Unit 1

STONES: STONES AND BRICKS

BUILDING STONES: Man requires different types of buildings such as houses,

bungalows, flats etc for His living. For his activities man also require Hospitals for
his health; Schools, Colleges and Universities for his education; Banks, Shops,
Offices and Factories for doing works; Railway buildings, Bus stations and Air
terminals for his transportation; Clubs and Theatres for recreation and Temples,
Mosques, Churches etc for worship. Each type of the above buildings has its own
requirements and needs building stones to construct the same. The period from
1750 AD onwards is known as the period of Modern Architecture.

The use of reinforced concrete in construction triggered the rapid development of

modern architecture. Structural components such as Columns, RCC slabs became
increasingly popular because of the increased speed in construction. Use of
plywood, glass, decorative materials etc helped the designers to make the new
structures look more elegant in addition to the usage of various building stones.

So, the engineering structures are composed of materials and are known as the
engineering materials ( or )building materials. Hence, Building materials have an
important role to play in this modern age of technology. Building stones are
obtained from rocks, are derived into three groups viz., Igneous, Sedimentary and
Metamorphic rocks.

In general stones used for civil construction works may be classified into the
three ways.

1. Geological Classification

2. Physical Classification

3. Chemical Classification
CLASSIFICATION OF STONES

In general stones used for civil construction works may be classified into the
three ways.

1. GEOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION

Geological classification is based on the mode of formation. On the basis of

Geological formation stones are classified into three main forms namely igneous,
sedimentary and metamorphic.

❖ Igneous Rocks: Igneous rocks are formed by cooling and solidification of the
molten mass lying above or below the surface of the earth. In general igneous
rocks are strong and durable. Ex: Granite, trap and basalt. Granites have crystalline
surface since they are formed by slow cooling of the molten mass under thick layer
on the top surface. Non-crystalline and glassy textures are formed by the cooling of
the molten mass at the top surface. Ex: Basalt and trap.

❖ Sedimentary Rocks: Sedimentary rock properties differ considerably based on

the nature of sediment and bonding between the sediment and grains. These rocks
thus formed are fine grained, more uniform and dense in their nature. In general
they represent a bedded or stratified structure. Ex: Sand stones, lime stones, mud
stones, chalk etc.
❖ Metamorphic Rocks: Metamorphic Rocks are formed from igneous and
sedimentary rocks, since they undergo changes because of metamorphic action of
internal heat and pressure. Due to the metamorphic action, granite changes to
greisses, trap and basalt becomes schist and laterite, lime stone changes to marble,
sand stone becomes quartzite and mud stone changes into slate.

2. PHYSICAL CLASSIFICATION

On the basis of physical appearance stones are classified into three main forms
namely stratified, unstratified and foliated.

❖ Stratified Rocks: These rocks possess planes of stratification or cleavage.

Stratified rocks show distinct layers which can be easily split along these planes.
Ex: Sand stones, lime stones, shale, slate etc.

❖ Unstratified Rocks: These rocks possess compact grains and crystalline. These
rocks are not stratified and cannot be split into thin layers. Ex: Granite, marble,
basalt, etc.
❖ Foliated Rocks: These rocks have a tendency to split up in a distinct direction.
In general most of the metamorphic rocks have a foliated structure, whereas
quartzite and marble have granulose structure.

3. CHEMICAL CLASSIFICATION

On the basis of chemical characteristics stones are categorized into Silicious,

Argillaceous and calcareous rocks.

❖ Silicious Rocks: These rocks are very hard and durable. The primary-
constituent is silica (SiO2). Ex: Granite, sandstones, trap etc.

❖ Argillaceous Rocks: These rocks are hard, durable and brittle in nature. The
primary constituent is silica (Al2O3). Ex: Slate, laterite etc.
❖ Calcareous Rocks: These rocks are formed from a variety of chemical and
detrital sediments. The primary constituent is calcium carbonate (CaCO 2). Ex:
Limestone, marble, dolomite etc.

CHARACTERITICS OF GOOD BUILDING STONES:

Strength
A good building stone should have a compressive strength of 60–200 N/mm2,
which is its ability to withstand the weight of other things on top of it.

Durability
A good building stone should be resistant to weather conditions like wind, rain,
and extreme temperatures.

Hardness
A good building stone should be hard enough to resist scratches, penetration, or
permanent deformation. This is especially important for floors, pavements, and
bridge aprons.

Toughness
A good building stone should be tough enough to resist impact and vibratory
loading.
Porosity and water absorption
Porosity is an important physical property that affects a stone's strength, water
absorption, and deformability.

