Red bricks: description and variations

The most popular and well-known building materials rightly recognized as red brick. Buildings from it can be found on every street. A variety of buildings are made from such elements, from outbuildings to multi-storey buildings. Today we will take a closer look at these popular building materials and find out what types of it exist.

Red brick, like many other building materials, has both positive and negative sides. They should definitely be familiar if you plan to purchase such a product.

At first we will consider, than these products are good.

• The red brick can brag of rather long service life without loss of an attractive look.
• This building material is presented in the widest range. In the relevant outlets you can easily find options for a variety of shapes and sizes. From them it will turn out to form designs of the most different structure.
• This building material is rightfully recognized as one of the most simple and unpretentious in masonry, so both experienced craftsmen and beginners can work with it.
• Buildings from this raw material are soundproofed.

• High-quality red brick is not afraid of high moisture and moisture content, so you can safely build bath-type rooms from it.
• If wet, the red brick dries quickly.
• Thanks to this material, the dwelling creates the most comfortable microclimate, in which conditions it is a pleasure.
• A number of defects that may appear on the surface of such building materials can be eliminated independently.
• Properly made red brick is not afraid of either low or high temperature values.
• The front brick differs in an aesthetic way, therefore it is often used for the purpose of facing.
• This building material is environmentally friendly and does not harm either human health or the environment.

Unfortunately, the red brick is not without flaws. Consider them.

• The walls erected from this building material are bad in that the resulting efflorescence is immediately visible on them. As a rule, such defects appear due to the use of low-quality solution or the material itself.
• Porous bricks cannot boast of high reliability, since during the cold period they are particularly strongly affected by the detrimental effects of water. In such conditions, these products begin to break down. Liquid inside a brick at low temperatures can easily break it.
• Different batches of bricks may have slight differences in shade, which can spoil the overall picture when facing.
• In modern retail outlets too often there are lots of red bricks that are of poor quality. As a rule, they are issued for good products, but actually leave much to be desired.In many cases, at a glance, defining a second-rate brick is simply unrealistic.
• When choosing the best options, it is not possible to check absolutely all of their qualities without referring to specialists and special laboratories.

Red brick is a common building material that many users turn to. Buildings and houses of various configurations are built from it. This building material has certain characteristics that should be considered when choosing it.

• Strength characteristics. Red brick is a fairly strong building material. This parameter is indicated by the letter “M” and a number. These designations should pay attention to the selection of high-quality and suitable products. Distinguish bricks "M" 25-100. The higher the digital marking, the more impressive the load is able to withstand a material per square meter. cm.
• Resistance to frost. Low temperature resistance is measured by the number of cycles. Each cycle consists of 2 main procedures - first the brick is immersed in water for 8 hours, and then for the same time period it is moved to the freezer.The level of resistance to frost is determined at the moment when building materials change some of their characteristics.
• Thermal conductivity. This characteristic is no less important than the same frost resistance. The coefficient of thermal conductivity indicates the amount of heat that can pass through the wall with a thickness of 1 meter in terms of temperature difference of 1 degree on both sides. This indicator is measured in watts. The more significant it is, the weaker the heat-conducting properties of building material are.

The main characteristics of this building material are directly dependent on the components present in its composition. A high-quality product can be obtained using good clay. So, the front type of brick is obtained from small fraction clay. The best is the material that is made from a clay composition without additional additives.In most cases, bricks are made from such clay, which is not suitable for the preparation of other ceramic products.

It should also be noted that in the production of red bricks are often used ingredients, the contents of which are present:

• kaolinite;
• illite;
• montmorillonite;
• quartz.

The primary properties of clay intended for the production of bricks include:

• high plasticity - the raw material should not be crumbly, if it is kneaded, and also should keep its shape (you can find absolutely non-plastic clay less often);
• binding capacity - the clay remains sufficiently plastic after the addition of auxiliary components;
• shrinkage - in this case, a change in size during drying and firing is implied;
• property of baking - here the ability to harden when heated is meant;
• fire resistance - in the course of heating the clay should not melt.

In many cases, in the manufacture of high-quality red brick is used not only one clay, but also various additives. They allow you to end up with a more reliable and attractive building material. These additives include:

• slag, ash and sand;
• coal and peat powder, sawdust;
• ore with iron;
• sandstone;
• metal oxide.

