Hi friends, you are welcomed in the world of Civil Allied Gyan. In this article I have explained about brick dimensions, brick tolerance and area of brick on different standard codes.

By the help of this blog you can find the dimensions, size, tolerances and area of brick according to different standard codes easily. So please continue to the end & keep your love and support on me.

Brick Dimensions | Brick Tolerance | Area of Bricks (Different Standards Codes)

Table of Contents   (toc)

What is a brick ?

Brick is a commonly used building material which is manufactured from burnt clay. It is mostly consisted of clay, sand, lime and bearing soil or other concrete materials.

A. Dimensions of Brick According to Different Standard Codes

Brick dimensions is one of the most crucial parameters that need to be considered during the selection of bricks in order to ensure they fit with the design layout. Brick selection is decided based on the certain application in which the brick is used. Due to the fact that bricks are used in various constructions, different brick sizes are needed. All the same only bricks of one standard size shall be used in one work unless specially permitted by the Client/Consultant.

Brick Image

There are many standards each of which established by a country that provide standard sizes for bricks for example ASTM (American Standard for Testing Materials), BS (British Standard), CSA (Canadian Standards Association), and IS (Indian Standard). Good quality bricks shall have uniform size. The size of the conventional bricks shall be 225 × 110 × 75 (in mm).

Cause of changes in standard brick size:-

Commonly, manufacturing process and variations in raw materials due to shrinkage of the clay during drying and firing, wear of the mold or extrusion die, or undue stress on the units during handling prior to firing are the root cause of changes in standard brick size.

Bricks Size as per ASTM International

The size of the conventional bricks dimension used in the United States is 203 × 92 × 57 mm³. The more commonly used is the modular brick, which dimension is 194 × 92 × 57 mm³ (length x depth x height).

However, the ASTM International Standards such as ASTM C62 (Standard Specification for Building Brick ‘Solid Masonry Units Made From Clay or Shale’), ASTM C216 (Standard Specification for Facing Brick ‘Solid Masonry Units Made from Clay or Shale’), ASTM C652 (Standard Specification for Hollow Brick ‘Hollow Masonry Units Made From Clay or Shale’), and  ASTM C1088 (Standard Specification for Thin Veneer Brick Units Made From Clay or Shale) have all emphasized that the size of bricks shall be specified by the purchaser.

Tolerable variations in the specified brick sizes are set by ASTM International Standards. The following tolerances are permitted in the standard conventional size adopted on the particular work.

• Length +3.0 mm/–3.0 mm
• Breadth +1.5 mm/–1.5 mm
• Depth +1.5 mm/–1.5 mm

The maximum permissible variation in dimensions of individual units shall not exceed those given in Table-1 and Table-2 provides different size variations for hollow bricks.

Table–1. Variations of dimensions of solid bricks

Specified dimension, mm	Maximum Permissible Variations from Specified Dimension, + or -, mm
Up to 76, inclusive	2.4
Over 76 to 102, inclusive	3.2
Over 102 to 152, inclusive	4.8
Over 152 to 203, inclusive	6.4
Over 203 to 305, inclusive	7.9
Over 305 to 406, inclusive	9.5

Table–2. Hollow Brick Minimum Thickness of Face Shells and Webs

Nominal Width of Units, mm	Face Shell Thicknesses, mm	Face Shell Thicknesses, mm	End Shells or End Webs
_	solid	Cored or Double Shell
76 and 101	19.05	-	19.05
152	25.4	38	25.4
203	32	38	25.4
254	35	41	29.5
306	38	50	29.5

Permitted size variation is based on the brick classification and the relative dimensional range measured. Size variation becomes important when vertical alignment of brick (stack bond) is used, when bands of brick from different production runs are combined, or when a short horizontal extent of brickwork is constructed, such as between closely spaced window openings.

Bricks Size as per Canadian Standard Associations (CSA)

Similar to ASTM international, Canadian Standard Association CSA A82, does not stipulate specific brick sizes. However, it has established permissible variations in brick size which should not be violated. The maximum permissible variations from specified dimension is similar as Table-1.

Bricks Size as per Indian Standard (IS 1077)

Brick sizes based on IS 1077 specification (Common burnt clay building bricks)

The standard modular size of common building bricks shall be as follows:

A.) The standard modular size of common building bricks shall be as follows: 

Length (L)	Depth/Width (D/W)	Height (H)
mm	mm	mm
190	90	90
190	90	40

B.) The non-modular size of bricks shall be as follows:

Length (L)	Depth/Width (D/W)	Height (H)
mm	mm	mm
230	110	70
230	110	30

C.) Additionally, for obtaining proper bond arrangement and modular dimensions for the brick work, with the non-modular sizes, the sizes of bricks may be as follows:

Length (L)	Depth/Width (D/W)	Height (H)
mm	mm	mm
70	110	701/3

Table-3. Tolerable Variations of Dimensions of Brick

Specified Dimension	Maximum Permissible Variation
Over 50 mm and up to 75 mm	±1.5 mm
Over 75 mm and up to 100 mm	±3.0 mm
Over 100 mm and up to 150 mm	±5.0 mm
Over 150 mm and up to 250 mm	±6.0 mm

Tolerances in Brick Dimensions :-

For modular size

Dimensions	Size (IS)	Maximum	Minimum
Length	190	190+4	190-4
Width/Depth	90	90+2	90-2
Height	90	90+2	90-2

For non-modular size

Dimensions	Size (IS)	Maximum	Minimum
Length	230	230+4	230-4
Width/Depth	110	110+2	110-2
Height	70	70+2	70-2

Bricks Size as per British Standard

The standard dimension of a modern brick as per British Standard BS shall be as follows:

Length (L)	Depth/Width (D/W)	Height (H)
mm	mm	mm
215	102.5	65

Bricks Size as per Australian Standard

The standard brick size based on Australian Standard AS 4455 shall be as follows::

Length (L)	Depth/Width (D/W)	Height (H)
mm	mm	mm
230	110	76
290	90	50

Area of Brick According to Different Standard Codes :-

To calculate area of a brick or bricks you will have to find the Dimension of the Brick (Check here: Dimension of Bricks).

1. First of all, take twenty no. (20) of test specimen.
2. Lay the twenty No. of brick contact with each other in longitudinal direction to   measure the length of the test piece.
3. Lay the twenty No. of brick in width wise direction and measure the width.
4. Lay the twenty No. of brick in height wise direction and measure the thickness.
5. Calculate the individual and average of the measures.

Now you have the length (L), width/depth (W/D) and height (H) of each brick.

Arrangement of bricks to measure dimensions 

Every brick is a cuboid so its area is derived from the following formula.

Area of a brick = 2(LW+WH+HL), where L is the Length, W is the Width/Depth and H is the Height.

This formula is sufficient for all different type Standards.

For example,

Area of modular size Brick as per IS (190 × 90 × 90) in mm²

=2(190 × 90 + 90 × 90 + 90 × 190) mm²

=2(17100 + 8100 +17100) mm²

=2 × 42300 mm²

=84600 mm²

Note – If the Brick has each 12 sides (6+6) of different length. Then it is difficult to find the area of the brick but not impossible.

1. Take 10 bricks and measure different length of sides.
2. Combine theme as well as described above (1. To 5.) with respect to the side of equal length, then measure it’s all 12 (6+6) sides individually and find average of measures.
3. Now calculate the mean of length of all 12 sides individually.
4. A brick has 6 faces. After calculating the area of each faces, you find the total area of the brick which is equal to the sum of area of all 6 faces.

Keep reading.