Bricks are used for construction and pavement around the world. In the United States, bricks were once used as a paving material, and are now used more widely as a decorative surface rather than a road material. Bricks are usually placed flat and are usually welded forming a structure to increase their stability and strength. There are several types of bricks used many of them about eight inches long and four inches thick.
A brick is the building material used to make walls, floors and other elements in masonry construction. Traditionally, the term brick refers to a unit composed of clay, but is now used to designate any rectangular unit placed in mortar. A brick may consist of clay soil, sand and lime, or concrete materials. Bricks occur in numerous classes, types, materials and sizes that vary with region and time period, and are produced in bulk quantities. Two basic categories of bricks were fired and bricks without combustion.
Block is a similar term that refers to a rectangular building unit made up of similar materials, but is usually larger than a brick. Light bricks (also called light blocks) are made from expanded clay aggregate.
Lighted bricks are one of the most durable and strongest building materials, sometimes referred to as artificial stone, and have been used since circa 5000 BC. Air-dried bricks, also known as mud bricks, have a history older than cooked bricks, and have an additional ingredient of a mechanical binder such as straw.
Bricks are placed in courses and numerous patterns known as bonds, collectively known as bricks, and can be placed in various types of mortar to hold the bricks together to make a lasting structure.