How to make Clay Bricks? – The Ultimate Guide

What is the Clay Brick?

Clay brick is the most commonly used construction material utilized in a variety of buildings. Clay bricks are made by mixing clay and water in proportions and sometimes sand is added as an aggregate. These bricks follow a three-step process for their making, raw-material mixing, molding, and heat treatment.

The clay soil bricks are can be also called CEB, it is produced by compressed earth block machine.

At first, clay is mixed with water and sand to create a homogenized mixture, then the mixture is fed into the molding machine. Table molding and ground molding have been used for brick making for a long time. The former process of molding is preferred due to the uniform shapes of bricks formed.

After the molding process concludes, bricks are then sent to an industrial oven or kiln for heat treatment at high temperatures (above 1000 degrees Celsius) to manufacture durable clay bricks. In ancient times and now in several underdeveloped areas, clay bricks are sun-dried for use in manufacturing but the final product is not tough enough to stand the trial of time.

There are ancient structures built using clay bricks that are thousands of years old and still standing in various parts of China.

What is the Mud Brick?

Mudbrick is produced using a mixture of water, sand, clay, silt, and straw. Used in an ancient era, mud bricks were the primary source of building material. Some structures made still stand today.

Raw materials are mixed well together and then added to a mold for brick formation. Straws added to the mixture hold the bricks and provide stability in rainy seasons. Mud bricks are then dried under the sun until completely void of water.

These bricks were the primary building material for domestic homes for a long period of time in Egypt and many other regions in the world and are still in use in some parts of Middle East Asia.

What is the Red Clay Brick?

Red clay bricks are produced using 50%-60% sand, 20% -30% clay, 2%-5% lime, up to 7% iron oxide, and a small amount of magnesia. Iron gives these bricks the red color visible in many old structures and it is being used in the construction of civil and government buildings in many parts of the world.

The process of making all sorts of bricks is almost the same. The first process involves raw material mixing in the right proportions with water to create a mixture. The molding process then forms bricks as required. Molds can be of various designs and shapes. After drying, bricks are then treated in the ovens or kilns at 900-1000 degrees Celsius.

The heat treatment gives red bricks the ultimate strength and longer life. The molding process has evolved a lot since the old days of brick-making. Nowadays, brick machines perform molding with high pressure and guarantee a uniform brick formation.

What is the difference between Clay Bricks and Mud Bricks?

Clay bricks are a building material that is known for their sheer strength and good quality for sustainable buildings and homes. Clay bricks are more durable as compared to mud bricks. Mud bricks aren’t heat treated and that’s why carry less strength and stability.

Clay brick structures are more solid in structure with uniform shape while mud bricks have a rough surface as straws are added. Mud bricks are an energy-efficient source of building houses.

Clay bricks are an expensive building material while mud bricks are a cheap source for construction. Climate conditions also matter in choosing the right brick to use.

What is the difference between Clay Bricks and Concrete Bricks?

Concrete bricks are a strong building material while clay bricks can last for a thousand years but when it comes to compressive strength, clay bricks are more reliable.

Clay bricks have high water resistance while concrete bricks absorb more moisture and stay damp after a rainy period of a few days.

Concrete bricks are made nowadays using recyclable material waste while clay bricks use clay as a natural resource, which is manufactured by concrete blocks machine.

How to make Clay Bricks? Step by step

Clay bricks are manufactured in small-scale and large-scale business and local setups. You can manufacture clay bricks using the easy-to-follow guide mentioned below.

The clay brick making process involves these four steps:

1. Raw Material Preparation
2. Brick Molding
3. Drying

 

1. Raw Material Preparation

First of all, clay is processed to get the finest quality of bricks. Unsoiling is carried out to clear the layer of soil from the ground and then digging is performed to attain good quality of clay beneath. Further, clay is filtered for lumps, stones, and other impurities.

After that clay is mixed with water and sand to form a homogeneous mixture free of any foreign material.

2. Brick Molding

The mixture formed is then fed into brick making machine for molding. The machine takes the mix in and molds it into a certain shape and size as required to make the desired brick. Pressure (16 MPa) is applied for bricks to have good quality and uniform structure.

Molds of various shapes and sizes are available to mold bricks into the desired outcome.

Unlike older methods of molding like ground and table molding, the machine molding process is more efficient in preserving the uniformity of a brick.

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3. Drying

After the molding process is completed, bricks are stored for drying either under the sun or using hot gases. The drying process can take 2 to 4 days.

Drying is necessary so that when heat treatment is applied, bricks shouldn’t contain any water content to avoid cracks and deformation.