Specific gravity
A good building stone should have a specific gravity of 2.4–2.8. Stones with
higher specific gravity are preferred for large engineering projects.

Appearance
For facing work, a good building stone should have a fine, compact texture and a
light color.

Structure
A good building stone should have a uniform texture without cracks, cavities, or
patches.

Color
Unusual colors are most desirable, and customers are willing to pay more for
them
 BRICKS

RED BRICK

Red brick, also known as clay brick, is a type of building material made from
natural clay that is formed into rectangular shapes and then fired in a kiln at high
temperatures. It is one of the oldest and most traditional construction materials used
worldwide.

Constituents of good brick earth:

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.

o Silica
o Alumina
o Lime
o Iron oxide
o Magnesia

Silica
o Brick earth should contain about 50 to % of silica.
o It is responsible for preventing cracking, shrinking and warping of raw bricks.
o It also affects the durability of bricks.
o If present in excess, then it destroys the cohesion between particles and the brick
becomes brittle.

Alumina
o Good brick earth should contain about 20% to 30% of alumina.
o It is responsible for plasticity characteristic of earth, which is important in
moulding operation.
o If present in excess, then the raw brick shrink and warp during drying.
Lime
o The percentage of lime should be in the range of 5% to 10% in a good brick
earth.
o It prevents shrinkage of bricks on drying.
o It causes silica in clay to melt on burning and thus helps to bind it.
o Excess of lime causes the brick to melt and brick looses its shape.

Iron oxide
o A good brick earth should contain about 5% to 7% of iron oxide.
o It gives red colour to the bricks.
o It improves impermeability and durability.
o It gives strength and hardness.
o If present in excess, then the colour of brick becomes dark blue or blakish.
o If the quantity of iron oxide is comparatively less, the brick becomes yellowish in
colour.
Magnesia
o Good brick earth should contain less a small quantity of magnesia about1%)
o Magnesium in brick earth imparts yellow tint to the brick.
o It is responsible for reducing shrinkage
o Excess of magnesia leads to the decay of bricks.

Harmful Ingredients in Brick:

Below mentioned are some of the ingredients which are undesired in brick earth.

Lime
o 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.
o If lime is present in the form of lumps, then it is converted into quick lime after
burning. This quick lime slakes and expands in presence of moisture,
causing splitting of bricks into pieces.
Iron pyrites
o 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 pyrits.
o Pyrites discolourise the bricks.

Alkalis
o These are exist 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.
Because of this, bricks are melted and they loose their shape.
o The alkalis remaining in bricks will absorb moisture from the atmosphere, when
bricks are used in masonry. With the passage of time, the moisture gets
evaporated leaving grey or white deposits on the wall surface (known
asefflorescence). This white patch affects the appearance of the building
structure.

Pebbles
o Pebbles in brick earth create problem during mixing operation of earth. It
prevents uniform and through mixing of clay, which results in weak and
porous bricks
o Bricks containing pebbles will not break into shapes as per requirements.

