7 Types of Brick for Home and DIY Projects

Brick is renowned as an exceptionally durable building material, with well-maintained brick structures, including walls, foundations, pillars, and patios, capable of enduring for decades, even centuries.¹ While the classic red brick is a common sight, the world of bricks is diverse, encompassing various types like burnt clay, unburnt clay, handmade, concrete, engineered, and fly ash bricks, among others.²

This overview delves into the most common types of bricks, their respective uses, and their inherent limitations.

Brick Sizes and Costs

A brick is fundamentally a building unit traditionally composed of shaped clay and bound together with mortar.³ Typically, bricks measure approximately 8 inches in length and 4 inches in width, with variations in thickness. Standard brick prices can range widely, from around $0.25 to $4 per brick. Larger stone or clay-based building units, often used in foundations, are generally referred to as blocks.⁴

In contemporary construction practices, bricks are primarily classified based on their component materials and manufacturing methods. Under this classification, here are seven common types:

Burnt Clay Bricks

Burnt clay brick is among the oldest known building materials, evident in numerous ancient structures worldwide. These classic bricks are produced by pressing wet clay into molds, then drying them thoroughly, and finally firing them in kilns at high temperatures. Visually, they appear as solid blocks of hardened clay, typically exhibiting a reddish hue.

Burnt clay bricks are commonly categorized into four classes, with first-class bricks representing the highest quality and strength.⁵ These top-grade burnt clay bricks possess no noticeable flaws and are consequently more expensive than lower classes.⁶ When used in walls, burnt clay bricks usually require plastering or rendering with mortar for a finished surface. Their applications include masonry walls, foundations, and columns.

Sun-Dried Clay or Mud Bricks

Sun-dried clay bricks, also known as mud bricks, represent one of the oldest styles of bricks, but they are also the least durable. These bricks are made by placing wet mud into forms and then allowing them to bake and harden under the sun.⁷ Once dry, these mud “loaves” are stacked and held together with additional mud.⁸ Classic adobe-style homes, for example, are constructed with exceptionally thick walls made from mud brick.⁹

Sand Lime Bricks

Sand lime bricks (also known as calcium silicate bricks) are frequently employed in structural foundations and walls, as well as for exposed brickwork and pillars.¹⁰ When pigments are added during their production, they can also be utilized for ornamental purposes.¹¹

Sand lime bricks are manufactured by blending sand, fly ash, and lime, with pigments optionally added for color.¹² This mixture is then molded under high pressure to form the bricks. Key advantages of sand lime bricks include:

Smoothness: They offer a consistently smooth finish.
Strength: They possess good strength for bearing loads.
Pigmentation: They can be easily colored with pigments.
Reduced Mortar: Their precise edges and uniform shape often require less mortar during construction.
Precise Edges: They have sharp, well-defined edges.

Engineering Bricks

Engineering bricks are specifically designed for applications where exceptional strength and resilience against environmental elements are crucial.¹³ These bricks are clay-based and can be mixed with various other materials to enhance their properties.

Their distinguishing feature is extreme durability, achieved by firing them at exceptionally high temperatures. They also exhibit very low porosity, making them ideal for use in demanding environments such as sewers, retaining walls, manholes, foundational work, and underground tunnels, where resistance to water and frost is paramount.

Concrete Bricks

Concrete bricks are manufactured by pouring solid concrete into molds.¹⁴ While traditionally used for internal brickwork, they are increasingly being utilized in exterior applications, such as facades and fences, to achieve a modern or urban aesthetic. Pigments can be incorporated during production to create concrete bricks in a variety of colors.¹⁵

Due to their inherent durability, concrete bricks are versatile and can be used in almost any construction scenario, except for underground applications, as they tend to be somewhat porous and susceptible to water absorption.¹⁶

Fly Ash Clay Bricks

Fly ash clay bricks are produced by combining clay with fly ash—a byproduct generated from coal combustion—and then firing them at temperatures around 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit (1,000°C). This type of brick is sometimes described as self-cementing due to its high calcium oxide content, which causes it to expand when exposed to moisture.¹⁷ However, this expansive tendency can also lead to issues like “pop-out” failures. Fly ash clay bricks are generally lighter than traditional clay or concrete bricks.

Typical uses for fly ash clay bricks include:

Structural walls
Foundations
Pillars
Any application where improved fire resistance is a requirement

Fire Bricks

A fire brick, also known as a refractory brick, is specifically designed to line areas that are in direct contact with or in close proximity to intense flames.¹⁸ This includes applications such as furnaces, kilns, fireplaces, chimneys, barbecues, and pizza ovens.

