Qualities of good building stones

Appearance & color Uniform color, darker shades are preferred. Should be free from clay holes, bands or spots. Structure Not dull in appearance, crystalline homogenous, close and fine grained is good. Stratification should not be visible. Weight Heavier are compact, less porous and are good for hydraulic structures. Strength Generally compressive strength is needed. Igneous rock stones are stronger. Hardness Resistance to abrasion, friction and wear. Its measured on Mohs Hardness scale. Toughness Withstands impact, vibrations, moving and dead loads. Dressing Uniform texture and softness for fine surface finish. Important for face work of public buildings. Porosity and Absorption Exposed surface absorbs rain water which forms acids causing crumbling action. Less porous stones absorb less fluid hence are more durable. Seasoning Hardening and weathering affect due to evaporation of quarry sap and formation of crystalline film. 6 to 12 months for proper seasoning is essential to make the stone worth using in construction applications.

Weathering Should withstand rains, frost, wind and all other extremities in weather. Resistance to fire If free from calcium carbonate or oxides of iron, it will show considerable resistance to fire. Durability Compact stones are more durable. Cost Should have minimum cost in quarrying, transportation, dressing and installation

Clay Preparation
Tempering Tempering is adding water to the clay soil in order to make it more workable. Too much water added to the clay mix will decrease quality, though. Disintegration and Crushing An alternative to tempering is disintegration or weathering, which involves allowing clay to dry in the sun and accept moisture from rain and dew. The repeated drying and moistening of clay will bring clay to a plasticity and workability appropriate for brickmaking. Crushing will make the mixture more homogeneous. Mixing

Mixing is done to make the clay soil homogeneous and smooth. There are different techniques that can be used to do this, including using animal power or letting humans mix the clay with their feet. Different admixtures such as coal or sawdust can be added to the clay for two beneficial reasons: 1) reduce cracking during drying and 2) reduce fuel usage during firing.

Function of Sand in Mortar

1.Sand s mainly used as a inert material to give volume in mortar for economy. 2.It subdivides cementing material into a thin film which is the principle of using all cementing material. 3.It offers requisite surface area for film of cementing material to adhere and spread. 4.Prevents shrinkage and cracking of mortar. 5.Well graded sand provide density. 6.It allows CO2 to enter in some depth in case fat lime mortar and increase setting power. 7.Some chemical reaction take place between silica of sand grain and other cementing material.

Frog

The frog is an indentation in one of the bed faces of a brick, usually the top. Bricks with two frogs are known as double-frogged, though these are less common.

Pressed or moulded bricks are traditionally made with frogs to make it easier to fill the moulds and take the moulded brick from the mould.

Unless specifically stated, bricks should be laid frog (or larger frog) facing up, and with mortar filling the frog. This gives a stronger wall and superior sound insulation.

Harmful Ingredients in Brick-earth :

1. Alkalis : Alkalis present in the brick earth lower the fusion temperature abnormally making the brick deform and twist. In addition, alkalis have hygroscopic properties. They absorb water from atmosphere and make the walls damp resulting into unhealthy atmosphere and weaker structure. In addition, when the moisture in the wall evaporates, they leave behind white or gray spots spoiling the appearance of the building. This effect is called Efflorescence effect.

2. Lumps of Lime : If these are present, as explained earlier, on heating get converted into quick lime. This quick lime in the presence of water is highly brittle and the brick crumbles.

3. Pebbles of stones : In the presence of these, there is hindrance in molding the brick. In addition, the bricks cannot be cut to the required size, if needed, while erecting the wall.

4. Organic matter : Organic matters like roots, leaves etc. burn while the brick is burnt producing CO2. This Carbon dioxide creates porosity in bricks affecting the strength of bricks. Hence, organic matter should be avoided in brick-earth.

In addition to these above mentioned impurities, Iron pyrites, Kallar or Reh [ Sodium Sulphate + Sodium Chloride ] also have harmful effects on bricks like that of lumps of lime and organic matter respectively. . Alumina: It is the chief constituent of every kind of clay. A good brick earth should contain about 20% ti 30% of alumina. This constituent imparts plasiticity to the earth so that it can be moulded. If alumina is present in excess, with inadequate quantity of sand, the raw bricks shrink and warp drying and burning and become to0o hard when burnt

2. Silica: It exists in clay either as free or combined. As free sand, it is mechanically mixed with clay and in combined form, it exists in chemical composition with alumina. A good brick earth should contain about 50% to 60% of silica. The presence of this constituent prevents cracking, shrinking and warping of raw bricks. It thus imparts uniform shape to the bricks. The durability of bricks depends on the proper proportion of silica in brick earth. The excess of silica destroys the cohension between particles and the bricks become brittle.

