“Success consists of going from failure to

failure without loss of enthusiasm."

… Winston Churchill

3
CHAPTER

Bricks

Level-1 8. The minimum compressive strength of 2nd

class bricks should be
1. In brick earth silica should be (A) (B)
(A) 10-15% (B) 35-50% (C) (D)
(C) 50-60% (D) 50-70%
9. What will be the water absorption for third
2. The raw bricks shrink during drying and warp class brick is __________
during burning because of (A) 20% (B) 22.5%
(A) less lime in brick earth (C) 24% (D) 25%
(B) less silica and excess magnesia in brick
earth 10. For a good brick, when dropped from a height
(C) excess of silica and alumina in brick of 1m it should ____________
earth (A) break in to pieces
(D) alkalis in brick earth (B) not break in to pieces
(C) develop cracks
3. The percentage of alumina in a good brick (D) None of these
earth lies between
(A) 5 to 10% (B) 20 to 30% 11. How is the hardness of brick tested?
(C) 50 to 60% (D) 70 to 80% (A) Using finger nail
(B) Using hardness apparatus
4. Generally wooden moulds are made from (C) Using hammer
(A) ply wood (B) shisham wood (D) Using chisel
(C) deodar wood (D) teak wood
12. Efflorescence of bricks is due to
5. A pug mill is used for (A) soluble salts present in clay for making
(A) softening brick earth bricks
(B) moulding brick earth (B) high porosity of bricks
(C) tempering brick earth (C) high silt content in brick earth
(D) providing brick earth (D) excessive burning of bricks

6. The kiln which may work throughout the year, 13. Efflorescence is
is (A) formation of white patches on the brick
(A) Clamp surface due to alkalis in the brick clay
(B) Bull’s kiln (B) swelling of brick due to presence of
(C) Hoffmann’s kiln carbonaceous matter and gas
(D) None of these (C) deformation of brick due to exposure to
rain
7. The minimum compressive strength of first (D) impurities in the brick clay which erupt
class bricks should be after burning
(A) (B)
(C) (D)

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 Bricks
14. What should be observed ideally when two 3. Which of the following is harmful in the clay
bricks are struck together? used for making bricks
(A) dull sound (A) iron oxide (B) iron pyrite
(B) sides shatter (C) alkali (D) magnesia
(C) clear ringing sound
(D) brick breaks 4. Refractory bricks resist
(A) high temperature
15. The dimension of standard brick are (B) chemical action
( ) (C) dampness
( ) (D) All the above
( )
( ) 5. Basic refractory bricks consist of
(A) Silica bricks (B) Ganister bricks
16. Size of frog in bricks is (C) Magnesia bricks (D) Chromite bricks
( )
( ) 6. The bricks which are extensively used for
( ) basic refractories in furnaces are
( ) (A) Chrome bricks
(B) Sillimanite bricks
17. Burnt bricks can be further classified into how (C) Magnesite bricks
many types? (D) Fosterite bricks
(A) 2 (B) 4
(C) 3 (D) 5 7. In steel industry the bricks used for lining
furnaces should be
18. In which bond brick is laid with its length in (A) acid refractory
the direction of a wall? (B) basic refractory
(A) Header (B) Flemish (C) neutral refractory
(C) Stretcher (D) English (D) heavy duty

19. The portion of bricks cut across the width in 8. The compressive strength of burnt clay bricks
half is called as per IS: 1077 is
(A) half split (B) half closer ( )
(C) half bed (D) half bat ( )
( )
20. For one cubic meter of brick masonry, number ( )
of brick required is
(A) 400 (B) 425 9. A good brick, when immersed in water bath
(C) 450 (D) 500 for 24 hours, should not absorb water more
than
Level-2 (A) 20% of its dry weight
(B) 30% of its saturated weight
1. Which of the following constituent in earth (C) 10% of its dry weight
gives plasticity to mould bricks in suitable (D) 20% of its saturated weight
shape
(A) silica (B) lime 10. When observed efflorescence is more than
(C) alumina (D) magnesia 10% but less than 50% of the exposed area, it
is
2. Excess of silica makes (A) moderate efflorescence
(A) brittle on burning (B) serious efflorescence
(B) to melt on burning (C) heavy efflorescence
(C) to crack on drying (D) light efflorescence
(D) to warp

