Standard brick: dimensions, characteristics, areas of use
Standard brick: dimensions, characteristics, areas of use
Natural stone has long served as one of the main materials for construction. However, everything changed with the advent of modern building material – brick. The person was able to independently give the finished product the necessary characteristics. Every day you can observe the use of this building material in a variety of variations. Today it is not a problem to purchase a standard brick yourself: you can find out the dimensions and selection criteria in this article.
Brick is a universal material that has been used in construction since ancient times
Where standard bricks are used: sizes and varieties
Brick is a universal material that is used in many areas of construction. There are several types and standards for the size of bricks. The right choice of material is the key to a successful result of your work.
Depending on the material of manufacture, as well as on the characteristics of the product, bricks can be divided into four main groups:
Most often, bricks are used in the construction of houses and laying the foundation
The main areas of use of bricks:
- construction of walls (including load-bearing ones);
- laying the foundation;
- construction of ground floors;
- arrangement of basements;
- facade cladding;
- construction of stairs;
- construction of brick partitions in houses;
- masonry fireplaces and stoves.
Finishing with brick looks great not only from the outside, but also inside the house
The most common use of the usual red brick. Its technical characteristics are excellent for performing a wide variety of jobs. Including the construction of elevator shafts, columns, vaults of buildings. Often, ordinary red brick is used to lay the foundation of low-rise buildings.
If we talk about the construction of stairs, then in this case it is better to use a ceramic product. It is more resistant to moisture, temperature changes and other environmental influences. In addition, ceramics are relatively easy to be mechanically affected, which makes it possible to cut bricks if necessary.
Ceramic bricks are widely used for laying stairs and steps
Standard of brick sizes
There are single, double and one-and-a-half bricks, the sizes of each type will be considered below.
In the process of developing the construction craft, certain standards have been developed that the material must meet. The size of a single brick: 120 mm wide, 250 mm long and 65 mm high. It is this size of bricks that is considered ideal for masonry with alternating longitudinal and transverse placement.
Related article:
The size of the silicate brick, its features and laying. Scope of application. Advantages and disadvantages of the material. Types and features of styling. General tips for working with silicate bricks.
With the passage of time and the development of construction, more and more diverse materials were required. So there were new, non-standard bricks of one and a half sizes. Their parameters are 120 mm wide, 250 mm long and 88 mm high.
The use of such bricks requires knowledge of a special masonry technique designed to lighten the final weight of the building. So, it is necessary to alternate full-bodied bricks with porous, perforated or hollow ones.
Double brick has impressive dimensions, as a result of which it is never made full-bodied. The brick size is 120 mm wide, 250 mm long and 103 mm high. They are used only for lightweight masonry.
Standard sizes of different types of bricks
Red ordinary brick: size, weight, marking
Red brick is a universal material that is produced by firing compressed clay briquettes. It is most often used for the construction of foundations, walls, partitions. It is also used for laying furnaces and fences.
Avoid purchasing burnt bricks. They can be seen with the naked eye by the black, singed middle and singed edges. For most construction work, such material cannot be used, but it is suitable for laying the foundation.
Options for laying bricks of standard size
The weight of a full-bodied brick is from 3.5 to 3.8 kg. One cubic meter of red brick weighs about 1700 kg and holds about 480 pieces. On the packaging, the manufacturer must indicate the pressure that this particular material can withstand compression in kg / cm2, for example, 76, 100, 125, 200, etc.
Useful advice! A high-quality burnt brick will emit a clear, ringing sound upon impact.
White brick: dimensions and applications
White or silicate brick is made on the basis of silicate, which is why it got its name. Durable and lightweight material, which is mainly used for the construction of walls and partitions. Such a brick is never used for laying foundations, stoves, pipes, fireplaces or plinths. Standard size of white brick: 250x120x88 mm.
White silicate brick is used for the construction of buildings for various purposes
Useful advice! Knowing the modular size of the brick, you can design a future structure and calculate the required amount of material.
Ceramic brick, dimensions and characteristics
The material familiar to all of us, which, in turn, is divided into construction and facing. A separate type of furnace brick is distinguished. The size and convenient shape allow you to make a smooth, smooth masonry without excessive seams. The standard size of the oven brick is 250x125x65 mm.
Since this material is used for masonry in very critical places, it is unacceptable to use bricks even with a small defect. It is not difficult to check the quality of bricks – when tapping, refractory bricks should emit a metallic sound. When splitting, it should crumble into large pieces. Low-quality, unburned material will accumulate moisture, which can lead to the destruction of the structure. Furnace brick is more expensive than usual, but it is fireproof and retains heat perfectly. The size of refractory bricks is always the same.
Refractory bricks are ideal for laying fireplaces and stoves
Useful advice! Instead of a furnace, it is quite acceptable to use fireclay bricks. The dimensions and characteristics of this material fully meet all the requirements.
Facing brick: dimensions and application features
Decorative brick is used for masonry walls, while providing a smooth, smooth surface. Its correct shape allows the product to be used as the final wall decoration both inside the house and outside. At the same time, the glossy surface of the outer walls of the brick gives the surface a special chic.
It is for these qualities that decorative bricks are often called “front” or “facade”. There are no difficulties in working with this type of material, except for the need to pay special attention to cutting seams. The size of the facing brick can be different depending on the type: single, one-and-a-half or double.
The facade decoration with the help of facing bricks gives the structure a special elegance
The standard of the facing brick size does not differ in any way from the usual analogue. Exceptions are handmade products. Non-standard dimensions of a single facing brick can be 210x100x50 mm, 240x115x52 mm or 210x100x65 mm.
