Which bricks must you use for your home? You might have heard structure specialists recommending sure bricks for particular tasks. Does that imply some bricks are higher than others? Learn on to find how totally different bricks are manufactured and the way the manufacturing processes affect their makes use of.
Brick-Making Strategies: How Bricks Are Manufactured
Bricks are made utilizing numerous manufacturing methods, guaranteeing a wealthy number of masonry customised for various makes use of. For instance, Ibstock bricks are available wirecut, waterstruck, frogged, and handmade varieties, amongst many others. And so for each main masonry model. Let’s talk about the predominant brick-making strategies and the kind of bricks they yield.
Wirecut
To make wirecut bricks, producers push a block of clay by way of a die, the place the machine cuts it into particular person blocks. This system yields uniform form and measurement and sharp, well-defined edges. Producers use numerous slicing benches and nozzles to range brick styles and sizes.
Die machines usually make perforations by way of the wirecut brick to assist make the drying and firing processes simpler. These perforations additionally make the brick lighter and simpler to work with. Strong wirecut bricks could be recognized by their uniform and exact edges.
Typically producers use the rumbling course of to melt the sharp edges of wirecut bricks and lend them a rugged, weathered look. Rumbling doesn’t intrude with the masonry’s structural energy, that means a typical wirecut brick and a rumbled wirecut brick have the identical sturdiness and energy.
Producers may additionally use rollers and different machines to change the feel of the brick floor. Typical textures you will discover in these wirecut merchandise are:
- Creased
- Sanded
- Rolled
- Rustication
- Dragwire textures
The wirecut methodology is quick because it yields excessive portions of masonry at a time. Wirecut brick is acceptable for any building undertaking however is especially appropriate for tasks requiring energy and sturdiness. It’s additionally aesthetically pleasing and makes eye-catching facades.
Waterstruck
Within the waterstruck methodology, producers add water to the mould to maintain the brick from sticking. They then pour water on the brick to launch it from the mould. The water leaves a definite texture on the brick floor and provides the sides a barely tough look.
Waterstruck bricks are nearly all the time strong, though they generally have a frog physique. Completely different firing methods alter the color of the bricks. They’ve the identical mechanical properties as commonplace dealing with bricks, so use them in any undertaking that requires dealing with bricks.
Handcrafted Bricks
Each model has a distinct course of for customising their handmade bricks. Typically, although, refined clay is thrown into sanded moulds by hand. They don’t seem to be formed, minimize or trimmed utilizing machines. Earlier than firing the masonry, producers might add sand in numerous portions to create customized brick sizes and textures.
Handmade bricks are as robust and sturdy as machine-made bricks. Their structural efficiency is analogous, and you should use handmade bricks the identical means you’d use machine-produced ones. Throwing every block of clay into the mould produces a novel sample on the brick’s floor, giving handmade bricks their distinct, non-smooth texture.
Some producers use fashionable kilns to realize a degree of consistency of their handmade brick repertoire. Go for these in case you’re not trying to create a extremely bespoke look.
One other good thing about handcrafted bricks is that they are often made in any measurement and are a sensible choice for particular tasks that require non-standard masonry.
Lengthy Format
Lengthy-format bricks, additionally referred to as linear or Roman bricks, are longer and extra slender than commonplace bricks, some so long as 500 mm or extra. They’re excellent for emphasising uncommon design dimensions and highlighting a constructing’s linear particulars.
Lengthy-format bricks come in numerous colors. They are often wirecut or strong and have numerous textures.
Inventory Bricks
Inventory bricks have a frogged physique. Moulds with inventory boards are used to make inventory bricks. The inventory (or inventory board) is a block of wooden that sits on the moulder’s bench. A kicker is normally positioned on prime of the inventory in order that once you add the clay to the mould, the kicker creates a melancholy within the backside face of the brick.
Brick producers use various strategies to make bricks. These methods produce bricks of various sizes, shapes, colors and textures, making it straightforward for builders to customize their buildings utilizing commonplace and non-standard bricks.
FAQs
- Are handmade bricks pretty much as good as machine-made ones?
Handcrafted bricks match the standard requirements of machine-made bricks, besides that you simply add them to the mould utilizing your fingers. No machines are used to form the brick, whereas totally different gear is used to compress and minimize machine-made bricks.
- Are frogged bricks sturdy?
Frogged bricks are as sturdy as strong bricks—solely their form differs. British Commonplace laws suggest laying masonry with the frog up so the builder can fill them with mortar. This transmits the loading pressure equally throughout the brickwork and maximises energy and stability.
In case you are concerned about bricks and different constructing supplies, you should purchase them from Constructing Supplies Wholesale.
