Making Your Own Bricks/Blocks

[Mohamed Hossam]

Hey everyone!

I know I haven't posted alot (ok, ok, so the only thing I posted was introducing myself, but still :D) but I had this idea;

For building on my future land/homestead, do you think it would be feasible to make my own concrete bricks/blocks? From what I understand, all I need is cement, sand, water, molds, and a lubricant for getting the bricks out of the mold.

I've thought of; cement is 300 LE for 20 bags (That's less than 60 dollars US), sand I can probably get for free (I mean, this is Egypt, what more should I say), water is easy, molds can be made of wood very simple, and for a lubricant any vegetable oil.

So do you all think this is possible? Is there anything that would prevent it, or do you think it is a reasonable realistic idea? Mudbrick, while having a long history in Egypt and the Near East is not the most stable or sturdy building material. As to building codes, you just need a building permit, you can build your house out of eggshells and paste for all the beauracracy cares.

Any ideas, comments, feedback?

Regards,

[Thomzo]

Hi Mohamed
I'm no builder but I was just wondering how long it would take to make enough bricks? I guess you can decide what size you want them - trade off the weight of lifting very large ones against the time it would take to make small ones.

Hopefully a building expert will be along later.

Good luck

Zoe

[Muddypause]

Basic concrete blocks are, as you say, little more than concrete poured into moulds. There are specified standards that they have to reach (in the UK, at least) for strength and crush resistance.

Decent concrete includes aggregate of some sort for bulk and strength. I think commercially there are a variety of aggregates used, like clinker and ash from power stations, and such like, which results in a fairly lightweight block. A normal concrete mix would use simple ballast (gravel and small stones with sand). Using this will result in a much denser and heavier block, which will be harder to handle. It'd be more like a very thick concrete flagstone.

You could make a reusable mould out of timber; if you make it so that it easily dismantles, then you probably won't need any release agent. You need to make sure that the concrete is well tamped so that it fills the mould properly - for large quantities, a vibrating table would be useful.

Some people will use up left-over concrete by laying some bricks flat on some sanded ground so that they have a block-shaped space between them, and then the surplus concrete is shovelled into this, When set, the bricks are tapped out of the way to leave a concrete block.

But a lot of people have concerns about the environmental impact that cement has - it's very energy intensive to make, releases lots of CO2, and is very difficult to dispose of when you've done with it. Properly done, mud can be made durable, even in a temperate climate, and has the enormous advantage of simply retuning to the earth after use.

But if you think that cement based concrete is a sensible way to go, find out about your local sand - I've never been to Egypt, but I have been told that the sort of sand you have there is very fine, and I'm not sure this would be suitable for making concrete. Is it used locally for that purpose?

Or how about exploring papercrete as an alternative?

http://www.papercrete.com/
http://papercretenm.com/
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/papercrete.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papercrete
http://oikos.com/library/papercrete/

[Bridgette]

Hi Mohamed

Not sure if you've seen my reply on your introduction but I mentioned Eco Bricks (also mentioned them elsewhere...) - sounds like a simpler solution to all your 'Egyptian Sand' . Short version: Cloth bags in the shape of bricks, fill them with sand on site (saves on carting away from the foundation excavation site), build and plaster. Simple! Huge savings all round! Also, it's soundproof, eco-friendly, waterproof and fireproof. Not sure if it's manufactured elsewhere, but I know they're manufactured here in Epping, Cape Town, South Africa by a company called Eco Beams. Just google the name, they have a website.

Hope it helps! Good luck!
Bridgette