Brick Masonry Quality Checklist

Masonry is used to indicate the art of building a structure in either stones or bricks.Brick masonry is a highly durable form of construction. It is built by placing bricks in mortar in a systematic manner to construct solid mass that withstand exerted loads. There are several types of bricks and number of mortars which can be used to construct brick masonry

Classification of Brick Work

First Class work

• The surface and edges of bricks are sharp
• Rich mortar in which the cement and sand ratio is from 1:3 to 1: 6. 
• First class bricks have a minimum crushing strength of 105kg Per sq.cm
• Thickness of mortar joints doesn’t exceed 10mm

Second Class Work

• Bricks are rough and shape is slightly irregular
• These bricks should not be used for load bearing walls for more than two story buildings
• This type of bricks have minimum crushing strength 70kg per sq.m  
•  Thickness of mortar joint is 12 mm.

Third Class Work

• Third Class brick work is made by using third class bricks and cement mortar or mud mortar
• Mainly in that area where rainfall is not heavy.
• This type of brick work is made for temporary work in private sector.

Quality checklist of brick Masonry

Mortar

• Check mixing ratio is properly maintained
• Make sure cement mortar is mixed properly in dry condition on a clean place and use mixer for mixing if mixer is not available at-least mix if for 5-6 minute manually And mix the mortar with water and blend it until a smooth and plastic mortar is produced.
• Use silt free (less than 8%) medium gritty clean sand for mortar.
• Check clean drinking water is mixed. 
• The mortar proportions shall be either 1:4 or 1:6.
• Make sure the mixed mortar is used within 30 minute after adding water.

Brick joint

• Check all vertical joints are staggered and joint thickness is 10 to 12 mm to be used as a key for plastering or pointing.
• Check all joints are racked up to depth of 10 mm

Brick Quality

Good bricks should have the following things

• Uniform Shape, Size, and Colour
• Dimensional Accuracy
• Hardness
• Strength
• Water absorption
• Free from cracks.
• Surface should be maximum rust free
• Weight not to be less than 7850 kg/cum.

Soaking check

• The bricks should not be soaked in water prior to use. However, a light moistening with water may be done to avoid absorption of water from the cement mortar.
• Check bricks are soaked for at least 10 hours in clean water to remove salt and other chemicals from bricks.

Alignment Check

• Check for verticality and alignment of the brickwork .Deviation shall not be more than tolerance limit ( 10mm in Alignment and 5mm in verticality for 3m height
• Check vertical alignment of every 5 courses of brick wall with plumb bob. 

Height

• Check that brick work is not carried out more than 1200 mm in a day, necessary pipe sleeves ,weep holes etc as per drawing requirement

Door and Window Opening

• Check openings are bit bigger than Given in drawing. 
• Check door and window location are kept as specified in the drawing.
• Check sunshade dimensions are kept as per drawing

Pattern Check

• Check that brick laying is in English bond pattern with frog up,built up in uniform layer and no portion is raised more than one meter above the general construction level
• Whenever work is stopped brick masonry should be left with toothed end
• Brick shall be removed and re-laid over a bed of mortar. After every Five brick have been laid, their correct alignment, level, and verticality shall be carefully checked.

Curing

• Check For minimum 7 days curing of all masonary work