Clay is naturally occurring

aluminium silicate composed

primarily of fine-grained minerals.

The term ceramics is used to indicate the

potters art or articles made by the potter. It is
greek word keramos meaning the potters
earth.

ceramic clay is a water-based substances

made from clay minerals mixed with other
raw materials. They are baked at high
temperatures, in a process know as firing.

The clay produced which are

employed in building industry are :
Tiles
Terra cotta
Earthenwares
Stonewares
Porcelain

The tiles may be defined as thin slabs of

brick which are burnt in kiln. They are thinner
than bricks and hence they should be
carefully handled to them.

Circular kiln for burning

tiles

The tiles can be classified in

two groupsCommon tiles
Encaustic tiles

These tiles have different shapes and size.

They are mainly used for flooring and roofing.

Manufacture of tiles
Preparation of clay
Moulding
Drying
Burning

characteristics of a good
tile
It should be free from any cracks, flaws or

bends.
It should be sound, hard and durable.
It should fit in properly, when placed in
position.
It should give an even and compact structure
when seen on its broken surface.
It should possess uniform colour.

The term earthenware is used to indicate wares or articles

prepared from clay which is burnt at low temperature and
cooled down slowly. The earthenwares are generally soft and
porous.

Earthenware

The term stoneware is used to indicate the wares or articles

prepared from refractory clays which are mixed with stone
and crushed pottery such mixture is then burnt at a high
temperature and cooled down slowly.

The term porcelain is used to indicate fine

earthenware which is white, thin and semi
transparent. Since the colour of porcelain is
white, it is also referred to as whiteware.

Porcelain

The porcelain are of two types-:

1. Low voltage porcelain
2. High voltage porcelain

It is prepared by dry process and it is

mainly used for switch block,
insulating tubes, lamp sockets, etc. If
some quantity of alumina or silicate of
magnesia is added, it can resist high
temperature to a certain extent.

The blocks can be prepared from clay

and they are used in the construction of
partitions. Such blocks may either be
solid or hollow.

BURNT BRICKS
Bricks that has been treated in a kiln at an

elevated temperature to harden it, give it

mechanical strength and improve its
resistance to moisture, compare to unburned
bricks.

BRICK TILES
Brick tiles is also called thin brick or brick

veneer. Brick tiles is becoming increasingly

popular in the US because it is fireproof and
easy to maintain, as well as having the classic
appearence of real bricks at a fraction of the
cost.
Most brick homes built in last 40 years are
actually sided with brick tile rather than built
with solid brick, because solid bricks are
expensive and work intensive to built with.

SURKHI
Surkhi is also known as brick bat coba. Surkhi

is an artificial pozzolana made by powdering

burnt bricks . The surkhi were used to provide
slopes on the flat terraces for easy draining of
rainwater and also some sort of poor
insulation.

MUD INCLUDING STABLISED

EARTH

Mud is a liquid or semi-liquid mixture of water

and some combination of soil, slit and clay.
mud, in the construction industry refers to a
fluid material used to coat or adhere together
items that dries hard such as plaster or other
similar substances

MUD HOME IN
PUNJAB

MUD HOME IN AMRAN