4 kg if immersed in water for 24 hours.

Precautions to be taken in brick masonry work

• Bricks should be soaked in water for adequate period so that the water penetrates

to its full thickness. Normally 6 to 8 hours of wetting is sufficient.

• A systematic bond must be maintained throughout the brickwork. Vertical joints

shouldn’t be continuous but staggered.

• The joint thickness shouldn’t exceed 1 cm. It should be thoroughly filled with the

cement mortar 1:4 to 1:6 (Cement: Sand by volume)

• All bricks should be placed on their bed with frogs on top (depression on top of the

brick for providing bond with mortar).

• Thread, plumb bob and spirit level should be used for alignment, verticality and

horizontality of construction.

• Joints should be raked and properly finished with trowel or float, to provide good bond.

• A maximum of one metre wall height should be constructed in a day.

• Brickwork should be properly cured for at least 10 days

----------------------