Fire bricks are manufactured from a specialized mixture containing a high content of silica and aluminum oxide, enabling them to withstand excessive heat without deforming or breaking.¹⁹ They are baked in kilns at extremely high temperatures, approaching 2912°F (1600°C).

Benefits of Using Bricks

Bricks offer numerous advantages in construction:

Aesthetics: They provide a vast selection of colors, textures, and finishes, allowing for significant design flexibility.²⁰
Strength: Bricks boast high compressive strength and excellent resistance to wear and tear.²¹
Porosity: Their ability to both release and absorb moisture helps in regulating internal temperatures and humidity within structures, contributing to thermal comfort.²²
Fire Protection: Certain types of bricks can offer fire protection for up to eight hours, enhancing building safety.²³
Soundproofing: Bricks provide effective sound dampening, capable of blocking up to 200 decibels, contributing to quieter interiors.
Insulation: They offer excellent thermal insulation properties, potentially saving up to 50% more energy compared to wood construction.

How Bricks Are Made

Bricks are manufactured using diverse methods, most commonly starting with a clay-based material that is molded into shape.²⁴ This form is then fixed either through heat treatment (firing) or other drying processes.

The earliest bricks utilized natural clay and were simply dried in the sun, making them the weakest type.²⁵ Over time, manufacturing techniques evolved to produce stronger, more resilient bricks capable of withstanding greater weight, intense heat, harsh weather conditions, and erosion.²⁶

The composition of bricks can be modified to achieve desired qualities by blending clay with materials such as concrete, ash, or various chemical additives for specific purposes. For example, fire bricks are specifically formulated with silica and alumina to ensure extreme durability when exposed to direct flames.²⁷

How Bricks Are Categorized

Bricks can be categorized in several ways, and these classifications can sometimes overlap, making the taxonomy descriptive but not always perfectly exclusive.

Here are some common ways to categorize bricks:

By Facing:
- Facing (exposed): Bricks intended for visible surfaces, chosen for their aesthetic qualities.²⁸
- Backing (structural and hidden from view): Bricks used for structural support where appearance is not a primary concern.²⁹
By Manufacturing Method:
- Unfired (air-cured): Bricks dried naturally without heat (e.g., sun-dried mud bricks).³⁰
- Fired (oven-baked): Bricks hardened through high-temperature firing in kilns (e.g., burnt clay bricks).³¹
By Use:
- Common Bricks: Generally used for residential construction and general masonry.
- Engineering Bricks: Employed in more demanding civil engineering projects where high strength and low water absorption are critical.³²

Bricks can also be categorized by their specific shape and specialized function:

Brick Veneers: Thin bricks used primarily for surface cladding, providing a brick appearance without structural load.³³
Airbricks: Bricks with large perforations designed to circulate air, typically used in suspended floors and cavity walls to prevent dampness.³⁴
Perforated Bricks: Bricks featuring numerous drilled cylindrical holes, making them lighter in weight and sometimes improving mortar adhesion.³⁵
Bullnose Bricks: Bricks molded with rounded angles, often used for decorative edges or corners.³⁶
Paving Bricks: Bricks with high iron content, specifically designed for underfoot paving applications due to their hardness and wear resistance.³⁷
Capping Bricks: Bricks used to top freestanding walls, providing a neat finish and protection.³⁸
Hollow Bricks: Bricks with internal voids, weighing approximately one-third of standard bricks, used for non-load-bearing partition walls due to their lightness and sometimes better insulation properties.³⁹

FAQ

What kind of brick is used for houses?

Mainly two kinds of brick are used for houses: burnt clay brick and unburnt clay brick. Burnt clay brick, cured under extreme heat in kilns, is the most common type used in house construction due to its strength and durability. Unburnt clay brick, cured more slowly without heat, is gaining popularity as a greener option due to its lower energy consumption during manufacturing.40

What is the strongest brick?

The strongest type of brick is generally considered to be Class A engineering brick.41 It is selected for its superior compressive strength (greater than 125 N/mm²) and exceptionally low water absorption rates (less than 4.5%), rather than for its aesthetic value. Class A engineering brick is typically employed in commercial structures and civil engineering projects that may be heavily affected by water, frost, or require significant load-bearing capacity.42

What is the most affordable type of brick?

The most affordable type of brick is typically standard-sized red clay brick, often measuring around 3-5/8 inches by 2-1/4 inches by 7-5/8 inches.43 Generally, any type of machine-made brick will cost less than handmade or hand-molded bricks due to the efficiency of mass production.44