Modular Bricks in Canada - A Progress Report

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Technical Note (National Research Council of Canada. Division of Building Research), 1959-02-18

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Modular Bricks in Canada - A Progress Report

Kent, S. R.

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NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA DIVISION OF BUILDING RESEARCH

'fECIHI N lICAlL

No.

272

NOTlE

(ILL

FOR 'NTERNA" USE

V

ｾｾＮ

APPROVED BY R.F.Legget CHECKED BY

PREPARED BY S.R. Kent NOT FOR PUBLICATION

PREPARED FOR Reply to inquiries from Europe0 ｾ 18 February 1959

SUBJECT Modular Bricks in Canada - A Progress Report.

(For convenience all dimensions are given in inches,

although not so marked with the metric equivalents since brick sizes in North America are always referred to by - the numbers indicated below; in a rew cases modular

dimensions have been added ror the standard'form.)

I

There are three main sizes of Canadian brick: the Ontario size which is approximately 2-3/8 by

4

bi 8-3/8; a smaller size, similar to tha American standard 2- by ｾ by 8; and the standard modular size

2i

by 3-5/8 by 7-578. Other sizes being produced, in small quantities only, are the SCR brick, 2t by Ｕｾ by IIi; a Norman brick to compete with a concrete brick, 2-3/8 by

4

by l2i; and Roman brick, ｬｾ by Ｓｾ

by ｬｬｾＮ The Ontario size was agreed upon by ten companies in the Toronto-Hamilton area prior to 1920. This group, now members of the recently formed ｾｲｩ｣ｫ and Tile Institute of Ontario, produces about 40 pe]' cent of the Canadian output. It has taken a firm stand in maintaining this size. Most

Canadian brick manufacturers outside Ontario produce bricks to the standard American size.

Building Codes in the Toronto area require solid

masonry exterior walls for dwellings thereby providing the local brick manufacturers a market for 60 to 70 per cent of their

production. If a ｭ｡ｮｾｲ｡｣ｴｵｲ･ｲ were to change from the Ontario size to the standard modular size, which is 17 per cent smaller in face area, but still about the same in production cost per thousand, he would place himself in an unfavourable position with his competitors. In general, the house builder cannot yet evaluate the over-all reduction in building costs by using

modular components but can easily see the possibly higher cost of more brick for the job. It is therefore necessary for all producers of the Ontario size to agree on the change to the.

\ ,

2

-Little thought has yet been given to modular sizes other than the standard 2! by

3-5/8

by

7-5/8

(3c

=

2M by 1M by

2M)

although the

2t

by ＳＭｾＯＸ by

11-5/5

(3c c 2M by 1M by

3M)

is a good solution for brick veneer houses. Glazed facing tile is not made in any quantity but one Toronto manufacturer, now making glazed brick, proposes to introduce modular glazed units in the near future.

The Ontario size, being non-modular in anJi- dimension, does not bond with concrete block, often used for backup, which is made on the vibrating type block machinery imported from the U.S.A. This machinery comes equipped with modular moulds and so special moulds must be obtained for blocks to be used with Ontario brick. One block manufacturer has to maintain an inven-tory of 276 shapes of which about

40

per cent are for Ontario brick.

During the past two years the Ontario Association of Architects has met with the brick manufacturers to promote the co-ordination of masonry units in Ontario and in December

1958,

the Brick and Tile Institute of Ontario set the standard size of modular brick for the industry at

7-5/8

by 2* by

3-5/8.

The decision to produce modular brick still rests with the individual manufacturer, but the agreement of size will encourage manufac-turers to consider changing without future possible alterations. Modular Size Bricks

At present, four companies in Canada are producing modular bricks, and two other companies have promised production. The L.E. Shaw Company Ltd., of .Halifax, was the first, beginning January

1958.

This company supplies bricks in large quantities for all four Atlantic provinces of Canada and regularly ships bricks into Quebec and even Ontario. Its bricks are made by the stiff mud process in its several plantso This company

manu-factures all masonry units - concrete blocks, concrete brick, structural clay tile and solid clay bricks. Their concrete blocks have always been modular, made with standard U.So

mRchinery, but their clay bricks were the American size and s,o would only bond vertically. Now, all the products of this

company are co-ordinated by the modular meth.od.

