Editing Building material (section)

===Fired bricks and clay blocks===
[[File:Stapel bakstenen - Pile of bricks 2005 Fruggo.jpg|right|thumb|A pile of fired bricks.]]
[[File:Assentamento com argamassa polimérica.JPG|thumb|Clay blocks (sometimes called clay block brick) being laid with an adhesive rather than mortar]]
[[Brick]]s are made in a similar way to mud-bricks except without the fibrous binder such as straw and are ''fired'' ("burned" in a [[brick clamp]] or [[kiln]]) after they have air-dried to permanently harden them. Kiln fired clay bricks are a [[ceramic]] material. Fired bricks can be solid or have hollow cavities to aid in drying and make them lighter and easier to transport. The individual bricks are placed upon each other in courses using [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]]. Successive courses being used to build up walls, [[arch]]es, and other architectural elements. Fired brick walls are usually substantially thinner than cob/adobe while keeping the same vertical strength. They require more energy to create but are easier to transport and store, and are lighter than stone blocks. Romans extensively used fired brick of a shape and type now called [[Roman brick]]s.<ref>[http://www.wienerberger.com/natural-building-with-clay/history-of-bricks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402040850/http://www.wienerberger.com/natural-building-with-clay/history-of-bricks|date=2013-04-02}} History of bricks wienerberger.com</ref> Building with brick gained much popularity in the mid-18th century and 19th centuries. This was due to lower costs with increases in brick<ref name="Prime design build">{{cite web |title=Top 5 Reasons Why Bricks Are The Most Popular Building Material |url=http://www.primedb.co/top-5-reasons-bricks-popular-building-material-denver-today/ |publisher=primedb.co |date= May 11, 2017}}</ref> manufacturing and fire-safety in increasingly crowded cities.

The [[cinder block]] supplemented or replaced fired bricks in the late 20th century often being used for the inner parts of masonry walls and by themselves.

[[Structural clay tile]]s (clay blocks) are clay or [[terracotta]] and typically are perforated with holes.