See if you are not building load bearing walls (column and beam structure) blocks do not matter much as they are only filler material. The extra compressive strength of very high quality block is not going to be used.
Instead of blocks spend the extra money on better quality plastering sand ( would recommend Slag sand) and on labor /water to do curing of plaster because however good your blocks are if the plastering sand has silt or plaster develops hairline cracks you aill have damp walls.
If you buy super quality block at 58/' every time your heart will sink a bit when you will see masons working with them carelessly chipping them and cutting them mercilessly during masonry
Even if block edges are jarred it makes no difference in overall overall masonry finish for plastered wall . So buy the blocks which work best to you cost wise and spend money where it matters.
I'm planning to start my construction next month. Based on my survey with my builder (From TN), We observed following things in Bangalore Civil construction. Apprx 95% of house construction uses Solid or ACC Blocks except some independent houses which uses wire cut bricks. Solid block standard size is 8", 6" and 4" instead of 9" red brick. In TN, Mostly red bricks are used and Column size will be always 9". As Solid block is popular in Bangalore, I think Column size is changed to 8" in many building to avoid the offset.
As mentioned by ganeshncm, 8" solid block is heavy. It needs two male labor for mason job. Due to this difficulty 6" and 4" blocks are fast moving. And I observed some apartment complex building with column size of 6" to avoid the offset (It looks like Giraffe Leg). While we narrated our observation to my structural engg (My relative in TN), He mentioned that, He has never seen any building with 6" column size and as per building code 1ft column size is the standard but we're using 9" as per thumb rule calculation.
My building will be semi-load bearing structure. So In my case, I have to go for 8" Block to avoid offset but my builder is reluctant and it's costly also.
Then We started searching for Wire cut Red bricks. We went to Malur and checked in Google. Got Some good bricks with test reports. Surprising most of the wire cut bricks strength is above 10N/mm2 compare to 3.5N/mm2 of APCO.
So I changed my mind to go with Wire cut Bricks with 9" Column size.
Thank you all
Last edited by saran88 on January 22nd, 2021, 10:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
As per my inquiry with vendors, Total cost of solid blocks with transportation and 18% GST is given below
Size___APCO___Basant Beatons___Local
8”_____63.7________79.7
6”_____49.6________62.5________32
4”_____36.5________46.0________27
1. About wire cut brick strength get it tested in independent lab it is never higher than solid block. If someone is claiming so he is definitely cheating and you should avoid such sellers.
2. My whole construction is RCC + 8 inch block for backyard and 4 inch block for internal walls and exposed red brick on front side. So I think I can say something about this.
3. Compared to Malur , Mangalore or Kerala bricks are better expect around 20 to 24 rs per brick for high quality facing red brick. The difference in these vs 8-9 rs brick is surface quality.
4. Method to test brick buy 3-4 bricks preferably randomly picked from heap not what seller hands you over.
Keep them dipped in water for atleast 72 hours and after drying check if surface is not eroding and corners remain sharp. Take one brick from this for compression test.
4. Irrespective of what is reading of compressive strength why exactly you need stronger bricks ?
Full RCC structure with plinth beams at bottom and tie beams at top properly designed by structural engineer in CAD will always be stronger and cheaper than red brick construction.
5. If you want to use red bricks then use them as exposed brick masonry for the beauty of brickwork not for hiding them under plaster.
Here also use composite masonry with outer 4 inch as brick and inside 4 inch as wall if you need plastered surface on interior.
1. About wire cut brick strength get it tested in independent lab it is never higher than solid block. If someone is claiming so he is definitely cheating and you should avoid such sellers.
2. My whole construction is RCC + 8 inch block for backyard and 4 inch block for internal walls and exposed red brick on front side. So I think I can say something about this.
3. Compared to Malur , Mangalore or Kerala bricks are better expect around 20 to 24 rs per brick for high quality facing red brick. The difference in these vs 8-9 rs brick is surface quality.
4. Method to test brick buy 3-4 bricks preferably randomly picked from heap not what seller hands you over.
Keep them dipped in water for atleast 72 hours and after drying check if surface is not eroding and corners remain sharp. Take one brick from this for compression test.
4. Irrespective of what is reading of compressive strength why exactly you need stronger bricks ?
Full RCC structure with plinth beams at bottom and tie beams at top properly designed by structural engineer in CAD will always be stronger and cheaper than red brick construction.
5. If you want to use red bricks then use them as exposed brick masonry for the beauty of brickwork not for hiding them under plaster.
Here also use composite masonry with outer 4 inch as brick and inside 4 inch as wall if you need plastered surface on interior.