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 Bricks
11. For testing of bricks for dimensional
tolerance, the number of bricks required are
(A) 3 (B) 6
(C) 10 (D) 20

12. What is the maximum permissible tolerance

for length and width respectively?
( )
( )
( )
( )

13. Which of the below should be avoided in brick

masonry?
(A) Horizontal joints
(B) Queen closer
(C) Brick bat
(D) Vertical joints

14. What should be placed at the beginning of

every header course in English bond to avoid
vertical joint?
(A) Queen closer (B) Half bat
(C) Three fourth bat (D) King closer

15. Which bond comprises of one course of a

header to three or five courses of stretchers?
(A) Dutch bond
(B) Zig-zag bond
(C) English garden-wall bond
(D) Facing bond

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 Bricks
7. [Ans. D]
Answer keys and Solutions Minimum Compressive strength for

Level-1

1. [Ans. C]
Brick earth should contain about 50 to 60% of 8. [Ans. A]
silica. It is responsible for preventing cracking, Minimum Compressive strength for
shrinking and warping of raw bricks. It also
affects the durability of bricks. If present in
excess, then it destroys the cohesion between
particles and the brick becomes brittle.
9. [Ans. D]
2. [Ans. C] Water absorption of 3rd class bricks after 24
If alumina is present in excess with hours of immersion in water should not
inadequate quantity of sand then the raw exceed 25% of self-weight.
bricks shrink and warp during drying, on
burning they become too hard. The presence 10. [Ans. B]
of silica prevents the shrinkage, cracking and Good building brick, should not broken down
warping of raw bricks. into pieces when dropped from a height of 1m.

3. [Ans. B] 11. [Ans. A]

Ingredient Percentage in brick Brick is scratched using finger nail. If there are
no visible scratches made on the brick surface,
it is said to be sufficiently hard.

12. [Ans. A]
Building brick and face brick consist of clay,
which contains highly soluble salts. Clay may
react with calcium sulphate that results in
4. [Ans. B] efflorescence.
Generally wooden moulds are made from
shisham wood because they are durable, 13. [Ans. A]
dense and having resistance against Efflorescence is a crystalline, salty deposit that
environmental changes. occurs on the surfaces of bricks, concrete and
other masonry products. It is white,
5. [Ans. C] sometimes a brilliant white or an off white
After completion of weathering process the colour.
soil is blended with other material to prepare
good brick earth. Then the mixed soil is 14. [Ans. C]
tempered by being thoroughly broken up, It is a test for soundness of brick. A sound
watered and kneaded. The tempering is brick should not break. It should produce a
usually done in pug mill. clear ringing sound. A dull sound indicates an
unsound brick.
6. [Ans. C]
The Hoffmann kiln is a series of batch process 15. [Ans. A]
kilns. Hoffmann kilns are the most common The standard brick dimension is
kiln used in production of bricks. In a as prescribed
Hoffmann kiln, the fire may burn continuously by BIS. With mortar thickness, the dimension
for years that’s why they are used throughout of the brick remains
the year.

