Burrs, lumps which have vitrified or run together in the burning; used for rough walling, garden work, &c.
Pressed bricks, moulded under hydraulic pressure, and much used for facing work. They usually have a deep frog or hollow on one or both horizontal faces, which reduces the weight of the brick and forms an excellent key for the mortar.
Blue bricks, chiefly made in South Staffordshire and North Wales. They are used in engineering work, and where great compressional resistance is needed, as they are vitrified throughout, hard, heavy, impervious and very durable. Blue bricks of special shape may be had for paving, channelling and coping.
Fire-bricks, withstanding great heat, used in connexion with furnaces. They should always be laid with fire-clay in place of lime or cement mortar.
Glazed bricks, either salt-glazed or enamelled. The former, brown in colour, are glazed by throwing salt on the bricks in the kiln. The latter are dipped into a slip of the required colour before being burnt, and are used for decorative and sanitary purposes, and where reflected light is required.
Moulded bricks, for cornices, string courses, plinths, labels and copings. They are made in the different classes to many patterns; and on account of their greater durability, and the saving of the labour of cutting, are preferable in many cases to rubbers. For sewer work and arches, bricks shaped as voussoirs are supplied.
The strength of brickwork varies very considerably according to the kind of brick used, the position in which it is used, the kind and quality of the lime or cement mortar, and above all the quality of the workmanship. The results of experiments with short walls carried out in 1896–1897 by the Royal Strength of brickwork.Institute of British Architects to determine the average loads per sq. ft. at which crushing took place, may be briefly summarized as follows: Stock brickwork in lime mortar crushed under a pressure of 18.63 tons per sq. ft., and in cement mortar under 39.29 tons per sq. ft. Gault brickwork in lime mortar crushed at 31.14 tons, and in cement mortar at 51.34 tons. Fletton brickwork in lime crushed under a load of 30.68 tons, in cement under 56.25 tons. Leicester red brickwork in lime mortar crushed at 45.36 tons per sq. ft., in cement mortar at 83.36 tons. Staffordshire blue brick work in lime mortar crushed at 114.34 tons, and in cement mortar at 135.43 tons.
The height of a brick pier should not exceed twelve times its least width. The London Building Act in the first schedule prescribes that in buildings not public, or of the warehouse class, in no storey shall any external or party walls exceed in height sixteen times the thickness. In buildings of the warehouse class, the height of these walls shall not exceed fourteen times the thickness.
In exposed situations it is necessary to strengthen the buildings by increasing the thickness of walls and parapets, and to provide heavier copings and flashings. Special precautions, too, must be observed in the fixing of copings, chimney pots, ridges and hips. The greatest wind pressure experienced in England may be taken at 56 ℔ on a sq. ft., but this is only in the most exposed positions in the country or on a sea front. Forty pounds is a sufficient allowance in most cases, and where there is protection by surrounding trees or buildings 28 ℔ per sq. ft. is all that needs to be provided against.
In mixing mortar, particular attention must be paid to the sand with which the lime or cement is mixed. The best sand is that obtained from the pit, being sharp and angular. It is, however, liable to be mixed with clay or earth, which must be washed away before the sand is used. Gravel found mixed Mortar.with it must be removed by screening or sifting. River sand is frequently used, but is not so good as pit sand on account of the particles being rubbed smooth by attrition. Sea sand is objectionable for two reasons; it cannot be altogether freed from a saline taint, and if it is used the salt attracts moisture and is liable to keep the brickwork permanently damp. The particles, moreover, are generally rounded by attrition, caused by the movement of the sea, which makes it less efficient for mortar than if they retained their original angular forms. Blue or black mortar, often used for pointing the joints of external brickwork on account of its greater durability, is made by using foundry sand or smith’s ashes instead of ordinary sand. There are many other substitutes for the ordinary sand. As an example, fine stone grit may be used with advantage. Thoroughly burnt clay or ballast, old bricks, clinkers and cinders, ground to a uniform size and screened from dust, also make excellent substitutes.
Fat limes (that is, limes which are pure, as opposed to “hydraulic” limes which are burnt from limestone containing some clay) should not be used for mortar; they are slow-setting, and there is a liability for some of the mortar, where there is not a free access of air to assist the setting, remaining soft for some considerable period, often months, thus causing unequal settlement and possibly failure. Grey stone lime is feebly hydraulic, and makes a good mortar for ordinary work. It, however, decays under the influence of the weather, and it is, therefore, advisable to point the external face of the work in blue ash or cement mortar, in order to obtain greater durability. It should never be used in foundation work, or where exposed to wet. Lias lime is hydraulic, that is, it will set firm under water. It should be used in all good class work, where Portland cement is not desired.
