Course Title: Building Construction and

Cost Estimation
Course Code: AG312

Course Coordinator
Name: Dr Jagriti Gupta
Designation: Assistant Professor
Department: Civil Engineering
Email ID: [email protected]
Lesson no: 2 - Bricks
Expected Course Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
•Understand the properties and applications of key building materials and components, including their design and
construction techniques.
•Gain knowledge of agricultural and roofed building designs, sustainable practices, and conservation principles.
•Analyze construction economics, including cost estimation, cost control, and evaluation of planning alternatives.
•Apply economic methods like cost-in-use analysis, benefit-to-cost ratios, and payback period calculations to assess
investments in buildings and systems.
•By integrating theoretical and practical knowledge, students will develop skills for sustainable, cost-effective
construction practices and informed decision-making in real-world building design and construction projects.
Course Objectives:
•Understand Building Materials: Learn the properties, classifications, and applications of essential construction
materials like stones, bricks, cement, concrete, glass, metals, and timber.
•Master Building Components and Techniques: Gain knowledge of the design, construction, and finishing
methods for key building components such as floors, staircases, arches, and walls.
•Explore Specialized Building Design: Study the design and construction of agricultural buildings, sloped and
flat roofs, with a focus on conservation and modern design practices.
•Analyse Construction Economics: Develop skills in cost estimation, cost control, and evaluating cost-effective
design and planning alternatives in construction projects.
•Apply Economic Evaluation Tools: Use methods like cost-in-use analysis, benefit-to-cost ratios, and payback
period calculations to assess investments in buildings and systems.
Introduction to Bricks
• Bricks are the most commonly used construction material.
• Bricks are prepared by moulding clay in rectangular blocks of
uniform size and then drying and burning these blocks.
• In order to get a good quality brick, the brick earth should contain
the following constituents:
• Silica
• Alumina
• Lime
• Iron oxide
• Magnesia
Harmful Ingredients in Brick:
• Lime: A small quantity of lime is required in brick earth. But if
present in excess, it causes the brick to melt and hence brick looses
its shape.
• Iron pyrites: The presence of iron pyrites in brick earth causes the
brick to get crystallized and disintegrated during burning, because of
the oxidation of the iron pyrites. Pyrites discolorize the bricks.
• Alkalis: These exists in the brick earth in the form of soda and
potash. It acts as a flux in the kiln during burning and it causes bricks
to fuse, twist and warp. It absorbs moisture, with the passage of time,
the moisture gets evaporated leaving grey or white deposits on the
wall surface (known asefflorescence).
• Pebbles: Pebbles in brick earth create problem during mixing
operation of earth. It prevents uniform and through mixing of clay.
• Vegetation and Organic Matter: The presence of vegetation and
organic matter in brick earth assists in burning. But if such matter is
not completely burnt, the bricks become porous.
Manufacturing of bricks
In the process of manufacturing bricks, the following distinct
operations are involved.
• Preparation of clay
• Moulding
• Drying
• Burning