The second producer, the Cooksville-LaPrairie Brick

Limited (formerly the LaPrairie Brick and Tile Co. Ltdo ) , Montreal,

have recently produced modular pressed bricks for two Ottawa buildings. This company is the largest brick manufacturer in Canada. The only Ontario manufacturer is Canada Brick Limited, Toronto, which produces three colours, red, bro\Vll and buff, from

,

..

clays with similar shrinkage characteristics. Two other large Toronto companies have promised production this summer& In Western Canada, the largest producer there, Medicine Hat Brick and Tile Co. Ltd. has turned out only a small quantity, but has expressed great enthusiasm for national adoption of modular masonry.

Problems of Change-over

Canadian brick manufacturers have never asserted that the changeover of their machinery was

a

major cost in going to modular sizes& With the exception of the LaPrairie plant of the CooksVille-LaPrairie Brick Limited, they manufacture bricks by the stiff-mud process; the size of bricks can therefore be

changed by inserting a new orifice (which wears out and has to be replaced in any case) and a new cutting reel. Therefore, the latter is the only additional machinery cost in converting to modularo

The LaPrairie company uses the dry press system, and although their moulds may be expensive they have been most co-operative in absorbing this cost. Many of the stiff-mud manufacturers produce American size brick

2t

inches high. Therefore the reel cutter is suitable for modular, and only a new orifice is needed. In determining the size of the orifice, the shrinkage characteristic of the clay must be carefully

considered for production of a uniform finished sizeo Since

clays vary in this characteristic, different orifices may be required.

The main problems are:

(i) Production of units within the permitted tolerance, since

ｾ modular co-ordination does demand accuracy; this can be done by controlled firing, now possible in tunnel kilns with oil, gas or coal fuel, the use of control instruments, pug mills to work a stiff, low-moisture content mud, and correct selection of orifice&

(ii) Disposal of bricks not within the tolerated sizeo

(iii) Inventory cost of carrying modular and non-modular bricks during changeover period.

(iv) The possibility of a manufacturing company burdened with the expense of his investment in modular bricks if, for any reason, the changeover did not prove successful and the modular bricks were not sold.

4

-(v)

The smaller size of modular bricks results in a smaller volume of masonry sold per thousand bricks and this cannot be compensated for in the selling price since the cost is due, in large part, to the labour upon the origlnal

natural material rather than upon the volume of material involved; this point is a difficult one to answer from the sales point of view.

(vi) Setting time per thousand is less for modular than that for non-modular but the time required per square foot of wall is greatero

This last factor makes modular masonry appear more costly than non-modular, large-unit masonryo Unfortunately the factors noted can be easily compared on time sheets and invoices.

Thus those responsible for building must appreciate' that savings due to Ilmodularu will be derived only from the complete building operationo The persons with the professional responsibility to evaluate these factors are the architectso

Interest of Architects

The Division of Building Research has therefore

undertaken a program to inform architects of the factors invol-ved and also of the system of modular drafting which has proven a personal money-saver for architectso This program has

resulted in some large architectural firms preparing modular draWings and stipulating modular masonry. The attempt has been made to get brick makers to appreciate that the only way to ms.ke brick more appealing to the architect is to make it in a

convenient size.

The United States and Canada have missed a great opportunity during recent years by not encouraging schools of architecture to teach the modular system. The Modular Building Standards Association, with the assistance of two other profes-sors and the writer, is now preparing a set of twenty teaching slides for distribution to the American and Canadian schoolso

International Aspects

It has been interesting to compare the developments in the United ｉｾｮｧ､ｯｭ and the United States. British success in modular co-ordination seems to have developed from modular planning, large modular units, and modular construction system3, whereas the U.S. has developed the modular outlook from small

.

-

.. "

t .

5

-modular units. Only recently in the papers of the Modular Society have the two developments been welded into one system. The major publishers of modular literature in each country, the Modular Society and Structural Clay Products Institute may have caused the comprehensive conception of modular to be over-looked. In the U.K. the impression appears to have been built up that modular co-ordination is only for large structural systems and so small co-ordinated units are neglected, whereas in the U.S. the opinion is widespread that modular co-ordination is for the brick people only and large components have been

neglected. Fortunately in Canada neither misconception has to be broken down.

Conclusion

The number of sizes of brick in Canada is relatively small, and the brick manufacturers few in number. Being

concentrated in the Maritimes, Montreal, Toronto, southern Saskatchewan and southern Alberta, they are easy to contact. As this note indicates, brick makers in both Eastern and Western Canada are seriously considering changing to modular

sizes. There appear no flat denials that changes should be made. Those concerned with the promotion of modular

co-ordination in building in Canada are most encouraged by the recent progress reported in this note.