Such sizes of single facing bricks are not produced in factories, and they cost an order of magnitude higher. They are always produced in a limited series. They are used for the restoration of old buildings or the implementation of original construction ideas.
The size of one and a half hand-made facing bricks can also be very different, for example, 240x115x71 mm. Using bricks of this size looks extremely advantageous.
Example of restoration of old masonry with facing bricks
Double facing bricks of non-standard sizes come in the format 240x115x113 or 190x90x90 mm.
Whether to use a standard–sized facing brick for finishing the house, or to purchase more expensive handmade materials is up to you. However, before buying, it is better to consult with a specialist who can explain all the nuances of working with a specific type of bricks.
How to choose a standard brick. Dimensions and specifications
Before buying a brick, it is necessary to understand exactly the purpose of its purchase. It will determine the necessary properties of the material.
The color of the brick depends on the clay from which it is made. The most common option is a red–burning clay mass. It gives the finished product the familiar red color. Less often you can find clay bricks of white, apricot or yellowish color, for the manufacture of which white-burning clay is used. It happens that in order to obtain the desired color or shade, a special pigment is added to the source material.
An example of using bricks of various shades in interior design
Ordinary brick is great for wall construction and construction of structures of any complexity. Standard dimensions of ordinary bricks: 250x120x56 mm.
In the future, it requires additional finishing, for example, plastering. The facing material has such smooth and smooth surfaces that it does not need additional finishing. However, the prices and sizes of facing bricks are much more diverse.
Useful advice! Bricks may have a relief pattern on the surface, designed for better adhesion to the plaster mortar.
An important criterion for choosing a brick is strength, that is, the ability of the material not to collapse under the influence of external loads. For the construction of a low-rise house, it is enough for the brick to withstand a load of 100 kg per 1 cm. If we are talking about the construction of a multi-storey building, then the indicator should be at least 150. The strength of each specific batch is always indicated by the manufacturer on the packaging.
For the construction of multi-storey buildings, it is necessary to choose a brick with very high strength indicators
Another important indicator of brick quality is frost resistance. This value is measured in cycles and determined by testing for each brand of brick separately. The finished product is first placed in water, and then in the freezer. The duration of stay in each environment is 8 hours. This is one cycle that is repeated until the material begins to visually change its characteristics.
Multi-storey houses and industrial buildings, according to the norms, are built of bricks with frost resistance of at least 35 cycles. However, the market presents products with a variety of indicators. You can easily find 25 and 15 cycles. The cost of the material with a low index will be much lower, but won’t you regret it over time? If you are not sure which option to choose, it is better to contact a specialist who will help you choose a brick suitable for your climate and type of building.
Appearance of bricks
Today there are two variants of brick size: standard and non-standard. As previously mentioned, the standard length is 250 mm, width is 120 mm, and height is 65 mm. Such parameters are associated not only with the fact that such a brick is most convenient to work with and fits well in the hand. The fact is that during the construction process, the bricks are arranged perpendicular to each other, while alternating the longitudinal and transverse sides.
The scheme of laying a standard brick
Take a closer look at the numbers, and you will notice that the standard indicators are almost multiples of each other. And this facilitates any calculations, work with such material and minimizes the need for sawing bricks.
It is not uncommon to find bricks of non-standard sizes. They have the same length and width as the standard ones, and differ only in the height of the stone. For example, the thickness of a one–and-a-half product is 88 mm, and a double one is 138 mm. Such materials are mainly used for decorative purposes. They are good for decorating houses, roofs and facades.
Stylization of the facade “antique” in combination with a modern interior style
For example, a good choice of the color and size of the facing brick: yellow one-and-a-half or double brown.
Weight of bricks
Another of the characteristics of a brick is its weight. For different types of products, this indicator is absolutely different. So, the weight of a standard ceramic or silicate brick is 3.8-4 kg. At the same time, if the brick has a cavity inside, then it will weigh less. Therefore, during the design, the weight of each brick is not taken into account, but only the specific masonry, that is, the weight of 1 cubic meter of building material plus the weight of the required amount of cement mortar.
When designing a building, it is necessary to take into account such a parameter as the total specific weight of masonry
The specific weight of masonry can range from 600 kg/m3 to 1800 kg/m3 and directly depends on the weight of each brick. Having calculated the weight of the future building at the design stage, it is possible to make adjustments to laying the foundation, thus making the structure more durable and reliable.
Size of brick structures
The size of the structure will always be a multiple of the width of the brick. If we talk about the standard size of the facing brick, then this value will be 120 mm. Depending on the number of layers, the width of the wall can be 120, 250, 380, 510 mm, etc. In this calculation, 10 mm of the seam between the bricks must be taken into account.
An exception to the rule can be considered only thin partitions, which are laid from ceramic bricks placed on an edge. Accordingly, in this case, the width of the partition corresponds to the width of the brick – 65 mm.
Options for using brickwork when creating openings and partitions
Openings and short piers are always designed so that they are multiples of the size of the brick. Otherwise, it becomes necessary to cut bricks of the right size, which significantly increases the complexity of the process.
Brick has always been and will be a popular building material. This product is difficult to replace with anything in modern construction, due to its high technical characteristics. So if you are planning to build your own house, you should definitely consider bricks as the main material for work. Despite its simplicity, bricks are very diverse, which makes it possible to embody unusual design ideas and the most original ideas.
