Reusing Brick

Brick and mortar is one of the most common wall systems used in the past several thousand years. These two components have evolved over the centuries as h as our scientific understanding of their performance. As brick and mortar wall science develops industry professionals need to reevaluate the design criteria, means and methods of construction and the performance expectations for these advanced wall systems. Building with used bricks was last critically evaluated over 80 years ago and based on the findings at that time; the industry has generally avoided rebuilding with used bricks. However, much has changed since then and this thesis revisits the topic of reusing bricks. This thesis addresses the performance of brick to mortar bond strength when reusing the same brick. This study aims to clarify the role of brick cleaning methods on flexural bond strength and to provide information that will improve the performance of brick to mortar building construction. Based on the results obtained, the following conclusions were made 1. New bricks had the highest initial rate of absorption (IRA), followed by reclaimed bricks cleaned via Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3 procedures. 2. The flexural bond strength of brick to mortar increases as brick is cleaned more forcefully. Washing bricks with acid proved to be the most effective in increasing bond strength. 3. Flexural bond strength decreases as the average IRA of bricks increases. 4. Flexural bond strength of reclaimed brick is higher than that of new brick. Flexural bond strengths increased after mortar was applied for the second time.