Preparation of clay
The clay for brick is prepared in the following order:
• Unsoiling
• Digging
• Cleaning
• Weathering
• Blending
• Tempering
• Unsoiling: The top layer of the soil, about 200mm in depth, is taken out and thrown away. The clay in top
soil is full of impurities and hence it is to be rejected for the purpose of preparing bricks.
• Digging: The clay is then dug out from the ground. It is spread on the levelled ground, just a little deeper
than the general level. The height of heaps of clay is about 600mm to 1200mm.
• Cleaning: The clay as obtained in the process of digging should be cleaned of stones, pebbles, vegetable
matters. If these particles are in excess, the clay is to be washed and screened. Such a process naturally will
prove to be troublesome and expensive.
• Weathering: The clay is then exposed to atmosphere for softening and mellowing. The period varies from
few weeks to full season.
• Blending: The clay is made loose and any ingredient to be added
to it , is spread out at its top. The blending indicates intimate or
harmonious mixing. It is carried out by taking a small amount of
clay every time and turning it up and down in vertical direction.
• Tempering: In the process of tempering, the clay is brought to a
proper degree of hardness and it is made fit for the next
operation of moulding. Kneaded or pressed under the feet of man
or cattle .The tempering should be done exhaustively to obtain
homogeneous mass of clay of uniform character. For
manufacturing good bricks on a large scale, tempering is done in
Pug Mill
pug mill.
• Moulding: The clay which is prepared as above is then sent for the text operation of moulding.
Following are two types of moulding:
i. Hand Moulding
ii. Machine Moulding
Hand moulding: In hand moulding, the bricks are moulded by hand i.e.; manually. It is adopted where manpower is cheap
and is readily available for the manufacturing process of bricks on a small scale. The moulds are rectangular boxes which
are open at top and bottom. They may be of wood or steel. It should be prepared from well-seasoned wood. The steel moulds
are more durable than wooden one and turn out bricks of uniform size. The bricks shrink during drying and burning .Hence
the moulds are therefore made larger than burnt bricks (8- 12%).
Machine Moulding: This type of moulding is carried out by two processes:
(a) Plastic clay machine (b) Dry clay machine
Plastic Clay Moulding: Such machine consists of a rectangular opening having length and width is equal to an ordinary
bricks. The pugged clay is placed in the machine and it comes out through the rectangular opening. These are cut into strips
by the wire fixed at the frame. The arrangement is made in such a way that the strips thickness is equal to that of the bricks
are obtained. So, it is also called as WIRE CUT BRICKS.
Dry Clay Machine moulding: In these machines, the strong clay is finally converted in to powered form. A small quantity of
water is then added to form a stiff plastic paste. Such paste is placed in mould and pressed by machine to form dry and well-
shaped bricks. They do not require the process of drying.
• Drying
The damp bricks, if burnt, are likely to be cracked and distorted. Hence the moulded bricks are dried before
they are taken for the next operation of burning. For the drying the bricks are laid longitudinally in the stacks
of width equal to two bricks, A stack consists of ten or eight tiers. The bricks are laid along and across the
stock in alternate layers. All the bricks are placed on edges. The bricks are allowed to dry until the bricks
becomes leather hard of moisture content about 2%.
• Burning
Bricks are burned at high temperature to gain the strength, durability, density and red color appearance. All the
water is removed at the temperature of 650 degrees but these are burnt at a temperature of about 1100 degrees
because the fusing of sand and lime takes place at this temperature and chemical bonding takes between these
materials after the temperature is cooled down resulting in the hard and dense mass. Bricks are not burnt above
this temperature because it will result in the melting of the bricks and will result in a distorted shape and a very
hard mass when cooled which will not be workable while brickwork.
Bricks can be burnt using the following methods:
(a) Clamp Burning
(b) (b) Kiln Burning
Clamp Burning:
Clamp is a temporary structure generally constructed over the ground with
a height of about 4 to 6 m. It is employed when the demand of the bricks is
at lower scale and when it is not a monsoon season. This is generally
trapezoidal in plan whose shorter edge among the parallel sides is below the
ground and then the surface raising constantly at about 15 degrees to reach
the other parallel edge over the ground. A vertical brick and mud wall is
constructed at the lower edge to support the stack of the brick. First layer of
fuel is laid and the bottom most layer with the coal, wood and other locally
available material like cow dung and husk. Another layer of about 4 to 5
rows of bricks is laid and then again, a fuel layer is laid over it. The
thickness of the fuel layer goes on with the height of the clamp. After these
alternate layers of the bricks and fuel the top surface is covered with the
mud so as to preserve the heat. Fire is ignited at the bottom, once fire is
started it is kept under fire by itself for one or two months and same time
period is needed for the cooling of the bricks.
Kiln Burning:
Kiln is a large oven used for the burning of bricks.
Generally, coal and other locally available
materials like wood, cow dung etc. can be used as
fuel.
These are of two types:
• Intermittent Kilns.
• Continuous Kilns.

Intermittent Kilns:
These are also the periodic kind of kilns, because
in such kilns only one process can take place at
one time. Various major processes which takes
place in the kilns are: Loading, unloading,
Cooling, and Burning of bricks. There are two
kind of intermittent kilns:
(i) Up-draught Intermittent Kilns
(ii) Down draught Intermittent Kilns
Continuous Kilns:
These kilns are called continuous because
all the processes of loading, unloading,
cooling, heating, pre-heating take place
simultaneously. These are used when
the bricks are demanded in larger scale
and in short time. Bricks burning are
completed in one day, so it is a fast
method of burning. There are two well-
known continuous kilns:
• Bull's Trench Kiln
• Hoffman's Kiln
Bull's Trench Kiln:
Bull's trench kiln consists of a rectangular, circular or oval plan shape. These are constructed below the ground level
by excavating a trench of the required width for the given capacity of brick manufacturing. This Trench is divided
generally in 12 chambers so that 2 numbers of cycles of brick burning can take place at the same time for the larger
production of the bricks. Or it may happen that one cycle is carried out at one time in all the 12 chambers by using a
single process in the 2-3 chambers at the same time. The structure is under-ground so the heat is conserved to a large
extent so it is more efficient. Once fire is started it constantly travels from one chamber to the other chamber, while
other operations like loading, unloading, cooling, burning and preheating taking place simultaneously. Such kilns are
generally constructed to have a manufacturing capacity of about 20,000 bricks per day. The drawback of this kiln is
that there is not a permanent roof, so it is not easy to manufacture the bricks in the monsoon seasons.
Hoffman's Kiln:
The main difference between the Bull's trench kiln and the Hoffman kilns are: 1. Hoffman's kiln is an over the ground
structure while Bull's Trench Kiln is an underground structure. 2. Hoffman's kiln have a permanent roof while Bull's
trench Kiln do not have so it former can be used in 12 months a year to manufacture bricks but later is stopped in the
monsoon season. Hoffman's kiln is generally circular in plan, and is constructed over the ground. The whole structure
is divided into the 12 chambers and the entire processes takes place simultaneously like in Bull's trench Kiln.
Classification of Bricks as per common practice:
Bricks, which are used in construction works, are burnt bricks. They are classified into four categories on the basis of its
manufacturing and preparation, as given below.
1. First Class Bricks: These table moulded and standard shape burnt bricks have surface and edges as sharp, square, smooth
and straight. These comply with all the qualities of good bricks. These bricks are used for superior work of permanent
nature.
2. Second Class Bricks: These ground moulded and burnt bricks have somewhat rough surface and shape is also slightly
irregular. These bricks may have hair cracks and their edges may not be sharp and uniform. These bricks are commonly
used at places where brick work is to be provided with a coat of plaster.
3. Third Class Bricks: These ground moulded and burnt bricks are not hard and it have rough surfaces with irregular and
distorted edges. These bricks give dull sound when struck together.
4. Fourth Class Bricks: These are over burnt bricks with irregular shape and dark colour. These bricks are used as aggregate
for concrete in foundations, floors, roads etc.
Classification of Bricks as per constituent materials
• Common Burnt Clay Bricks
• Sand Lime Bricks (Calcium Silicate Bricks)
• Engineering Bricks
• Concrete Bricks
• Fly ash Clay Bricks
Tests on Bricks To know the quality of bricks
Following 7 tests can be performed. In these tests some are performed in laboratory and the rest are on field.
• Compressive strength test
• Water Absorption test
• Efflorescence test
• Hardness test
• Size, Shape and Colour test
• Soundness test
• Structure test

