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TESTING
Bricks are often the first defence against the harsh elements of the environment, therefore the bricks need to be able to stand up crafted in a particular way to ensure they can withstand all weather conditions. That’s why everything we manufacture at Elephant Brick Co. goes through rigorous testing to ensure our products are of the highest quality. All our bricks exceed Australian Standards and European Standards and this is why our bricks are currently used in many countries including Australia, England, Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands.
COMPRESSIONAL STRENGTH
Our bricks are selected from a production batch and each brick is subjected to a uniform pressure in a testing frame. The pressure continues to increase until the brick fails. The average pressure is calculated for all bricks and then recorded as the compressive strength for that product. All our bricks exceed Australian standard for unconfined compressive strength as per AS/NZS 4455 along with European Standard BS EN771-1:2011 with a compressive strength >10.5 MPa. All our bricks are classified as General Purpose building bricks.
FREEZE-THAW
Australian standards don't require a test for freeze thaw durability, however we test our bricks to European Standard BS EN771-1:2011 to ensure our bricks are optimal quality. The testing procedure consists of a brick panel being saturated for seven days before being frozen to -15°C, then thawed to +20°C. This process is repeated 100 times and the level of frost resistance is recorded. All of our bricks meet European standards for freeze-thaw durability.
WATER ABSORPTION
Water absorption is measured by how much a brick increases in weight after it has been soaked in water for 24 hours. Results are given as a percentage, so for example a brick with a water absorption of 15% will take on 15% of its dry weight in water.
DIMENSIONS
20 bricks are randomly sampled and measured with a bespoke measuring device in millimetres for length, width and height, and the mean values are calculated. We then declare which tolerance categories each of our brick types fulfil. This is done in accordance with the method as described in AS/NZ4456.3. Our bricks are in accordance with Australian Standard AS/NZ 4455.1 and European Standard BS EN771-1:2011.
FIRE
No Australian Standard exists for reaction to fire for individual clay masonry units. However, we test our bricks to the European Standard EN 13501-1 and are rated A1 - No contribution to a fire.
SALT
No Australian Standard exists for the soluble salt content for masonry units, however, we test our bricks for their active soluble salt according to the European Standard BS EN771-1:2011 and are classified as S2 - Limited Soluble Salt Content.