How to check brick quality

Bricks are the basic need or first priority for any construction site or project. Bricks are one of the materials which differentiate the hall into the partition rooms. It is the first choice or prime concern of construction projects to use the best quality of bricks. In this post, we learn about how to check the quality of bricks.

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Quality of good bricks

Bricks are the basic need or first priority for any construction site or project. Bricks are one of the materials which differentiate the hall into the partition rooms. It is the first choice or prime concern of construction projects to use the best quality of bricks. In this post, we learn about how to check the quality of bricks.

Quality of good bricks

• A good brick should have a regular rectangular face with sharp and well defined edged.
• A good brick should have a uniform in color, size, and shape.
• It should be clean, smooth free from flaws and cracks, grits and nodules of lime, etc.
• A good brick should be strong enough to take a specified load of the structure.
• It should have a minimum crushing strength of 105kg/cm².
• Ordinarily, a good brick should not break when dropped out over another brick from a height of 1.25 meters.
• A good brick should be sufficiently hard which can be tested by a fingernail. No marks should be left on the surface of the brick when scratched with a thumbnail.
• A good brick should show a fine, compact, and uniform structure in a broken form.
• A good brick should be able to resist the effect of weathering agencies like rain, temperature variations, frost action, etc. should be less porous so that it may not absorb more than 20% of water by its weight when immersed in cold water for 24 hours.
• A good brick should not contain many salts which may cause efflorescence on its surface and decay the bricks.
• A good brick should have enough resistance to fire. Ordinarily, brick can resist temperature up to 1200 C. Bricks to be used for the lining of furnaces, etc. should be a special quality. For this purpose bricks, known as fire bricks, should be used.
• It should be sound-proof.
• It should not be changed in volume when immersed in water for any time duration.
• It should not be over burnt or under burnt and irregular.
• It should be produced a metallic sound when struck with each other.

Specification while checking the quality of brick 

1. Color
2. Compressive strength
3. Size & shape
4. Texture
5. Water Absorption
6. Hardness
7. Soundness
8. Surface finish
9. Homogeneity
10. Efflorescence

Color:-

Good quality of brick should be well burnt and have in color red and copper here are many colors brick-like red, yellow, orange and black. Good brick can be examined by color, Yellow color of brick is indicating the poor quality of brick and 3rd class or under burnt which is used in only foundation brickwork. The black color of brick is determined by the over burnt which is not in uniform shape and size and indicating the bad quality of brick. Only red cherry color of brick are the best quality and well burnt, uniform in shape and size with a sharp edge.

Compressive strength:-

• The compressive strength of brick is the most important property which influences the compression load. If the brick is good quality its compressive strength is more and distributes the compression load easily without any failure or cracks

Here are some compressive strength parameter of brick according to their quality and classes:-

1. I^st Class Brick       - 10N/mm² (102kg/cm²)
2. II^nd Class Brick    - 7N/mm²(71kg/cm²)
3. III^rd Class Brick   - 3.5N/mm²(36kg/cm²)

Shape and Size:-

Brick should be rectangular in shape with sharp edges. It should free from bulk edges which required more mortar which increases the cost of the building.
We commonly used brick in building having size is 230mm X 115mm X 75mm, But the standard size of brick as per IS 190mm X 90mm X90mm.

Texture:-

The brick texture should be smooth, rough and uniform. The texture of brick is the most important property of brick is presents the quality of brick after brickwork is done. The rough and uniform texture of brick is appropriate of plaster. If 1st class brick is used, there is no need for plaster.

Water absorption:-

Bricks should not absorb water by 20% of its dry weight when immersed in cold water for 2 hours. If it absorbed more than 20 % of water which affects the property of bonding because excess amount of water results floating of mortar and decreasing in bonding. If the brick absorbed water less then 20% it also affects bonding because brick absorbs water from the mortar hence decreasing in the strength of bonding.

Hardness:-

Brick should be hard in property, it can be checked by fingernails. There should not any scratch on the surface of the brick when scratched with fingernails on the surface of the brick.

Soundness:-

The soundness property of brick can be checked easily by manual. When two bricks are struck with each other there should be produced a metallic ringing sound. If the brick has broken when struck with one another, it fails the property of soundness.

Surface finish:-

Good quality of brick should be free from bulk edges, air bubble, irregular shape, cracks, flaws, and holes in the brick surface. When it has broken half it should be show uniform and free from the air or lump.

Homogeneity:-

Good quality of brick should be homogeneous, which completes all quality of brick and well compacted and zero lump.

Efflorescence:-

A brick should be free from sodium, potassium, etc. It can be checked by eyes if a brick presence any white patches on its surface these can be sodium-potassium salt.
When the brick contains such salt-like sodium-potassium on the surface of the brick and, contact with water and air it initiates a chemical reaction, which dissolved the brick in fine sand this phenomenon is known as Efflorenscece which is harmful to plastering.