Natural stone has long been one of the main materials for construction. However, everything changed with the advent of modern building material – bricks. A person could independently give the finished product the desired characteristics. Every day you can see the use of this building material in a variety of variations. Today it’s not a problem to purchase a standard brick yourself: you can find out the sizes and selection criteria in this article.
Where standard brick is used: sizes and varieties
Brick is a versatile material that is used in many areas of construction. There are several types and standards of bricks size. The right choice of material – the key to a successful result of your work.
Depending on the material of manufacture, as well as on the characteristics of the product, bricks can be divided into four main groups:
- Ordinary red brick.
- White silicate brick.
- Ceramic brick.
- Facing brick.
The main areas of use of bricks:
- the erection of walls (including the bearing);
- foundation laying;
- construction of ground floors;
- arrangement of basements;
- facing facades;
- building stairs;
- construction of brick partitions in houses;
- masonry fireplaces and stoves.
The most common use of the usual red brick. Its technical characteristics are excellent for performing a wide variety of different types of work. Including the construction of an elevator shaft, columns, arches of buildings. Often ordinary red brick is used to lay the foundation of low-rise buildings.
If we talk about the construction of stairs, in this case it is better to use a ceramic product. It is more resistant to moisture, temperature and other environmental influences. In addition, ceramics are relatively easy to mechanical impact, which allows, if necessary, to cut bricks.
Distinguish single, double and one-and-a-half brick, the sizes of each type will be considered below.
In the process of development of the construction craft, certain standards were developed to which the material must conform. The size of a single brick: 120 mm in width, 250 mm in length and 65 mm in height. This size of bricks is considered ideal for laying with alternating longitudinal and transverse placement.
Red brick is a versatile material that is produced by roasting compressed clay briquettes. Most often used for the construction of foundations, walls, partitions. It is also used for laying stoves and fences.
Avoid the purchase of burnt bricks. They can be seen with the naked eye on the black, scorched middle and scorched edges. For most construction works, such material cannot be used, but it is suitable for laying the foundation.
The weight of a solid brick is from 3.5 to 3.8 kg. One cubic meter of red brick weighs about 1,700 kg and holds about 480 pieces. On the packaging, the manufacturer necessarily indicates the pressure that this material can withstand in compression in kg / cm ?, for example, 76, 100, 125, 200, etc.
Helpful advice! A properly baked brick will make a clear, sonorous sound when struck.
White or silicate brick is made on the basis of silicate, which is why it got its name. Durable and lightweight material, which is used mainly for the construction of walls and partitions. Such bricks are never used for laying foundations, stoves, pipes, fireplaces or socles. Standard size of white brick: 250x120x88 mm.
Helpful advice! Knowing the modular size of the brick, you can design a future design and calculate the required amount of material.
The material familiar to all of us, which, in turn, is divided into construction and facing. Separate views emit furnace brick. The size and comfortable shape allow for smooth, smooth laying without excessive seams. The standard furnace brick size is 250x125x65 mm.
Since this material is used for laying in very important places, it is unacceptable to use bricks, even with a small marriage. It is easy to check the quality of the bricks – when tapping, the refractory bricks should make a metallic sound. When splitting should crumble into large pieces. Poor-quality, unburned material will accumulate moisture, which can lead to the destruction of the structure. Kiln brick is more expensive than usual, but it is fireproof and retains heat well. The size of the refractory bricks is always the same.
Helpful advice! Instead of the furnace it is acceptable to use fireclay bricks. The dimensions and characteristics of this material fully meet all requirements.
Decorative brick is used for laying walls, while providing a smooth, smooth surface. Its correct shape allows the product to be used as a final wall finish both inside and outside the house. In this case, the glossy surface of the outer walls of the brick gives the surface a special chic.
It is for these qualities that decorative bricks are often called “front” or “front”. There are no difficulties in working with this type of material, except for the need to pay special attention to cutting seams. The size of the facing brick can be different depending on the type: single, one and a half or double.
The standard size of facing bricks does not differ from the usual equivalent. Exceptions are handicrafts. Non-standard sizes of single facing bricks can be 210x100x50 mm, 240x115x52 mm or 210x100x65 mm.
Such sizes of single facing bricks are not produced in factories, and they are much higher. Always available in limited editions. They are used for the restoration of old buildings or the implementation of original building ideas.
The size of one and a half facing handmade bricks can also be very different, for example, 240x115x71 mm. The use of bricks of this size looks extremely advantageous.
