Red brick: weight, size, varieties, specifications

Most often, it is red brick that is used for the construction of private houses and economic buildings. What is its attractiveness and what criteria do the owners follow when choosing red brick for building a house? What is its thermal conductivity, strength, moisture resistance, what is the weight of red brick? About all this and much more - in our article.

Why is the brick red?

Building red brick is made from special grades of clay, which, when fired, takes on a reddish hue. Such a brick in color can be more or less distinct red tones, often it is yellow or brown. This suggests that another type of clay is used for the brick mixture, or dyes were added to the mixture for decorative purposes. In any case, preference should be given only to trusted brands and manufacturers.

You should also pay attention to the inside of the brick. If, after breaking it, you find that it has turned black inside, it means that it was fired in violation. The technical characteristics of the red brick burned during the firing process will be much weaker, and the building made of it will be unreliable and short-lived.

Varieties of red brick

Depending on the purpose, the red brick can have different sizes, density, can be hollow or solid, and therefore vary in weight.

If someone will be interested to know more about the types of bricks and the prices for it, you can watch the following video.

Varieties by size

Despite the fact that the height of the block can be different, the so-called “bed” of bricks is always equal to the standard accepted by GOST, that is, the block is 120 cm wide and 250 cm long. The height varies as follows:

• single block - 65 cm;
• one and a half block (thickened) - 88 cm;
• double block - 140 cm.

Varieties of Density

Only facing varieties are more dense, since the structure of dense segments will be less cold-resistant. From school physics we know: the denser the material, the less air there is between its particles, and the more air the material, the better it retains heat, and vice versa.

But there are also basic building blocks with a high degree of density. And in order to make up for the lack of air in the materials of which they consist, peculiar air voids are made in them. Such a brick is called hollow, it loses somewhat in bearing capacity, but the weight of a red brick of such a formation is much lighter, which means that the mass itself will be lighter (if it is so critical for the foundation). And the heat in buildings whose walls are erected from hollow bricks will be better preserved. In addition, the advantage of a hollow brick is that it is usually cheaper than a full-bodied one.

Varieties by Weight

Here, everything also depends on the density of the resulting block and the properties of clay and other components that make up the mortar from which the brick is obtained. GOST stipulates the mass of bricks of various types. In particular, solid red brick may weigh between 3.5 and 3.9 kg. Types of hollow bricks differ from the degree of their voidness. For example, if the voidness of a block does not exceed 6%, at its density it almost does not differ in weight from a full-bodied one. If it is a regular facing brick with holes, it can weigh from 2.3 to 2.7 kg.

Varieties of water absorption and heat resistance

The denser the brick material, the lower its water absorption capacity. And since it is facing models that have a higher density, they can withstand the moisture with great effect. That is why the usual red corpulent brick, which makes up the base of the supporting wall, is surrounded on the outside by a number of facing ones. At the same time, this enhances the heat resistance of the building, since the front brick is usually hollow, which means that it protects the wall not only from moisture, but also from the cold.

Strength Varieties

Based on their strength characteristics, that is, the ability to withstand loads and other external physical influences, their strength marking is assigned to the bricks. For instance:

• If the brick belongs to the brand M100 or M125, it is not recommended to erect the walls of buildings more than 1 floor high from it, or, if this is a two-story building, use it only to build the walls of the 2nd floor.
• Also, no matter what the weight of the red brick is, it is not recommended to use the M150 brand for the construction of multi-story buildings. But it is suitable for the construction of 2-3-story houses.
• M300 is the most durable brick. They can be erected for walls of high-rise buildings of any number of floors.

But it will be superfluous to say that the stronger the brick, the more expensive it is. Therefore, it will be impractical for the construction of a one-story house to acquire the M150 brand. Incidentally, the non-standard size of red bricks will also cost more. Therefore, it will be cheaper not to invent innovations, but to manage with the most popular, running and simple building materials. The strength and durability of the building will not be affected in any way.

The table of correlations of the main parameters of the most common brands of red bricks

As already mentioned, the standard of red brick depends on its purpose, degree of emptiness and size. In the following table, you can track how the technical characteristics of some of the most demanded in the construction of brick grades vary depending on the mentioned parameters.

Appointment

Based on its features, red brick GOST 530-2012 is used in construction as follows:

1. Ordinary single corpulent is used for the construction of load-bearing walls of buildings. It also has varieties in block height - thickened and double. The use of higher bricks makes the construction of walls faster, makes it possible to save on cement, but the construction of such blocks is not always advisable and has a number of difficulties associated primarily with the fact that the weight of red bricks of such formations is unnecessarily heavy, and such material inconvenient in masonry.
   
2. Ordinary single hollow is used to warm the outside of the building, replacing one of the rows in the masonry. Despite the fact that the size of a red brick of such a formation is equal to the usual one, its density is less, and therefore, its bearing capacity is less. If someone would like to lay out the bearing walls of the building entirely from hollow bricks, he will have to significantly increase their width, which entails unnecessary expenses. But the walls of the internal (non-bearing) partitions of the building are recommended to be made of just such blocks. Due to its light weight, the building will put less pressure on the base, which will provide the foundation with a longer service life.
   
3. Facial single hollow is used only for external insulation of the main masonry. At the same time, it gives the building a pleasant appearance, which does not require external wall plastering after masonry.
   

Conclusion

Even though the weight of the red brick may be within the specified limits, the material may be of poor quality. In conclusion, I would like to share advice on how to determine its quality using improvised means. To do this, we need a regular hammer. Hit the brick and listen. If the sound is clear, the brick is of high quality. If muffled - it is better to abandon such a loose piece of "brick art".

Here's a video, watching which, you can get a concept about how quickly, without having any means at hand, to determine the quality of red brick.

And, of course, it is imperative to abandon bricks with burnt blackened edges, as well as with a black core, since even a light commercial building made of such burnt blocks will crack in the very first years of its service.