The “Standard Specification and Work Procedure for Brickwork in Masonry Construction” contains instructions on brick quality, mortar, soaking, laying, curing, scaffolding, and other issues. Brickwork in substructures and superstructures must undergo quality control on a number of material and construction-related fronts.
Work Procedure of Brickwork in Masonry Construction
Materials for Brickwork:
Bricks –
The quality of bricks to be used in masonry construction should be of standard specifications (good brick earth, thoroughly burnt and deep cherry red or copper in color). Bricks should be regular in shape and their edges should be sharp. When struck, bricks should produce a crisp ringing sound and be devoid of all types of flaws, defects, and lumps.
After an hour of submersion in water, bricks shouldn’t have absorbed more water than one-sixth of their weight. Standard bricks should have a crushing strength of 105 kg/sq.cm or 1500 lbs/sq.in.
Mortar –
The materials used to make mortar must meet standard standards and must be of the prescribed grade.
Fresh Portland cement or pozzolana Portland cement that meets specified standards should be used for cement mortar. Sand should be clean, sharp, and free of foreign and organic materials. For dense mortar, coarse or medium-sized sands should be utilized, whereas fine local sand can be used for thin mortar.
The proportion of cement-sand for mortar can vary from 1:3 to 1:6 or as specified. Mortar ingredients should be measured to the proper proportion using a measuring box. On a clean masonry platform, mix cement and sand dry to achieve a uniform color. Next, add clean water slowly and gradually to create a workable consistency. Finally, mix completely by rotating the mixture at least three times.
For building, only newly mixed mortar should be used; stale, old mortar should not be utilized. Only water should be used to mix mortar for an hour’s worth of work so that it can be used before hardening begins.
Soaking of Bricks: A tank of clean water should be filled with bricks, and they should stay there for 12 hours before being used. Soaking should be continued till the air bubbles have ceased to appear.
Laying of Bricks: Bricks should be laid in English bond unless specified and should be well bonded. Every course should be truly horizontal, and walls should be truly in plumb. Vertical joints on a sequential course shouldn’t cross over one another directly, although vertical joints on an alternate course should.
No damaged or broken bricks should be used. Closers should be of clean-cut bricks and should be placed near the ends of walls but not at the other edge. Selected best-shaped bricks should be used for face work.
Mortar joints should be completely filled with mortar and should not be thicker than 6 mm (1/4 inch). Frogs should be placed upward when laying bricks, with the exception of the top course, where they should be placed downward.
Brickwork should be carried out for not more than 1 metre or 3 feet in height at a time. When one part of the wall has to be delayed, stepping should be left at an angle of 45 degrees. Corbelling or projections, where made, should not be more than ¼ brick projections in one course. All joints should be raked and faces of wall are cleaned at the end of each day’s work.
Curing of Brickwork: After being laid, the brickwork must remain wet for at least 20 days. The tops of walls should be flooded with water at the conclusion of each workday by creating a thin border of weak mortar that is at least 2.5 cm (1 inch) deep.
Protection for Brickwork: The brickwork should be protected from the effect of sun, rain, frost etc. during the construction since it is green and likely to get damaged.
Scaffolding for Brickwork: To make building a brick wall easier, necessary and appropriate scaffolding should be offered. Scaffolding needs to be solid and sturdy, with supports and members that can handle any loads that might be placed on them.
Measurement of Brickwork: Brickwork should be measured in cubic meter or cubic feet. Different kinds of brickwork with different mortar should be taken under separate items. The wall’s thickness should be calculated as a multiple of half a brick as 10 cm, one brick as 20 cm, 1.5 bricks as 30 cm, and so on. The charge should cover the cost of the entire project, including scaffolding, all equipment, and all plants.
