The Basics of Brick
What do the Great Wall of China, Philadelphia’s Independence Hall,
and Boston Medical Center’s new cancer care facility all have in common?
They all feature one of humanity’s oldest manufactured products:
the humble brick. “Brick is a longstanding material whose performance
attributes have been proven time and again for centuries,” says Stephen Sears,
senior director of marketing and communications for the Brick Industry Association
(BIA), Reston, Va.
After reading this article, you should be able to:
? Understand the fundamental considerations
affecting the selection of brick materials for commercial
and institutional facility construction.
? Describe the various attributes of bricks and
the terminology of brick construction and
detailing.
? Describe the basic mechanisms of brick
enclosure performance and the restoration of
historic and older brick structures.
