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Brick walls are probably the most common building elements in the construction of a house in India. These walls form basic units for creating rooms that make up a house.
The walls beside being space dividers are also structural elements that transfer the load of the roof to the ground.
Brick walls are constructed on strip spread or raft foundations that support the walls. The walls are constructed using bricks and mortar. These can also be constructed with various structural qualities and thicknesses.
Classification of Bricks
The classification of brick work according to the quality of brick is following.
- First class bricks
- Second class bricks
- Third class bricks
1. First Class Bricks
First class bricks are table moulded and of uniform shape and they are burnt in kilns. They comply with all the qualities of good bricks. These bricks are used for important work of permanent nature.
The surfaces and edges of the bricks are sharp, square, smooth and straight. These bricks are also identified by their uniform colour and a ringing sound when struck. These bricks do not chip and don’t have any cracks.
First class bricks do not absorb water more than 1/6 of their weight. There is no salty residue when the bricks are dry. First class bricks have a minimum crushing strength of 105 kg/cm2.
Features or Properties of First Class Bricks
- Perfect in size/shape.
- Red to cherry-red in colour
- Do not break when dropped from waist height
- Do not absorb more than 15 to 17% of their own weight if kept submerged for 1 hour under water
- Suitable for precision work such as exposed
2. Second Class bricks
The second class bricks are ground moulded and they are burnt in kilns. The surface of the second class bricks is slightly rough and shape is also slightly regular.
These bricks may have hair cracks and their edges may not be sharp and uniform. These bricks are commonly used at places where brickwork is to be provided with a coat of plaster.
Read in Detail : What is a Masonry Construction (Brick and Block)
Features or Properties of Second Class bricks
- Not as uniform as First class bricks in Size & Shape
- Do not absorb more than 25% water of own weight if kept submerged under water for 1 hour.
- Good for brickwork wherever subsequent plastering is to be done.
3. third Class Bricks
These bricks are ground-moulded and they are burnt in clamps. These bricks are not very hard and they have rough surfaces with irregular and blunt edges. These bricks give dull sound when they are struck together. They are used for unimportant works, temporary structures and at places where rainfall is not heavy.
