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Bricks Today: History of Clay Bricks

Clay brick production is an important industry that many third world families depend on for income. Traditional kilns in Mexico use manual processes to mold, dry, and fire clay bricks, but the firing releases atmospheric pollution from the fuels used. Clay brick masonry has been used since ancient civilizations like Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Rome, and continued to be a dominant building material through medieval and modern times. Today, modern machinery has increased brick production efficiency, and bricks are commonly used globally in construction, with different manufacturing processes to make clay, calcium silicate, or concrete bricks in various colors, sizes, and shapes. Good quality bricks are weather resistant and cheaper than stone but some porous bricks can be susceptible to

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80 views

Bricks Today: History of Clay Bricks

Clay brick production is an important industry that many third world families depend on for income. Traditional kilns in Mexico use manual processes to mold, dry, and fire clay bricks, but the firing releases atmospheric pollution from the fuels used. Clay brick masonry has been used since ancient civilizations like Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Rome, and continued to be a dominant building material through medieval and modern times. Today, modern machinery has increased brick production efficiency, and bricks are commonly used globally in construction, with different manufacturing processes to make clay, calcium silicate, or concrete bricks in various colors, sizes, and shapes. Good quality bricks are weather resistant and cheaper than stone but some porous bricks can be susceptible to

Uploaded by

Juanitha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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INTRODUCTION

Production of clay bricks is a cottage industry on which many third-world families depend. In
Mexico there are around 8000 traditional kilns for clay-brick firing. The manual process involves
the preparation of a clayey mixture, which is then moulded, dried, and finally fired.
The firing process generates atmospheric pollution, as tires, firewood, wood residues, diesel oil,
and fuel oil are used as the fuel.
HISTORY OF CLAY BRICKS
Clay brick masonry is one of the oldest and most durable construction techniques used by
mankind. Masonry consists of manually built stable stacks of small elements, with or without
mortar. It was a fundamental building material in the Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Roman
periods. During the Roman period, the use of clay brick increased and became specialized in
order to maximize its benefits. Clay brick masonry continued to be used during medieval and
modern times.

Bricks Today
Bricks tend to be more commonly used in the construction of buildings than any other material,
with the exception of wood. Brick and terracotta architecture is dominant within its field and a
great industry has developed and invested in the manufacture of many different types of bricks
of all shapes and colours. With the advancement of modern machinery, earth moving
equipment, powerful electric motors and modern tunnel kilns, making bricks has become far
more productive and efficient than ever before. Bricks can be made from a variety of materials
the most common being clay but also calcium silicate and concrete. With clay bricks being the
most popular, they are now manufactured using three processes. These brick manufacturing
processes are soft mud, dry press and extruded. Also during 2007 the new 'fly ash' brick was
created using the by-products from coal power plants.
Good quality bricks have a major advantage over stone as they are reliable, weather resistant
and can tolerate acids, pollution and fire. Bricks can be made to any specification in colour, size
and shape which makes bricks much easier to build with than stone. Brickwork is also much
cheaper than cut stone work.
However there are some bricks which are more porous and therefore more susceptible to
dampness when they are exposed to water. For best results in any construction work, the
correct brick should be selected in accordance with the job specifications.
Also the temperature and firing time of the bricks affect its properties and this is explained in this
project.

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