Of the various cements used in building, it is necessary only to mention three as being applicable to use for mortar. The first of these is Portland cement, which has sprung into very general use, not only for work where extra strength and durability are required, and for underground work, but also in general building where a small extra cost is not objected to. Ordinary lime mortar may have its strength considerably enhanced by the addition of a small proportion of Portland cement. Roman cement is rarely used for mortar, but is useful in some cases on account of the rapidity with which it sets, usually becoming hard about fifteen minutes after mixing. It is useful in tidal work and embankments, and constructions under water. It has about one-third of the strength of Portland cement, by which it is now almost entirely supplanted. Selenitic cement or lime, invented by Major-General H. Y. D. Scott (1822–1883), is lias lime, to which a small proportion of plaster of Paris has been added with the object of suppressing the action of slaking and inducing quicker setting. If carefully mixed in accordance with the instructions issued by the manufacturers, it will take a much larger proportion of sand than ordinary lime.
Lime should be slaked before being made into mortar. The lime is measured out, deposited in a heap on a wooden “bank” or platform, and after being well watered is covered with the correct proportion of sand. This retains the heat and moisture necessary to thorough slaking; the time required for this operation depends on the variety of the lime, but usually it is from a few hours to one and a half days. If the mixing is to be done by hand the materials must be screened to remove any unslaked lumps of lime. The occurrence of these may be prevented by grinding the lime shortly before use. The mass should then be well “larried,” i.e. mixed together with the aid of a long-handled rake called the “larry.” Lime mortar should be tempered for at least two days, roughly covered up with sacks or other material. Before being used it must be again turned over and well mixed together. Portland and Roman cement mortars must be mixed as required on account of their quick-setting properties. In the case of Portland cement mortar, a quantity sufficient only for the day’s use should be “knocked up,” but with Roman cement fresh mixtures must be made several times a day, as near as possible to the place of using. Cement mortars should never be worked up after setting has taken place. Care should be taken to obtain the proper consistency, which is a stiff paste. If the mortar be too thick, extra labour is involved in its use, and much time wasted. If it be so thin as to run easily from the trowel, a longer time is taken in setting, and the wall is liable to settle; also there is danger that the lime or cement will be killed by the excess of water, or at least have its binding power affected. It is not advisable to carry out work when the temperature is below freezing point, but in urgent cases bricklaying may be successfully done by using unslaked lime mortar. The mortar must be prepared in small quantities immediately before being used, so that binding action takes place before it cools. When the wall is left at night time the top course should be covered up to prevent the penetration of rain into the work, which would then be destroyed by the action of frost. Bricks used during frosty weather should be quite dry, and those that have been exposed to rain or frost should never be employed. The question whether there is any limit to bricklayers’ work in frost is still an open one. Among the members of the Norwegian Society of Engineers and Architects, at whose meetings the subject has been frequently discussed, that limit is variously estimated at between −6° to −8° Réaumur (1812° to 14° Fahr.) and −12° to −15° Réaumur (5° above to 134° below zero Fahr.). It has been proved by hydraulic tests that good bricklayers’ work can be executed at the latter minimum. The conviction is held that the variations in the opinions held on this subject are attributable to the degree of care bestowed on the preparation of the mortar. It is generally agreed, however, that from a practical point of view, bricklaying should not be carried on at temperatures lower than −8° to −10° Réaumur (14° to 912° Fahr.), for as the thermometer falls the expense of building is greatly increased, owing to a larger proportion of lime being required.
For grey lime mortar the usual proportion is one part of lime to two or three parts of sand; lias lime mortar is mixed in similar proportions, except for work below ground, when equal quantities of lime and sand should be used. Portland cement mortar is usually in the proportions of one to three, or five, of sand; good results are obtained with lime mortar fortified with cement as follows:—one part slaked lime, one part Portland cement, and seven parts sand. Roman cement mortar should consist of one or one and a half parts of cement to one part of sand. Selenitic lime mortar is usually in the proportions of one to four or five, and must be mixed in a particular manner, the lime being first ground in water in the mortar mill, and the sand gradually added. Blue or black mortar contains equal parts of foundry ashes and lime; but is improved by the addition of a proportion of cement. For setting fire-bricks fire-clay is always used. Pargetting for rendering inside chimney flues is made of one part of lime with three parts of cow dung free from straw or litter. No efficient substitute has been found for this mixture, which should be used fresh. A mortar that has found approval for tall chimney shafts is composed by grinding in a mortar-mill one part of blue lias lime with one part each of sand and foundry ashes. In the external walls of the Albert Hall the mortar used was one part Portland cement, one part grey Burham lime and six parts pit sand. The lime was slaked twenty-four hours, and after being mixed