Vegetation and Organic Matter

o 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. This is
due to the fact that the gasses will be evolved during the burning of the
carbonaceous matter and it will result in the formation of small pores.
Manufacturing of bricks
In the process of manufacturing bricks, the following distinct operations are
involved.
• Preparation of clay
• Moulding
• Drying • Burning
Each of the above operation of the manufacturing bricks will now be studied at
length.
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. The blending makes clay fit for the next stage of tempering.
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.A typical pug mill capable of
tempering sufficient earth for a daily output of about 15000 to20000 bricks.
A pug mill consists of a conical iron tub with cover at its top .It is fixed on a timber
base which is made by fixing two wooden planks at right angle to each other. The
bottom of tub is covered except for the hole to take out pugged earth. The diameter
of pug mill at bottom is about 800mm and that at top is about 1 m.The provision is
made in top cover to place clay inside pug mill .A vertical shaft with horizontal
arms is provided at center of iron tub.The small wedge-shaped knives of steel are
fixed at arms.The long arms are fixed at vertical shaft to attach a pair of
bullocks .The ramp is provided to collect the pugged clay .The height of pug mill is
about 2m. Its depth below ground is 600m to800mm lessen the rise of the barrow
run and to throw out the tempered clay conveniently.In the beginning, the hole for
pugged clay is closed and clay with water is placed in pug mill from the top. When
vertical shaft is rotated by a pair of bullock, the clay is thoroughly mixed up by the
action of horizontal arms and knives and homogeneous mass is formed.
The rotation of vertical shaft can also be achieved by using steam, diesel or
electrical power.When clay has been sufficiently pugged, the hole at the bottom of
the tub, is opened out and pugged earth is taken out from the ramp by barrow i.e. a
small cart with wheels for next operation of moulding.The pug mill is then kept
moving and feeding of clay from top and taking out of pugged clay from bottom
are done simultaneously.If tempering is properly carried out, the good brick earth
can then be rolled without breaking in small threads of 3mm diameter.
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 ona small scale.The moulds are rectangular boxes which are open at top and
bottom.They may be of wood or steel.It should be beprepared from well-
seasonedwood. The longer sides are kept slightly projecting to serve as handles.
The strips of brass or steel are sometimes fixed on the edges of wooden moulds to
make them more durable.It is prepared from the combination of steel plate and
channel. It may even be prepared from steel angles and plates. Thethickness of
steel mould is 6mm.They is used for manufacturing bricks on alarge scale. 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 mouldsare therefore
made larger than burnt bricks (8-12%).
The bricks prepared by hand moulding are of two types: Ground mouldedand
Tablemoulded
Ground mouldedbricks: The ground is first made level and fine sand is sprinkled
over it.The mould is dipped in water and placed over the ground. The lump of
tempered clay is taken and is dashed is the mould.The clay is pressed in the mould
in such a way that it fills all the corners of mould.The surplus clay is removed by
wooden strike or framed with wire. A strike is a piece of wood or metal with a
sharp edge.It is to be dipped in water every time.The mould is then lifted up and
raw brick ids left on the ground.The mould is dipped in water and it is placed just
near the previous brick to prepare another brick.The process is repeated till the
ground is covered with raw bricks.The lower faces of ground moulded bricks are
rough
and it is not possible to place frog on such bricks.A frog is mark of depth about
10mm to 20mm which is placed on raw brick during moulding.It serves two
purposes.
1.It indicates the trade name of the manufacturer
2.In brick work, the bricks are laid with frog uppermost. It thus affords a key for
mortar when the next brick is placed over it.
The ground moulded bricks of better quality and with frogs on their surface are
made by using a pair of pallet boards and a wooden block. A pallet is a piece of
thin wood.The block is bigger than the mould and it has projection of about 6mm
height on its surface.The dimensions of projection correspond to internal
dimensions of mould.The design of impression or frog is made on this block.The
wooden block is also known as the moulding block or stock board.
The mould is placed to fit in the projection of wooden block and clay is then
dashed inside the mould.A pallet is placed on the top and the whole thing is then
turn upside down.The mould is taken out and placed over the raw brick and it is
conveyed to the drying sheds.The bricks are placed to stand on their longer sides in
drying sheds and pallet boards are brought back for using them again.As the bricks
are laid on edge, they occupyless space and they dry quicker and better.
Table Moulded Bricks:
i) The process of moulding of bricks is just similar as above.But in this case,
the mould stands near a table size 2m x 1m. The bricks are moulded on the
table and send for further process of drying.
ii) However the efficiency of the moulder gradually decreases because of
standing at some place for a longer duration.The cost of brick is also increases
when table moulding is adopted.

Machine Moulding:
This type of moulding is carried out by two processes:
i) Plastic clay machine
ii) Dry clay machine
Plastic Clay Moulding
i) 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.
ii) 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 Machinemoulding:

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.
ii) 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 brunt,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 are become 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 they are burnt at an 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) 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 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 as 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.
Disadvantages of Clamp burning:
1. Bricks at the bottom are over-burnt while at the top are under-burnt.
2. Bricks loose their shape, and reason may be their descending downward once
the fuel layer is burnt.
3. This method cannotemploy for the manufacturing of large number of bricks and
it is costly in terms of fuel because large amount of heat is wasted.
4. It cannot be employed in monsoon season.

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. They 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

Down draught kilns are more efficient because the heat is utilized more by moving
the hot gases in the larger area of the kiln. In up draught kilns the hot gases are
released after they rise up to chimney entrance.

Continuous Kilns:
These kilns are called continuous because all the processes of loading, unloading,
cooling, heating, pre-heating take place simultaneously. They 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:Bull's trench kiln consists of a rectangular, circular or oval plan
shape. They 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

2. Second class bricks
3. Third class bricks
4. Fourth class bricks

First Class Bricks:

These bricks are table moulded and of standard shape and they are burnt in kilns.
The surface and edges of the bricks are sharp, square, smooth and straight. They
comply with all the qualities of good bricks. These bricks are used for superior
work of permanent nature.

Second Class Bricks:

These bricks are ground moulded and they are burnt in kilns. The surface of these
bricks is somewhat rough 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.

Third Class Bricks:

These bricks are ground moulded and they are burnt in clamps. These bricks are
not hard and they have rough surfaces with irregular and distorted edges. These
bricks give dull sound when struck together. They are used for unimportant and
temporary structures and at places where rainfall is not heavy.

