Brick

In the past bricks were made of wood and clay. However, true bricks are made of ceramic and they are created by the action of heat and cooling.  Actually, bricks for buildings are made from clay, shale, soft slate, calcium silicate, concrete, or shaped from quarried stone.
 * a.- What are they made of? **

**b.- What are they used for? ** This is one of the most common materials used for constructions. Bricks are used for building , pavement and block paving. Also bricks are used to decorated facades, kitchens, bars, walls, and others.

**c.-How many types of brick are there? ** There are three types of bricks, Common burnt clay bricks Heavy duty bricks Burnt clay perforated bricks


 * [[image:kariluz989/1_brick.png width="79" height="74" align="left"]]Stock Bricks: Are the traditional bricks. They had slightly irregular shape made by using a mechanised moulding process.


 * Engine[[image:kariluz989/2_brick.png width="68" height="71" align="left"]]ering: are used for their performance characteristics rather than their appearance. They are used to retain walls and other situations where strength and resistance is the most important thing.

**d.- What is the meaning of //brick laying techniques//? **
 * Durability: Brick is a very durable building material. However, brick can occasionally chip so it certainly is not indestructible.
 * Weather Resistance: Brick is resistant to the wear and tear that common weather causes.
 * Space: One advantage of brick is that it defines the spaces. It can be used to decorate.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Cleaning
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Cleaning brick is not as constant. Also, the bricks requires more scrubbing to retain the original color of the brick.
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Bricks are cheap materials.
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Brick breaks easily, are quite resistant to forces being exerted on it.
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Bricks do not have elastic properties and are not moldable because of the materials that compose them.

**<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">e.- What is the meaning of //brick laying techniques//? ** <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">The bricklaying techniques are refered to different types of methods to lay bricks. Different ways to overlapping (interlocking) of bricks and the different kind of materials used to join bricks are the meaning of brick laying techniques.

**BRICK FUNCTIONS** <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Brick is a material that has been used through time because it is very easy to produce, find and transport. Also, bricks do not required maintenance (like cement, concrete and others materials). For these reasons, brick is usually a material very common and cheap used on constructions. The author said that brick is a good material because it is very resistance to water and fire, and it also gives good stability and resistance in constructions. Moreover, the author said that other advantages of bricks are that there are several techniques for creating different types, shapes and sizes of bricks according to the needs that require manufacturer. Finally, we can see that bricks are usually used to build, strengthen and decorate buildings, walls, arcs, columns, kitchens and others places of houses. media type="file" key="Bricks 1.wma" width="300" height="45"

=**USE OF BRICK IN URBAN PLANNING**=

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Maybe we associated bricks with buildings but in urban planning this material is very use in different kind of places. Of course, bricks are very used in the construction of buildings. Obviously, those buildings are an important part of cities. Also, bricks can be used on the construction of public spaces like squares, boulevards, sidewalks, streets, and others places. Moreover, bricks have great qualities and their function is decorative. With this, bricks can be used to created pleasant spaces in the city like mosaics and different designs in public spaces. It is very important to say that bricks give a way to mix nature with constructed spaces and gives you a sense of space and home care. At the same time, if we add the benefits in terms of construction as durability, low cost, resistance to moisture changes, temperature changes and easy moldability (according of the shape of the buildings) makes it the perfect material to construct publics spaces.

**WORKSHEET** **<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">a. Comparison and contrast ** <span style="color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify;">Brick compares favorably with stone ** as ** a structural material for its fire-and-weather resisting qualities and for the ease of production, transportation, and laying **<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">b. Description ** <span style="color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify;">Standard modern types provide a ratio of width to length of slightly less than 1:2 to permit a wide variety of bonding patterns within a consistent module, or standard of measurement. **<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">c. Exemplification ** <span style="color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify;">Special shapes can be produced by molding to meet particular structural or expressive requirements ( <span style="color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify;">for example, wedge-shaped bricks are sometimes employed in arch construction and bricks with rounded faces in columns).

**<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">d. Cause/Effect ** <span style="color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify;">The size of bricks is limited by the need for efficient drying, firing, and handling, but shapes, along with the techniques of bricklaying, have varied widely throughout history **<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">e. Chronology ** <span style="color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify;">Brick which has been used since the 4th millennium BC, was the chief building material in the ancient Near East