REVANTHA SERVICES PRIVATE LTD

DEPARTMENT OF QUALITY CONTROL

METHOD OF STATEMENT FOR BRICK WORK

Brickwork in Masonry Construction

Standard specification and work procedure for brickwork in masonry
construction' provides guidelines about quality of bricks, mortar, soaking of
bricks, laying of bricks, curing, scaffolding etc. The construction of brickwork in
substructure and superstructure requires quality control on various aspects of
material and construction procedure.
Bricks
➢ The quality of bricks to be used in masonry construction should be of
standard specifications (good brick earth, thoroughly burnt and deep cherry
red or copper in colour). Bricks should be regular in shape and their edges
should be sharp. Bricks should emit a clear ringing sound on being struck
and should be free from cracks, chips, flaws, and lumps of any kind.
➢ Bricks should not absorb water more than one-sixth of their weight after
one-hour soaking by immersing in water. Standard bricks should have a
crushing strength of 105 kg/sq.cm or 1500 lbs/sq.in.

Good quality brick thoroughly burnt and deep cherry red or copper in
colour shape and their edges should be sharp.
Mortar
➢ Mortar should be of the specified grade and materials used for mortar
should be of standard specifications.
➢ For cement mortar, cement should be fresh Portland cement or pozzolana
Portland cement of standard specifications. Sand should be sharp, clean,
and free from organic and foreign matters. Coarse or medium-sized sands
should be used for rich mortar, and local fine sand may be used for weak
mortar.
➢ Sand (i) Natural sand free form organic matters.
(ii) The clay plus fine silt content shall not exceed 5% by weight and
15% by volume.

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 REVANTHA SERVICES PRIVATE LTD
DEPARTMENT OF QUALITY CONTROL
METHOD OF STATEMENT FOR BRICK WORK

i)Silt & Clay by S.A. method :9.40% (Limit of Deleterious material is 15

% for crushed sand)
ii) Silt by sedimentation:11.36%
iii)FinenessModulus:3.16
iv) Grading Zone :I

Thickness of mortar joint shall not exceed 10 mm.

➢ The proportion of cement-sand for mortar can vary from 1:3 to 1:6 or as
specified. Materials of mortar should be measured to have required
proportion with measuring box. Cement and sand should first be dry-mixed
to have a uniform colour on a clean masonry platform and then mixed by
adding clean water slowly and gradually to have workable consistency and
mixed thoroughly by turning at least three times.
➢ Only freshly mixed mortar should be used for construction; old and stale
mortar should not be used. Mortar for one hour’s work should only be
mixed with water so that they can be used before setting starts.
2. Soaking of Bricks
Bricks should be fully soaked in clean water by submerging in a tank for a period
of 12 hours immediately before use. Soaking should be continued till the air
bubbles have ceased to appear.
When the brick remains submerged in water for 24 hours, the brick should not
absorb more than 20% of its weight.

Soaking of Bricks water Absorption test

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 REVANTHA SERVICES PRIVATE LTD
DEPARTMENT OF QUALITY CONTROL
METHOD OF STATEMENT FOR BRICK WORK

3.Setting out
1. Surface of the concrete shall be thoroughly cleaned before marking lines
on the floor, wall, column, etc.
2. All main grid lines shall be marked according to approved drawings.
3. m offline from the grid line and name it.
4. 200 mm offline from the brick face on either side of wall.
5. Mark centreline of door opening.
6. Mark structural opening of the door
7. Mark concrete column, stud, concrete wall etc. along the wall line.
4.Stiffener Columns, Beams and Concrete Ledges
(i)Stiffener Beams/Columns shall be required to wall areas greater than 9m2
which are unsupported by brick walls, concrete walls, or columns. (Stiffener
columns shall be generally placed in 3m intervals)
(ii)Approved Flexible Sealant shall be provided at the interface of concrete and
brick flexible joints.
(iii) Concrete Ledges shall be provided for Bathroom areas for Water Proofing
works, and it will be measured separately and will be claimed in concrete items.
5. Laying of Bricks
1. Bricks should be laid in English bond unless specified and should be well
bonded. Every course should be truly horizontal, and walls should be truly
in plumb.
2. Vertical joints of consecutive course should not come directly over one
another; vertical joints in the alternate course should come directly over
one another.
3. No damaged or broken bricks should be used. Closers should be of clean-
cut bricks and should be placed near the ends of walls but not at the other
edge. Selected best-shaped bricks should be used for face work.
4. Mortar joints should not exceed 6 mm (1/4 inch) in thickness and joints
should be fully filled with mortar. Bricks should be laid with frogs upward
except in the top course where frogs should be placed downwards.
5. Brickwork should be carried out for not more than 1 metre or 3 feet in
height at a time. When one part of the wall must be delayed, stepping
should be left at an angle of 45 degrees.
6. Corbelling or projections, where made, should not be more than ¼ brick
projections in one course. All joints should be raked and faces of wall are
cleaned at the end of each day’s work.
7. The bricks shall be wetted with water before use on works. Bad quality
bricks & over burnt bricks shall not be used.

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 REVANTHA SERVICES PRIVATE LTD
DEPARTMENT OF QUALITY CONTROL
METHOD OF STATEMENT FOR BRICK WORK

8. The top of walls left off shall be wetted before the work is re-commenced.
9. The thickness of mortar joint shall not exceed 10 mm.
10.Every third course shall be levelled.
11.Lay the Brick Mesh over the 7th Brick layer and at every subsequent 14th
layer of brick wall.
12.Fix the Brick Tie if the brick wall connects with the structural wall or
Column over 7th layer and at every subsequent 14th layer of brick wall.
13.Continue with brickwork by inserting brick tie and brick mesh as
mentioned above.
14.The walls shall be carried up in a uniform manner no one portion being
raised more than 1m above another at any time.
15.All constructed masonry exposed to the sun shall be kept damp
immediately after completion and during the following day.
16.Openings for doors, windows, etc shall be properly marked out and left
unbuilt until the frames have been fixed position.
17.Anchors provided for stiffeners columns and the perimeter brick walls.
18.All non-load Bearing walls shall be isolated from the main structure by
providing a 10mm clearance between the wall and the sides and slabs over.

Cracked brick with poor pointing.

Poor pointing with open mortar

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 REVANTHA SERVICES PRIVATE LTD
DEPARTMENT OF QUALITY CONTROL
METHOD OF STATEMENT FOR BRICK WORK

4. Curing of Brickwork
The brickwork should be kept wet for a period of at least 20 days after laying.
At the end of day’s work, the tops of walls should be flooded with water by
making small weak mortar edging to contain at least 2.5cm or 1-inch-deepwater.

5. Protection for Brickwork

The brickwork should be protected from the effect of sun, rain, frost etc. during
the construction since it is green and likely to get damaged.
6. Scaffolding for Brickwork
Necessary and suitable scaffolding should be provided to facilitate the
construction of a brick wall. Scaffolding should be sound and strong with
supports and members sufficiently strong to withstand all loads likely to come
upon them.

7. Measurement of Brickwork
Brickwork should be measured in cubic meter or cubic feet. Different kinds of
brickwork with different mortar should be taken under separate items. The
thickness of the wall should be taken as the multiple of half brick as 10cm, one
brick as 20cm, 1.5 bricks as 30 cm and so on. The rate should include the cost of
complete work including scaffolding and all tools and plants.