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, because of the fact
that the over burnt bricks have a compact structure and hence they are sometimes
found to be stronger than even the first class bricks.
Classification of Bricks as per constituent materials
There are various types of bricks used in masonry.

• Common Burnt Clay Bricks

• Sand Lime Bricks (Calcium Silicate Bricks)
• Engineering Bricks
• Concrete Bricks
• Fly ash Clay Bricks

Common Burnt Clay Bricks

Common burnt clay bricks are formed by pressing in moulds. Then these bricks are
dried and fired in a kiln. Common burnt clay bricks are used in general work with
no special attractive appearances. When these bricks are used in walls, they require
plastering or rendering.
Sand Lime Bricks
Sand lime bricks are made by mixing sand, fly ash and lime followed by a
chemical process during wet mixing. The mix is then moulded under pressure
forming the brick. These bricks can offer advantages over clay bricks such as: their
colour appearance is grey instead of the regular reddish colour.Their shape is
uniform and presents a smoother finish that doesn’t require plastering.These bricks
offer excellent strength as a load-bearing member.
Engineering Bricks
Engineering bricks are bricks manufactured at extremely high temperatures,
forming a dense and strong brick, allowing the brick to limit strength and water
absorption.Engineering bricks offer excellent load bearing capacity damp-proof
characteristics and chemical resisting properties.
Concrete Bricks
Concrete bricks are made from solid concrete. Concrete bricks are usually placed
in facades, fences, and provide an excellent aesthetic presence. These bricks can be
manufactured to provide different colours as pigmented during its production.
Fly Ash Clay Bricks
Fly ash clay bricks are manufactured with clay and fly ash, at about 1,000 degrees
C. Some studies have shown that these bricks tend to fail poor produce pop-outs,
when bricks come into contact with moisture and water, causing the bricks to
expand.
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

Compressive strength test: This test is done to know the compressive strength of
brick. It is also called crushing strength of brick. Generally 5 specimens of bricks
are taken to laboratory for testing and tested one by one. In this test a brick
specimen is put on crushing machine and applied pressure till it breaks. The
ultimate pressure at which brick is crushed is taken into account. All five brick
specimens are tested one by one and average result is taken as brick’s
compressive/crushing strength.
Water Absorption test: In this test bricks are weighed in dry condition and let
them immersed in fresh water for 24 hours. After 24 hours of immersion those are
taken out from water and wipe out with cloth. Then brick is weighed in wet
condition. The difference between weights is the water absorbed by brick. The
percentage of water absorption is then calculated.The less water absorbed by brick
the greater its quality. Good quality brickdoesn’t absorb more than 20% water of
its own weight.
Efflorescence test: The presence of alkalies in bricks is harmful and they form
a grey or white layer on brick surface by absorbing moisture. To find out the
presence of alkalis in bricks this test is performed. In this test a brick is
immersed in fresh water for 24 hours and then it’s taken out from water and
allowed to dry in shade.If the whitish layer is not visible on surface it proofs
that absence of alkalis in brick. If the whitish layer visible about 10% of brick
surface then the presence of alkalis is in acceptable range. If that is about 50%
of surface then it is moderate. If the alkalies’ presence is over 50% then the
brick is severely affected by alkalies.
Hardness test: In this test a scratch is made on brick surface with a hard thing. If
that doesn’t left any impression on brick then that is good quality brick.
Size, shape and colour test: In this test randomly collected 20 bricks are staked
along lengthwise, width wise and height wise and then those are measured to know
the variation of sizes as per standard. Bricks are closely viewed to check if its
edges are sharp and straight
12 * Under revision
 and uniform in shape. A good quality brick should have bright and uniform colour
throughout.
Soundness test: In this test two bricks are held by both hands and struck with one
another. If the bricks give clear metallic ringing sound and don’t break then those
are good quality bricks.
Structure test: In this test a brick is broken or a broken brick is collected and
closely observed. If there are any flows, cracks or holes present on that broken face
then that isn’t good quality brick.

LIGHT WEIGHT BRICKS

Lightweight bricks are made from materials like sand, foam expansion material,
and cement, and are lighter than traditional bricks. They are more desirable than
traditional bricks because of their benefits, including:

 Convenience: Lightweight bricks are easier to move around, which can make the
construction process more convenient.

 Structural load: Lightweight bricks reduce the structural load on a building.

 Cost: Lightweight bricks can be more cost-effective than traditional bricks.

 Installation: Lightweight bricks can be installed more easily than traditional

bricks.

 Transportation: Lightweight bricks are easier to transport than traditional bricks,

which can reduce shipping costs.