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Brick Masonary

Bricks are a kind of building material used to create masonry structures such as walls, pavements, and other features. Generally brick denotes a unit mainly made up of clay, but it is now used infomally to denotes the units made up of non-clay materials.

Types of Brick Masonary

1. Singular or half brick wall

The half or singular wall is made up of a single layer of bricks. It has a thickness of about 100mm or 4". The thickness of wall is depend on the size of the brick which may vary from country to country.


2. Double or full brick wall

The full or double wall is made up of a two layer of bricks. It has a thickness of about 200mm or 8".The thickness of wall is depend on the size of the brick which may vary from country to country.

Quality of Good Bricks

1. The bricks should be table moulded, well burnt in kilns, cooper coloured, free from cracks and with sqaure and sharp edges.
2. The bricks should be sufficiently hard. No impression should be left on brick surface, when it is scratched with finger nail.
3. The bricks should not break into pieces when dropped flat on hard ground from a height of about one meter (3 feet approx.)

4. The bricks when soaked in water for 24 hours should not show deposits of white salts when allowed to dry in shade.
5. The bricks should be uniform in shape and should be of standard size.
6. The bricks should give clear metallic ringing sound when struck with each other.
7. The bricks when broken or fractured should show a bright homogeneous and uniform compact structure free from voids.

Procedure to construct brick wall

1. Materials for Brickwork
Esitmate the number of bricks, cement and sand required using given calculator before starting a work. Always used good quality bricks and freshly mixed mortar. Use of old and stale mortar should be avoided.
2. Soaking of Bricks
Submerging bricks in a tank of clean water for 12 hours before usage is recommended. We need to keep soaking until the bubbles stop coming up.
3. Laying of Bricks
The bricks should be firmly bonded and placed in English bond with 8-10 mm (1/3") unless otherwise stated. Truly horizontal courses and plumb walls are essential. There should be some space between vertical joints in the same course, but they may overlap immediately if they are in the opposite direction.
4. Curing of Brickwork
For at least 20 days after laying, the bricks should be kept damp.

Points to be Considered in Supervising Brick Masonry Construction

1. It is recommended to use high-quality bricks.
2. Make sure that the brick courses are perfectly level.
3. To ensure the verticality of the wall, it is important to frequently check it with a plumb-bob.
4. When work is halted, it is recommended to leave the brick masonry with a toothed end.
5. It is advisable to refrain from using brick bats.
6. It is important to prevent the raising of walls by more than 1.5 meters (5 feet) in a single day.
7. To create a suitable surface for plastering or pointing, it is recommended to raise the face joints to a depth of 12 to 20mm.
8. It is recommended to cure brick masonry for a period of two weeks on a regular basis.
9. The recommended thickness for mortar joints is 10 mm in both horizontal and vertical directions.