CONSTRUCTION

MATERIALS
BRICKS, STONE AND CONCRETE HALLO
BLOCKS
BRICKS
INTRODUCTION
BRICKS IS AN OLD BUILDING MATERIAL
SINCE VERY LONG TIME. BRICK IS USED IN
CONSTRUCTION OF THE BUILDING BECAUSE
OF ITS GOOD LOAD BEARING CAPACITY,
LONG LIFE, AND STRENGTH.
BRICKS ARE MADE UP OF GOOD CLAY AND
MOLDED IN RECTANGULAR SHAPE OF
UNIFORM SIZE THEN DRIED AND BURNED.
AS BRICKS ARE IN UNIFORM SIZE THEY CAN
BE BEAUTIFULLY LAID IN MASONRY WORK. IT
CAN ALSO BE CARRIED TO TOP OF THE
BUIDING DUE TO ITS LOW WEIGHT. BRICKS
ARE PREFERRED BECAUSE OF ITS
DURABILITY, STRENGTH, RELIABILITY, LOW
COST ETC.
SIZE AND WEIGHT OF
BRICKS
BRICKS ARE PREPARED IN
VARIOUS SIZES. CUSTOM IN THE
LOCALITY IS THE GOVERNING
FACTOR FOR DECIDING THE SIZE
OF A BRICK. SUCH BRICKS WHICH
ARE NOT STANDARDIZED ARE
KNOWN AS THE TRADITIONAL
BRICKS.
BIS HAS RECOMMENDEWD THE
BRICKS OF UNIFORM SIZE. SUCH
BRICKS ARE KNOWN AS THE
MODULAR BRICKS.
• STANDARD/MODULAR :
SIZE: 190MM X 90MM X
90MM AND
190MM X 90MM X 40MM
• CONVENTIONAL/TRADITIONAL
BRICKS :
SIZE: 230MM X 110MM X
70MM
• THE AVERAGE WEIGHT OF A
BRICK WILL BE ABOUT 3.00 TO
3.50 KG
CLASSIFICATION OF
BRICKS
• UN-BURNT BRICKS
• BURNT BRICKS
FIRST TYPE OF BRICK MAY BE
BURNT IN SUNLIGHT, OR WHEN
BURNT IN KILN IT MAY NOT BE
BURNT WELL. THE UNBURNT
BRICKS ARE USED TO
CONSTRUCT TEMPORARY
STRUCTURES.
SECOND TYPE OF BRICKS IS
WELL BURNT BRICKS WHICH CAN
PROPERTIES OF A GOOD
BRICKS
GOOD BRICKS ARE USED FOR THE
CONSTRUCTION OF IMPORTANT
STRUCTURES. THEY SHOULD
POSSESS FOLLOWING QUALITIES.
• BRICK SHOULD BE TABLE –
MOUNTED, WELL BURNT IN KILNS,
COPPER COLOURED, FREE FROM
VRACKS AND WITH SHARP AND
SQUARE EDGE.
• BRICKS SHOULD GIVE CLEAR
RINGING SOUND WHEN STUCK
WITH EACH OTHER.
• BRICKS WHEN BROKEN
SHOULD SHOW
HOMOGENEOUS AND COMPACT
STRUCTURE FREE FROM VOIDS.
• BRICK SHOULD NOT ABSORB
WATER MORE THAN 15PERCENT
OF WEIGHT FOR FIRST CALSS
BRICKS AND 15 TO 20 PERCENT
BY WEIGHT FOR SECOND CLASS
BRCIKS, WHEN SOAKED IN
WATER FOR 24HRS.
• BRICKS SHOULD BE
• BRICKS SHOULD NOT BREAK
INTO PIECES WHEN DOPPED
FLAT ON HARD GROUND FROM
HEIGHT OF ONE METER.
• BRICKS WHEN SOAKED IN
WATER FOR 24HRS SHOULD
NOT SHOW DEPOSITS OF
WHITE SALTS WHEN DRIED IN
SHADE
• THE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
OF BRICK SHALL NOT BE LESS
THAN 55KG/CM^2
USES OF BRICKS
• BRICKS ARE CUSED IN WALL
CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDING
• BATS OF BRICK ARE USED IN
CONCRETE IN FOUNDATION
WORK
QUALITY OF BRICKS
• SOAKED BRICKS
THE STRENGTH OF BRICK DECREASES
BY ABOUT 25% WHEN SOAKED IN WATER.