Double facing bricks of non-standard sizes come in a format 240x115x113 or 190x90x90 mm.
It is up to you whether to use a standard-sized facing brick for finishing a house, or to purchase more expensive handmade materials. However, before buying, it is better to consult with a specialist who can explain all the nuances of working with a specific type of bricks.
Before you buy a brick, you must accurately understand the purpose of its acquisition. It will determine the necessary properties of the material.
The color of the brick depends on the clay from which it is made. The most common option – krasnozhguschayusya clay mass. It gives the finished product the red color we are used to. Less commonly, white, apricot or yellowish clay bricks can be found, for the manufacture of which white-burning clay is used. It happens that a special pigment is added to the starting material to get the desired color or shade.
Ordinary brick is great for building walls and building structures of any complexity. Standard sizes of an ordinary brick: 250х120х56 mm.
In the future, it requires additional finishing, for example, plastering. The facing material has such smooth and smooth surfaces that it does not need additional finishing. However, the prices and sizes of facing bricks are much more diverse.
Helpful advice! Bricks can have a relief pattern on the surface, designed for better adhesion with plaster.
An important criterion for choosing a brick is strength, that is, the ability of a material not to collapse under the influence of external loads. For the construction of a low-rise building, it is enough for a brick to withstand a load of 100 kg per cm. If it is a question of building a multi-story building, then the indicator should be at least 150. The strength of each particular batch is always indicated by the manufacturer on the packaging.
Another important indicator of the quality of bricks – frost resistance. This value is measured in cycles and using tests determined for each brand of brick separately. The finished product is first placed in water and then in the freezer. The duration of stay in each environment is 8 hours. This is one cycle, which is repeated until the material begins to visually change its characteristics.
Multi-storey buildings and industrial buildings, according to the norms, are built of bricks with frost resistance of at least 35 cycles. However, the market presents products with a variety of indicators. You can easily find 25 and 15 cycles. The cost of a material with a low rate will be much lower, but will you have to regret it over time? If you are not sure which option to choose, it is better to contact a specialist who will help you choose the brick that is suitable for your climate and type of construction.
Today, there are two options for the size of bricks: standard and non-standard. As previously mentioned, the standard length is 250 mm, width is 120 mm, and height is 65 mm. Such parameters are associated not only with the fact that such a brick is the most convenient to use and fits well in your hand. The fact is that during the construction process, the bricks are perpendicular to each other, alternating the longitudinal and transverse sides.
Look at the numbers and you will notice that the standard numbers are practically multiple to one another. And it facilitates any calculations, work with such material and minimizes the need for cutting bricks.
Often you can find bricks of non-standard sizes. They have the same length and width as the standard, and differ only in the height of the stone. For example, the thickness of a one-and-a-half products is 88 mm, and double – 138 mm. Such materials are mainly used for decorative purposes. They are well decorated with houses, roofs and facades.
For example, a good choice of color and size of facing bricks: yellow one-and-a-half or double brown.
Another of the characteristics of a brick is its weight. For different types of products, this indicator is completely different. Thus, the weight of a standard ceramic or silicate brick is 3.8-4 kg. Moreover, if the brick has inside the cavity, then it will weigh less. Therefore, during the design, they do not take into account the weight of each brick, but only the specific masonry, that is, the weight of 1 cubic meter of building material plus the weight of the required amount of cement mortar.
The proportion of masonry can range from 600kg / m? up to 1800 kg / m? and depends on the weight of each brick. By calculating at the design stage the weight of the future building, you can make adjustments to laying the foundation, thus making the structure more durable and reliable.
The size of the structure will always be a multiple of the width of the brick. If we talk about the standard size of facing bricks, then this value will be 120 mm. Depending on the number of layers, the width of the wall can be 120, 250, 380, 510 mm, etc. In this calculation, 10 mm of the seam between the bricks is necessarily taken into account.
The exception to the rule can be considered only thin partitions, which are made of ceramic brick, placed on the edge. Accordingly, in this case, the width of the partition corresponds to the width of the brick – 65 mm.
Openings and short walls are always designed so that they are multiples of the size of the brick. Otherwise, there is a need for cutting bricks of the desired size, which significantly increases the complexity of the process.
Brick has always been and will be a popular building material. This product is difficult to replace with anything in modern construction, due to its high technical characteristics. So if you are planning to build your own house, you should definitely consider bricks as the main material for work. Despite its simplicity, bricks are very diverse, which makes it possible to embody unusual design ideas and the most original ideas.