2. Lime: A small quantity of lime not exceeding 5 % is desirable in good brick earth. It should be present in a very finely powered state because even small particles of the size of a pin head cause flaking on the

bricks. The lime prevents shrikage of raw bricks. The sand alone is infusible. But it slightly fuses at kiln temperature in presence if lime. Such fused sand works as a hard cementing material for brick particles. The excess of lime causes the brick to melt and hence it shape is lost. The lumps of lime are converted into quick lime after burning and this quick lime slakes and expands in presence of moisture. Such an action results in splitting of bricks into pieces. 4. Oxice of iron: A small quantity of oxide of iron to the extent of about 5 to 6 [prcent is desirable in good brick earth. It helps as lime to duse sand. It also imparts red color to the bricks. The excess of oxicde of iron makes the bricks dark blue or blackish. If, on the other hand, the quantity of iron oxide is comparatively lee, the bricks will be yellowish in color. 5. Magnesia: A small quantity of magnesia in brick earth imparts yellow tint to the bricks and decreases shrinkage. But excess of magnesis leads to the decay of bricks.

Hydraulic lime
Hydraulic lime is a variety of lime, a slaked lime used to make lime mortar. Hydraulicity is the ability of lime to set under water. Hydraulic lime is produced by heating calcining limestone that contains clay and other impurities. Calcium reacts in the kiln with the clay minerals to produce silicates that enable the lime to set without exposure to air. Any unreacted calcium is slaked to calcium hydroxide. Hydraulic lime is used for providing a faster initial set than ordinary lime in more extreme conditions (including under water). Hydraulic lime is a useful building material for the following reasons: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. It has a low elastic modulus. There is no need for expansion (movement) joints. It allows buildings to "breathe", and does not trap moisture in the walls. It has a lower firing temperature than Portland cement, and is thus less polluting. Stone and brickwork bonded with lime is easier to re-use. Lime acts sacrificially in that it is weaker and breaks down more readily than the masonry, thus saving weaker stone such as sandstone and limestone from the harmful effects of temperature expansion and mortar freeze. 7. It is less dense than cement, thus less cold bridging. 8. Lime re-absorbs the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by its calcination (firing), thus partially offsetting the large amount emitted during its manufacture. The more hydraulic a lime, the less CO2 is reabsorbed during set, for example, 50% of CO2 is reabsorbed by NHL 3.5 during the set, compared to 100% of CO2 being reabsorbed by pure calcium hydroxide (fat lime putty).

Properties of Fat Lime

1. Composition: Fat lime is produced from sea shell, coral deposits etc or from lime stone containing impurities like free sand and soluble silica combined with alumina, magnesium, carbonate etc. If the proportion of free sand is large, the resulting lime becomes progressively poor and is called poor or lean lime. 2. Behavior in slaking: Fat lime slakes rapidly when water is added giving out considerable heat and making hissing and cracking noise and increases 2 to 3 times its original volume. Fat lime if exposed to air, it absorbs moisture and CO2 from the atmosphere and becomes inert CaCO3 or chalk again and loses its cementing power. For developing the cementing power, quick lime must be slaked with water as early as possible, after it is obtained from the kiln.

Calcium oxide (CaO), commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline crystalline solid at room temperature. The broadly used term "lime" connotes calcium-containing inorganic materials, which include carbonates, oxides and hydroxides of calcium, silicon, magnesium, aluminium, and iron predominate, such as limestone. By contrast, "quicklime" specifically applies to a single chemical compound. Quicklime is relatively inexpensive. Both it and a chemical derivative (calcium hydroxide) are important commodity chemicals.

Bulking of sand
Bulking of sand means increase in its volume due to presence of surface moisture. The volume increases with the increase in moisture content. The volume may increase up to 20% to 40% when moisture content is 5 to 10%. Due to moisture in each particle of sand, sand gets a coating of water due to surface tension which keeps the particles apart. This causes an increment in volume of sand known as Bulking of Sand.

Mortar
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The word comes from Latin mortarium meaning crushed. Mortar may be used to bind masonry blocks of stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder such as cement or lime, and water. Mortar can also be used to fix, or point, masonry when the original mortar has washed away