Applications of Bricks:
Bricks are used in construction of many structures, some of these structures are:
• Walls,
• Partitions,
• Pavements.
1. Which type of brick is known for being lightweight and eco-
friendly?
a) Burnt Clay Bricks
b) Fly Ash Bricks
c) Hollow Bricks
d) Concrete Bricks
Answer: b) Fly Ash Bricks
2. Which type of brick provides better insulation properties?
a) Burnt Clay Bricks
b) Fly Ash Bricks
c) Hollow Bricks
d) Fire Bricks
Answer: c) Hollow Bricks
3. What is the first step in the manufacturing process of
bricks?
a) Moulding
b) Firing
c) Preparation of clay
d) Drying
Answer: c) Preparation of clay
4. Which property of bricks ensures they have low water
absorption?
a) High porosity
b) Low porosity
c) Strength
d) Durability
Answer: b) Low porosity
5. Burnt clay bricks are commonly used because of their:
a) Cost
b) Availability
c) Durability
d) Insulating property
Answer: c) Durability
6. Fly ash bricks are made from a mixture of:
a) Cement and sand
b) Clay and coal ash
c) Fly ash, lime, and gypsum
d) Clay and limestone
Answer: c) Fly ash, lime, and gypsum
7. Which of the following is NOT an application of bricks?
a) Walls
b) Partitions
c) Roofing tiles
d) Pavements
Answer: c) Roofing tiles
8. The process of shaping bricks is referred to as:
a) Moulding
b) Firing
c) Drying
d) Cooling
Answer: a) Moulding
9. Bricks with uniform size and shape ensure:
a) Better insulation
b) Structural stability
c) Lower cost
d) Higher porosity
Answer: b) Structural stability
10. The primary reason for firing bricks during manufacturing
is to:
a) Harden the bricks
b) Improve insulation
c) Reduce size variations
d) Enhance porosity
Answer: a) Harden the bricks
11.What is the primary material used in the preparation of
burnt clay bricks?
a) Sand
b) Clay
c) Cement
d) Fly ash
Answer: b) Clay
12.Which step in the brick manufacturing process removes
excess moisture from molded bricks?
a) Firing
b) Molding
c) Drying
d) Shaping
Answer: c) Drying
13. Which type of bricks is most suitable for reducing the
weight of a structure?
a) Burnt Clay Bricks
b) Hollow Bricks
c) Fly Ash Bricks
d) Fire Bricks
Answer: b) Hollow Bricks
14. What is the key characteristic of bricks that ensures their
strength in construction?
a) Porosity
b) Uniform size
c) Compression strength
d) Lightweight
Answer: c) Compression strength
Reference Books
1. "Building Materials" by S.K. Duggal
Publisher: New Age International Publishers.
2. "Engineering Materials" by S.C. Rangwala
Publisher: Charotar Publishing House.
3. "Building Construction" by B.C. Punmia, Ashok Kumar Jain, and Arun Kumar Jain
Publisher: Laxmi Publications.
4. "Construction Materials and Management" by Ghosh and Chakraborty
Publisher: PHI Learning.
5. "Civil Engineering Materials" by TTTI Chandigarh
Publisher: Tata McGraw Hill.
6. "Textbook of Building Materials" by P.C. Verghese
Publisher: PHI Learning.
• Research Papers: -
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Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. 2021;13:177
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Hungary. Plant Ecology and Diversity. 2016;9(1):113-125
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Features of Soils and Regoliths. UK. 2010. pp. 149-194
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• Kadir AA, Sarani NA. An overview of wastes recycling in fired clay bricks. International Journal of Integrated
Engineering. 2012;4(2):53-69
• Chen M. Harappa Civilization. In: China and the World in the Liangzhu Era: Liangzhu Civilization. Singapore:
Springer; 2022