COMPARISON OF VARIOUS BRICKS AND BLOCKS

Hello Everyone This Table gives a very good and proper idea for selecting your bricks for construction of your residential house or be a commercial one.

Go through the following table and note down important things which you may need for your current site or just to get knowledge about bricks and blocks.

Share your views and some parameters which i haven't discussed in this article in comment section. 

Comparison of Various Bricks and Blocks (AAC Blocks vs CLC Blocks vs Red Clay bricks)
S.No	Parameter	AAC Blocks	Red Clay Bricks	CLC Blocks
1	Raw Materials	Cement, fly ash, water and Air entraining agents	Locally avaiable clay	Cement, lime, specially grinded sand, foam, high primary energy input
2	Size	400-600mm X 200mm X 150mm – 300mm	225mm X 75mm X 100/150mm	400-600 x 200 x 100/150/200 mm
3	Variation Size	1.5 mm (+/-)	5 mm (+/-)	5 mm (+/-)
4	Compressive Strength (As per IS codes)	3-4 N/mm2	3.5 N/mm2	2 -2.5 kg/cm2
5	Dry Density (As per IS codes)	550-650 kg/m3 Its one-third of the weight of clay brick which makes it easy to lift and transport	1800 kg/m3	800 kg/m3
6	Cost Benefit	For high rise buildings there will be reduction of Dead weight which leads to saving in Concrete and steel quantities.	As easily available in local market hence it is beneficiary for low rise structure.	For high rise buildings there will be reduction of Dead weight which leads to saving in Concrete and steel quantities.
7	Fire Resistance (8″ Wall)	Upto 4 Hours	Around 2 Hours	Around 4 Hours
8	Quality of End Product	Factory made product. So the quality of end product is consistent and good	Locally made product. Quality depends on various parameters like quality of raw materials used, process of manufacture etc.,	The quality of the end product depends on the foam used and degree of quality control
9	Sound Insulation	Better Sound absoprtion/insulation as compared to bricks	Normal	Better Sound absoprtion/insulation as compared to bricks
10	Energy Saving	Low thermal conductivity (0.24 Kw-M/C) helps in saving electricity costs 30% for heating and cooling of house	High thermal Conductivity (0.81 Kw-M/C). So no significant cost savings	Low thermal conductivity (0.32 Kw-M/C) helps in saving electricity costs 30% for heating and cooling of house
11	Environmental Friendliness	In AAC Block there is no top soil consumption and it emits very low Carbon dioxide as compare to Red clay bricks while manufacturing	One sq ft of carpet area with clay brick walling will consume 25.5 kg of top soil (approx). It actually damages environment	In CLC Block there is no top soil consumption and it emits very low Carbon dioxide as compare to Red clay bricks while manufacturing.
12	Internal and External Plaster	As these bricks have dimensional accuracy, the internal and extenal plaster thickness can be reduced	Requires thick plaster surface as there are variations in the dimensions	As these bricks have dimensional accuracy, the internal and extenal plaster thickness can be reduced
13	Cost of Construction	1 Cum costs – Rs. 4200/-	1 Cum costs – Rs. 2440/-	1 Cum costs – Rs. 4000/-
14	Joining Process	Chemical mortars can be used for joining the brick. This reduces the material consumption fo cement and also avoids curing process	Traditional mortar needs to be used and the brick work should be cured atleast for 7 days before plastering	Chemical mortars can be used for joining the brick. This reduces the material consumption of cement and also avoids curing process.
15	Availability	Factory setup cost is high.Not many factories, so availability is a concern.	Available locally in all cities and villages.	Factory setup cost is low as compared to AAC. Also takes long time to produce if steam curing is not used.Timely availability is a concern.
16	Thermal Insulator	AAC Blocks are very good thermal insulator if cooling is an major component of any building monthly expenses it will save cost for entire lifetime	It have low thermal insulation as compare to AAC and CLC Block	CLC Blocks are very good thermal insulator if cooling is an major component of any building monthly expenses it will save cost for entire lifetime
17	Tax Contribution	Contributes to Government taxes in form of Central,Excise,VAT and octroi	No Tax Contribution	Contributes to Government taxes in form of Central,Excise,VAT and octroi
18	Cylindrical Structures	For Cylindrical structure these blocks are not much useful	Cylindrical manholes or sewage chambers need small size of bricks so that the curvature can be formed hence Red clay bricks are useful	For Cylindrical structure these blocks are not much useful
19	Water Absorption	Absorb 12- 15% by total volume of AAC blocks	Absorb 17 -20% by total volume of red clay brick	Absorb 12-15% of water by total volume of Block
20	Range of Application	They are suitable for Non load bearing or RCC structure in partition wall	They are useful in both load bearing and non load bearing structure	They are suitable for Non load bearing or RCC structure in partition wall