• STRUCTURE
BRICK WHEN BROKEN SHOULD BE
HOMOGENEOUS IN STRUCTURE,
COMPACT AND FREE HOLE, CRACKS,
FISSURES, AIR BUBBLES, LIMPS, PEBBLES,
STONES AND LIME PARTICLES.

• SOUNDNESS
THE QUALITY OF BRICK IS SAID TO BE
GOOD IF THERE IS A CLEAR RINGING
METALLIC SOUND WHEN TWO BRICKS
ARE STUCK TOGETHER.
• SHAPE AND SIZE
THE BRICK SHOULD BE RECTANGULAR
WITH STRAIGHT AND SHARP EDGES. ALL
BRICKS SHOULD HAVE THE SAME
DIMENSIONS AND NO BROKEN CORNERS
OR EDGES. THE SIZE OF THE BRICKS
VARIES SLIGHLY FROM REGION TO REGION
IN INDIA.

• FALL TEST
A BRICK SHOULD NOT VREAK WHEN
DROPPED FLAT ON HARD GROUND FROM A
HEIGHT OF ABOUT ONE METER

• SCRATCH TEST
A GOOD BURNED BRICK HAS SURFACE
SOO HARD THAT THE FINGERNAIL CANNOT
SCRATCH IT.
STONES
INTRODUCTION
IN THE EARLY DAYS MAN LIVED IN CAVES
AND HUTS WITH BROKEN TREES AND
LEAVES. LATTER ON STONES WERE USED
FOR BUILDING BETTER HUTS. IN
CONSTRUCTION OF TEMPLES, STONES
WERE USED IN FOUNDATION, WALLS, ROOF
SLABS AND PAVEMENTS.
A STONE HAS THE FF:
• HARD, ROUGH, DRY, HEAVY, SMOOTH
• RESISTS TO WATER, HEAT, COLD,
WEATHERING
• HAS NO MAJOR DEFECT SUCH AS HOLES
OR CRACKS
• HARD RINGING SOUND
USES OF STONES
STONE ARE LARGELY USED IN MANY
PERMANENT ENGINEERING WORKS ON
ACCOUNT OF THE DURABILITY AND THE
LEAST EXPENSIVE UPKEEP OF SUCH
STRUCTURES. THE PRINCIPAL USES OF
STONE IN CONSTRUCTION ARE:
• MATERIALS FOR FOUNDATION AND
WALLING OF BUILDINGS, DAMS,
BRIDGES, ETC.
• MATERIALS FOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION
AND CONCRETE MAKING IN THE FORM
OF BROKEN OR CRUSHED STONES
• THIN SLABS FOT PAVING
• ORNAMENTAL WORKS
• ROOFING TILES IN THE FORM OF SLATES
• LIMES STONE FOR MANUFACTURE OF
CEMENT.
• BANDAGE FOR FLOORING AND COVERING
ROAD SURFACE
QUALITY TEST
THERE ARE SEVERAL TEST POSSIBLE TO
DEFINE THE QUALITYOF A STONE. HOWEVER,
IN THE FIELD THERE ARE BASICALLY THREE
TEST WHERE ONE CAN DEFINE THE SUITABLE
QUALITY OF STONE

• HAMMER TEST
TAKE A HAMMER AND CHECK THE STONE
FOR ITS SOUND. A HARD RINGING SOUND
INDICATES THAT THE STONE IS OF GOOD
QUALITY AND HAS NO MAJOR DEFECT SUCH AS
HOLES OR CRACKS.
• VISIBLE TEST
CHECK THE STONE FOR ANY
DEFECTS SUCH AS CRACKS,
PATCHES WITH SOFT MATERIALS,
DICOLORING ETC.

