Brick

Brick is a ceramic structural material that, in modern times, is made by pressing [|clay] into blocks and firing them to the requisite hardness in a kiln. Bricks in their most primitive form were not fired but were hardened by being dried in the sun.

The Persians and the Assyrians used sun-dried blocks of clay for walls of great thickness, facing them with a protective coating of fired bricks. The Egyptians and the Greeks used bricks only to a limited extent, as they had access to plentiful supplies of stone and marble. The Romans manufactured fired bricks in enormous quantities and gave them an important role as a basic structural material in buildings throughout the Roman Empire. The main use for bricks is house-building, which has dropped dramatically since the 1960s. By this time, people started to made blocks with a variety of other materials .Walls made of these bigger blocks are cheaper and quicker to build than ones made with conventional bricks.

There are literally thousands of different bricks, but they can be broken down into a handful of basic types. The vast majority are made from clay and are kiln-fired.

Facing Bricks

 * [[image:http://www.pavingexpert.com/images/features/wirecut1.jpg width="96" height="94" caption="wirecut bricks"]] || [[image:http://www.pavingexpert.com/images/features/wirecut2.jpg width="96" height="94" caption="wirecut bricks"]] || [[image:http://www.pavingexpert.com/images/features/wirecut3.jpg width="96" height="94" caption="wirecut bricks"]] ||
 * Typical wirecut bricks ||

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 * [[image:http://www.pavingexpert.com/images/features/stock01.jpg width="68" height="68" caption="stockbrick"]] || [[image:http://www.pavingexpert.com/images/features/stock02.jpg width="68" height="68" caption="stock brick"]] || [[image:http://www.pavingexpert.com/images/features/stock03.jpg width="68" height="68" caption="stock brick"]] ||
 * Stock bricks: The clay is wetted to a so-called "soft mud" and then moulded to shape. ||
 * [[image:http://www.pavingexpert.com/images/features/handmd01.jpg width="100" height="100" caption="handmade bricks"]] || [[image:http://www.pavingexpert.com/images/features/handmd02.jpg width="100" height="100" caption="handmade bricks"]] || [[image:http://www.pavingexpert.com/images/features/handmd03.jpg width="100" height="100" caption="handmade bricks"]] ||
 * Handmade brick: Usually made on a bench, in a mould. ||

Other example: Any brick that isn't a rectangle is called "special"
 * [[image:http://www.pavingexpert.com/images/features/flett01.jpg width="78" height="78" caption="Fletton Bricks"]] || [[image:http://www.pavingexpert.com/images/features/flett02.jpg width="78" height="78" caption="Fletton Bricks"]] || [[image:http://www.pavingexpert.com/images/features/flett03.jpg width="78" height="78" caption="Fletton Bricks"]] ||
 * Fletton bricks: contains coal traces ||

Brickwork required to choose the right bricks for the job, the mortar which forms the joints and building a wall.

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a Brick advantage: ** Thermal and acoustic insulation ** >>Thanks to its natural porosity, any damp and steam absorbed are released as soon as the original conditions are restored. http://www.ballatore.it/en/prodotto_vantaggi.asp a Brick dis advantage: one disadvantage of using bricks for your house is that your options for renovation are very minimal. You can not just simply change the structure.