The first building materials used by man were stone and wood. But the use of bricks followed soon after, and today, bricks remain one of our most important building materials. Bricks have been regarded as one of the most environmentally friendly, strongest and longest lasting building materials used throughout history. These rectangular blocks are usually made from clay, slate, shale, calcium silicate, concrete or quarried stone. They are heated at high temperatures.
Many forces such as volcanoes, glaciers, chemical reactions and weather, break up rocks in the ground, produceing a kind of fine- grained earth called clay. When the clay is wet, it is workable and thus can be molded to any shape. Bricks are made by wetting this clay, pressing it into a mould and baking it in an oven until it is hard.
Brick has been used by people as a building material for at least 5,000 years. And perhaps, the first brick was made in the Upper Tigris area of modern-day Turkey. Today, many bricks can be found 4 inches wide and twice as long, and these materials retain heat, resist fire and with-stand corrosion. Being great insulators, bricks store heat energy from the sun and release it for several hours when the sun has set.
Many forces such as volcanoes, glaciers, chemical reactions and weather, break up rocks in the ground, produceing a kind of fine- grained earth called clay. When the clay is wet, it is workable and thus can be molded to any shape. Bricks are made by wetting this clay, pressing it into a mould and baking it in an oven until it is hard.
Brick has been used by people as a building material for at least 5,000 years. And perhaps, the first brick was made in the Upper Tigris area of modern-day Turkey. Today, many bricks can be found 4 inches wide and twice as long, and these materials retain heat, resist fire and with-stand corrosion. Being great insulators, bricks store heat energy from the sun and release it for several hours when the sun has set.
Today, most bricks are made by machines, the clay is formed into long columns and the columns are then cut into brick-sized pieces. Bricks made from clay are the most common. They also mix the clay with sand and water and then it is pressed into steel moulds and heated at about 1,000 centigrade, which locks in the strength of that brick.
Sometimes, bricks are made from sewage slydge or petroleum-contaminated soils by some manufacturers. Although petroleum-contaminated soils are hazardous for human, the environment and animal health, they have designed a way of combining them with clay. When fired at high temperatures, the result are bricks that are free from hydrocarbon contamination.
The natural color of a brick can be determined by the temperature when firing (the higher the temperature then the darker the brick) as well as the mineral content of the clay used. A pale color brick is made of clay with high lime content while a red brick has higher iron content in the clay.
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Sometimes, bricks are made from sewage slydge or petroleum-contaminated soils by some manufacturers. Although petroleum-contaminated soils are hazardous for human, the environment and animal health, they have designed a way of combining them with clay. When fired at high temperatures, the result are bricks that are free from hydrocarbon contamination.
The natural color of a brick can be determined by the temperature when firing (the higher the temperature then the darker the brick) as well as the mineral content of the clay used. A pale color brick is made of clay with high lime content while a red brick has higher iron content in the clay.
You might also want to read:
Bedroom Facts
How to choose feng shui home location