Since humanity has learned to build walls and ceilings, and this process has been going on non-stop for several thousand years, it has not had time to invent a more reliable building material than brick. The most common in construction practice is ceramic red brick, but also silicate brick, the weight of which is slightly larger, also has its own wide area of application. In its composition and a number of parameters, it differs from red brick both for the better and for the worse.
Silicate brick: dimensions, weight and application features
First of all, this building material is different in composition. Unlike red ceramic, silicate white brick is made from sand and lime by autoclaving. Sometimes, by adding some mineral dyes, decorative properties are given to it. The weight of a single silicate brick ranges from three to three and a half kilograms. The difference in weight is due to the heterogeneity of the starting materials and the moisture content. One and a half and double bricks differ only in one of the linear sizes and are heavier in one and a half and two times respectively. In the modern construction market, along with other types of bricks and building blocks, the consumer is also offered silicate brick, the weight and strength properties of which make it the main structural material for the construction of load-bearing walls and supporting nodes of floors. Silicate brick is superior to ceramic in most mechanical parameters. But its scope is limited. From it it is impossible to erect the walls of basement floors in contact with the ground, as well as furnaces and chimneys.
Economic forces
This type of brick is cheaper than others. This circumstance forces us to choose silicate brick from all possible building materials. Its weight is a minus during transportation, but a plus during construction and installation works. Silicate brick walls can carry a much greater load. A complete rejection of the traditional red brick is not possible. But a reasonable replacement of it with silicate in those places where it is possible and permissible, can save significant financial resources and material resources.
Features of transportation and storage
Most often, on those unloading and commercial sites where wholesale of building materials is carried out, silicate brick is purchased. Its weight should be taken into account when choosing a vehicle. Not the fact that one onboard car is able to take away the same amount of red and silicate brick. Lifting capacity must comply. In addition, silicate brick requires special storage conditions at the construction site. It must be isolated from atmospheric precipitation in the form of rain and wet snow. A simple plastic wrap may not be enough. The optimal solution to the problem is the storage of silicate brick under a special canopy.