Which machine models can produce the Clay Bricks?

LONTTO has a range of clay brick making machines for small to large-scale brick businesses. These machines range from manual to automatic in function. High-grade steel is built into the machine frame for long life and durability.

Clay brick making machine models are listed below:

1. Eco Brava Clay Brick Machine
2. ECO BRB Clay Block Machine
3. LT2-40 Manual Clay Brick Machine
4. LT4-10 Automatic Clay Brick Machine
5. LT5-10 Clay Brick Making Machine
6. M7M1 Clay Brick Making Machine

How to produce Clay Bricks at home?

Handmade clay bricks are surely possible as the ancient practice was actually using the human hands when machinery wasn’t present. You can produce your own clay bricks at home for small-scale construction work.

The steps are simple and easy to understand.

Step-1

Find clay soil nearby and dig up the required quantity and clean it using hands. Remove all the foreign items until the clay is left behind for further processing.

Step-2

Mix the clay soil with water to make a thick paste. You may need to use your feet to mix it well with water. When you see that water and clay are mixed well, you then need to find a box-type container for molding bricks.

Step-3

When you find the right box of desirable size, put the mixture into it and lay it on a clean ground surface. You can cover the ground with sand or ashes for better brick formation.

Step-4

Leave the bricks to dry in the sun or an airy place if you reside in a colder environment.

Step-5

When the bricks are completely dry, you can fire the bricks in a kiln or ceramic oven. This will give bricks the required strength to be used as a building block.

After completing these steps, you will have your own clay bricks to use for construction purposes.

How to make Clay Bricks stronger?

Clay bricks that are commercially produced are already strong building materials. Further, some chemicals are added as pigments to give specific color and longer life to the clay bricks.

Several oxides of manganese are used for this purpose. Adding these pigments gives rich brown color to the clay bricks and the bricks can endure temperatures as high as 1280 degrees Celsius. This adds extra hardness to the bricks and extends the life.

Why should you choose Clay Bricks for construction purposes?

You can use clay bricks for their design aesthetic. Nowadays, clay bricks are available in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Bricks can retain color for a longer time period. A variety of pigments are available to add strong color to the clay bricks. Color adds life to the bricks. So, you can choose clay bricks for the variety it offers.

Clay bricks are energy efficient and have a high thermal mass to store heat energy and contain cooling internally. Clay bricks are also fire and rust-proof and can stay intact after hundreds of years.

Good quality sound insulation is also promised when you use clay bricks for building a home. You will not get disturbed by the ongoing traffic nearby or someone watching a TV in a room nearby.

How many types of Clay Bricks are there?

Clay bricks are divided into two main types:

1. Unburnt Bricks

Unburnt bricks are sun-dried after the molding and drying process is completed.

1. Burnt Bricks

Burnt clay bricks are the ones that are in use today. These clay bricks are further classified into four classes.

1. First Class

These clay bricks are thoroughly heat treated and have a uniform shape and size (normally 19x9x9 cm). The raw material used is free from any impurity. The final product has a good strong color.

Bricks have low water absorption and high compressive strength. You can hear a ringing sound when hitting two bricks together. First-class bricks are crack-free and the best quality of clay bricks available.

1. Second Class

Clay bricks in this class have all the characteristics of first-class bricks except uniform structure as these bricks have slight deformities in structure.

These bricks might not be suitable for flooring but can be used in interior and exterior walls.

• Third Class

Clay bricks having a reddish yellow color lie in this third class as these bricks aren’t properly heat treated. Deformity in shape is also common in this class.

These bricks absorb more water when placed in wet conditions for 24 hrs. Bricks produce a dull sound when hitting two together.

1. Fourth Class

Clay bricks of this class are distorted in shape and have strong color due to overheating in an oven or kiln. These bricks are porous and water may leak through them.

Not suitable for construction purposes as these bricks don’t have a uniform structure therefore mortar waste will be in large quantities.

These are the four classes of burnt clay bricks. You can now easily identify which bricks are treated and processed carefully so that these can be used in the construction of buildings and houses.

Conclusion

Clay bricks are a very suitable choice for building homes and public and private buildings. But there are alternates available with their pros and cons. All the details regarding the production of clay bricks are provided here.

With all the details provided, the article is concluded here.

If you need more information regarding clay bricks production and machine models for clay brick manufacturing. Our customer support is always eager to go through your queries and provide you with valuable information as required.

If you own a brick making plant or trying to invest in this business, you can contact us for complete information on which machines are suitable for your business application. LONTTO is here to serve you as a guide with over 30 years of experience and customers all over the globe.

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