• POROSITY OR ABSORPTION
TEST
WEIGHT A STONE OF
REASONABLE SIZE AND PLACE IT
FOR 24HRS INTO A WATER-
BUCKET. A GOOD BUILDING
STONE SHOULD NOT ABSORB
MORE THAN 5% OF ITS WEIGHT
CONCRETE HALLOW BLOCKS
INTRODUCTION:
A concrete masonry unit (CMU) is a standard size
rectangular block used in building construction. CMUs are
some of the most versatile building products available
because of the wide variety of appearances that can be
achieved using concrete masonry units.
Those that use cinders (fly ash or bottom ash) are
called cinder blocks in the United States, breeze
blocks (breeze is a synonym of ash) in the United Kingdom,
and hollow blocks in the Philippines. In New Zealand and
Canada they are known as concrete blocks (a name
common in the United States also). In New Zealand, they
are also called construction blocks. In Australia they are
also called Besser blocks and Besser bricks, because
the Besser Company was a major supplier of machines that
made concrete blocks. Clinker blocks use clinker as
aggregate. In non-technical usage, the terms cinder
block and breeze block are often generalized to cover all of
these varieties.
SIZES AND STRUCTURES
• The use of blockwork allows structures to be built in the
traditional masonry style with layers (or courses) of staggered
blocks. Concrete blocks may be produced with hollow centers
(cores) to reduce weight or improve insulation. Blocks come in
modular sizes, with the most popular typically referred to (by
their thickness) as "4-inch", "6-inch", "8-inch", and "12-inch". In
the US, CMU blocks are nominally 16 in (410 mm) wide and 8 in
(200 mm) long. Their actual dimensions are their nominal
dimensions, minus 3⁄8 inch (9.5 mm) any direction (to allow for
mortar joints regardless of their orientation as laid).In Ireland
and the UK, blocks are usually 440 mm × 215 mm × 100 mm
(17.3 in × 8.5 in × 3.9 in) excluding mortar joints. In Australia,
New Zealand and Canada, blocks are usually 390 mm
× 190 mm × 190 mm (15.4 in × 7.5 in × 7.5 in) excluding
mortar joints.
• Block cores are typically tapered so that their top surface (as
laid) has a greater surface on which to spread a mortar bed and
for easier handling. Most CMU's have two cores, but three- and
four-core units are also produced. A core also allows for the
insertion of steel reinforcement to span courses in order to
increase tensile strength. This is accomplished by grouting the
voids of blocks containing rebar with concrete. Thus reinforced,
CMU walls are better able to resist lateral forces such as wind
load and seismic forces.
 A variety of specialized shapes exist to allow special
construction features. U-shaped blocks or knockout
blocks with notches to allow the construction of bond
beams or lintel assemblies, using horizontal reinforcing
grouted into place in the cavity. Blocks with a channel
on the end, known as "jamb blocks", allow doors to be
secured to wall assemblies. Blocks with grooved ends
permit the construction of control joints, allowing a filler
material to be anchored between the un-mortared block
ends. Other features, such as radiused corners known
as "bullnoses" may be incorporated. A wide variety of
decorative profiles also exist.
Concrete masonry units may be formulated with
special aggregates to produce specific colors or textures
for finish use. Special textures may be produced by
splitting a ribbed or solid two-block unit; such factory-
produced units are called "split-rib" or "split-face"
blocks.Blocks may be scored by grooves the width of a
mortar joint to simulate different block modules. For
example, an 8-by-16-inch (200 mm × 410 mm) block
may be scored in the middle to simulate 8-by-8-inch
(200 mm × 200 mm) masonry, with the grooves filled
with mortar and struck to match the true joints.
USES
Concrete block, when built with integral
steel reinforcing or in tandem with concrete
columns and tie beams and reinforced with
rebar, is a very common building material
for the load-bearing walls of buildings, in
what is termed concrete block
structure (CBS) construction.
American suburban houses typically employ
a concrete foundation and slab with a
concrete block wall on the perimeter. Other
common uses for concrete block wall is
interior fire-rated partition walls, and
exterior backup wall for attachment of
building envelope systems and façades.
STRUCTURAL
PROPPERTIES
• Concrete masonry walls may be ungrouted,
partially grouted, or fully grouted, the latter two
enhancing their structural strength. Additionally,
steel reinforcement bars (rebar can be used both
vertically and horizontally inside a CMU wall to
maximize its structural performance. The cells in
which the rebar is placed must be grouted for the
bars to bond to the wall. For this reason, high
seismic zones typically only allow fully grouted
walls in their building codes. The American design
code that guides design engineers in using CMU as
a structural system is the Masonry Standards Joint
Committee's Building Code Requirements &
Specification for Masonry Structures (TMS 402/ACI
530/ASCE 5). The compressive strength of concrete
masonry units and masonry walls varies from
approximately 1,000 psi (7 MPa) to 5,000 psi
(34 MPa) based on the type of concrete used to
manufacture the unit, stacking orientation, the type
of mortar used to build the wall, and other factors.