Manufacturing technology of high-quality red brick is quite simple and understandable. In this case, it is extremely important to choose the right raw materials and process them correctly. Processing during such works is carried out in several stages. The required shape, appearance and structure of the popular building material is formed through the following steps.

• First crush the clay. After that, it is thoroughly mixed for a long time, until the consistency becomes homogeneous.
• After that, make additional components and give the products the desired shape.
• Then the bricks are set to dry so that moisture is gone from them. It should evaporate slowly from all sides (inside too). If at this stage mistakes were made, then the resulting brick will simply crack and collapse.
• Next, the resulting material is subjected to firing at a temperature of 800 degrees. The higher the melting point, the stronger the individual components of the product will be connected to each other.In this case, the masonry material will not be destroyed or deformed.

Experts say that competent burning of red brick is possible to determine by sound. It should be quite sonorous and clean on impact. This indicator will indicate a good quality product.

Currently, there are several varieties of red brick. They differ in a number of characteristics.

• Ceramic. This type of red brick is recognized as standard and is most common. Ceramic specimens are made of baked clay or a combination of several varieties of it (usually no more than 3).

• Silicate. Such a brick is made in a special autoclave. At the same time apply sand and a lime. The colors of the finished material depends on the additives used.

• Private. This is a simple material of red color, used in the construction of wall structures, cesspools and other similar grounds.

• Facial. Chamotte and porcelain bricks fall into this category, the top layer of which is covered with a special crumb. Such options are used for the purpose of cladding and decorative works. Such varieties are expensive.

• Hollow. This type of red brick is porous and consists of a large number of different sized holes. It is characterized by good thermal properties.

• Full bodied This is a brick in which there is no pore. Such materials are usually characterized by weak thermal properties, but are more dense.

• Convex. Such varieties of red brick are produced and a half, and single. They have a non-standard form and are more expensive than classical clay specimens.

Choosing a suitable batch of red brick requires special attention to be given to its marking. So, the height parameter of these materials is indicated as follows:

• 1 NF (single variants) - 6.5 cm;
• 1.4 NF (one and a half) - 8.8 cm;
• 2.1 nf (double) - 14 cm

Another red brick is equipped with a mark in the form of the letter “M” and numbers from 50 to 300. These figures indicate the greatest pressure (as mentioned earlier - with a difference of 1 degree on both sides). So, products with M50 markings can be used only in the manufacture of fences or partitions.

As for any types of walls, it is recommended to use a brick brand M75 or M100. If you need to build a spectacular arched structure, then you need to refer to materials with a grade not lower than M125. For the preparation of bases and foundations it is worth to use brick M175 and M150, as well as use other, more durable materials.

The scope of quality red brick is very wide. This sought-after building material is used in the manufacture of the following bases:

• walls;
• fences;
• arched structures;
• partitions;
• sidewalks;
• enclosing and supporting structures;
• decorative trim / cladding;
• fireplaces;
• chimneys;
• in the manufacture of furnaces;
• make brick and plinths from bricks.

When choosing a suitable batch of a popular and durable red brick, special attention should be paid to the following important parameters.

• Dimensions. Choosing a red brick, pay attention to its dimensional parameters. Thus, the standard options have dimensions - 250x120x65 mm, one and a half (modular) - 250 × 120 × 88 mm and 250 × 120 × 130 mm, narrow - 250 × 60 × 65 mm, thin - 250 × 22 × 65 mm. And also it is necessary to take into account the mass / density of the chosen material on the basis of its structure (hollow or full-bodied).
• No damage. Inspect carefully selected materials. On high-quality red brick should not be serious damage and chips. In addition, such products should not have a pale pink shade - this will indicate that the products have not been properly burned. A brick should be struck - the sound of the blow should not be deaf.
• Strength. Make sure that your chosen brick is durable and reliable. To check these properties, you can hit the element with a hammer. After these checks, low-grade variants turn into rubble, elements of medium strength are broken into several small pieces after several blows, and high-strength varieties of such a brick only sparkle at blows.

• The presence of defects. Look at the surface of the red brick. On the surface of these building materials, noticeable whitish stains are often observed, representing a marriage arising from the release of soluble salts to the building materials surface. Exposure of brick to salting cannot be determined by conventional methods. To do this, usually carry out special chemical analyzes.
• Diligent seller. Experts recommend purchasing red brick from trusted vendors who have a good reputation in your city. In addition, it is not advised to purchase too cheap lots, as they may turn out to be of poor quality.

For how bricks are made, see the next video.