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 Bricks
16. [Ans. B] they weigh about 3 kg each. They must have a
The size of frog should be . high fusion point.
The purpose of providing frog is to form a key
holding the mortar and therefore, the bricks 5. [Ans. C]
are laid with frog on top. The major basic refractory is the refractory
with the content of magnesia, dolomite and
17. [Ans. B] limestone. The most commonly used basic
There can be 4 sub-divisions of burnt bricks. refractory brick is Magnesite brick with the
They are first class, second class, third class strong resistance to alkaline slag and iron slag.
and kiln rejected bricks.
6. [Ans. C]
18. [Ans. C] Magnesite refractories are chemically basic
Brick are laid with their end towards the face materials, containing at least 85% magnesium
of the wall in header bond. In the Flemish oxide. These are made from naturally
bond, alternative header and stretcher are occurring Magnesite ( ) and Silica
placed in each course. In the English bond, ( ). The physical properties of this class of
alternative header and stretcher courses are brick are generally poor, and their great value
laid. is primarily in their resistance to basic slags,
particularly to lime and iron rich slags. These
19. [Ans. D] constitute the most important group of
When a brick is halved along its height, it is a refractories for the basic steel making
split that along the length is a closer. Bed is processes.
the lower surface of brick when the brick is
laid flat. 7. [Ans. A]
Acidic refractories consist of mostly acidic
20. [Ans. D] materials like alumina ( ) and silica
Number of bricks in one cubic meter brick ( ). They are generally not attacked or
masonry affected by acidic materials, but easily affected
by basic materials. They include substances
Level-2 such as silica, alumina, and fire clay brick
refractories. At high temperatures, acidic
1. [Ans. C] refractories may also react with lime and basic
Alumina ( ): It is the chief constituent of oxides. Hence, they are used for lining in
a good brick earth. A content of about 20% to furnaces.
30% is necessary to form the brick earth of a
good quality. It imparts plasticity to the earth 8. [Ans. D]
so it helps in the moulding of the brick earth. As per IS: 1077
Class Average Compressive
2. [Ans. A] Designation not Less Strength
The excess of silica destroys the cohesion than
between particles and brick become brittle. (approx.)
35 35.0 (350)
3. [Ans. B] 30 30.0 (300)
Iron pyrite: This tends to oxidize and 25 25.0 (250)
decompose the brick during burning. The 20 20.0 (200)
brick may split into pieces. Pyrites de- 17.5 17.5 (175)
15 15.0 (150)
colourise the bricks.
12.5 12.5 (125)
10 10.0 (100)
4. [Ans. A]
7.5 7.5 (75)
Refractory bricks or fire bricks are the type of
5 5.0 (50)
bricks which can withstand high temperature 3.5 3.5 (35)
as a construction material. The colour of fire
bricks is usually white or yellowish white and

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 Bricks
9. [Ans. A] 14. [Ans. A]
Water absorption of 1st class bricks after 24 A queen closer is a brick piece cut in half along
hours of immersion in water should not the length. It is placed so as to avoid vertical
exceed 20% of self-weight. joints. It makes the header come centrally
Water absorption of 2nd class bricks after 24 above the underlying stretcher.
hours of immersion in water should not
exceed 22.5% of self-weight. 15. [Ans. C]
Water absorption of 3rd class bricks after 24 Dutch bond is a modified form of English
hours of immersion in water should not bond. Three fourth bat is used next to header
exceed 25% of self-weight. in stretcher course. Bricks are laid in Zig-zag
way in Zig-zag bond. In facing bond, bricks of
10. [Ans. A] different thickness are used in facing and
Nil: When there is no perceptible deposit of backing of walls.
efflorescence.
Slight: When not more than 10 percent of the
exposed area of the brick is covered with a
thin deposit of salts.
Moderate: When there is a heavier deposit
than under ‘slight’ and covering up to 50
percent of the exposed area of the brick
surface but unaccompanied by powdering or
flaking of the surface.
Heavy: When there is a heavy deposit of salts
covering 50 percent or more of the exposed
area of the brick surface but unaccompanied
by powdering or flaking of the surface.
Serious: When there is a heavy deposit of
salts accompanied bp powdering and/or
flaking of the exposed surfaces.

11. [Ans. D]
Dimensional Tolerance: In this test 20
bricks are arranged in a straight line touching
each other. Then dimension of 20 brick is
measured and compared with the standard
size of brick.

12. [Ans. B]
The standard size of brick is length
and width . When manufactured, size
variations may occur by expansion or
contraction while drying and burning process.
Permissible tolerance is for length
and for width and height.

13. [Ans. D]
Vertical joints occur when the end of a brick is
in line with the end of the underlying brick,
vertically. This would lead to low strength
wall as cracks can easily be transferred along
these joints.

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