Modular bricks were introduced to make it easier to insert standard sizes of doors and windows into walls. Modular doors and windows, and courses of modular bricks, all fit into a 4 inch × 4 inch grid.
For bricks, the 4-inch module includes the thickness of the mortar joints. The most common joint thicknesses are 3/8 inch and ½ inch. If a closure modular brick, for example, which has nominal dimensions of 4 × 4 × 8 inches, were intended to be laid with a ½-inch joint, its actual dimensions would be 3½ × 3½ × 7½ inches.
In 1991, a joint committee of the Brick Industry Association and the National Association of Brick Distributors settled upon standard names for certain brick sizes. Names below are those assigned by the committee unless the name is marked with an asterisk. Regardless of the committee's laudable effort, in ordering bricks it is essential to order, not by name or nominal dimensions, but by specifying actual dimensions.
Name | Nominal Dimensions, inches |
---|---|
closure modular (jumbo closure*) | 4 × 4 × 8 |
utility (jumbo utility*) | 4 × 4 × 12 |
6-inch jumbo* | 6 × 4 × 12 |
8-inch jumbo* | 8 × 4 × 12 |
meridian (Atlas*) | 4 × 4 × 16 |
6″ through-wall meridian | 6 × 4 × 16 |
8″ through-wall meridian | 8 × 4 × 16 |
Name | Nominal Dimensions, inches |
---|---|
double meridian | 4 × 8 × 16 |
double through-wall meridian | 8 × 8 × 16 |
name not known | 4 × 8 × 8 |
Name | Nominal Dimensions |
---|---|
Roman | 4 inches × 2 inches × 12 inches |
Name | Nominal Dimensions, inches |
---|---|
name not known | 4 × 6 × 8 |
Name | Nominal Dimensions. inches |
---|---|
modular (standard*) | 4 × 2 ²⁄₃ × 8 |
1-inch veneer* | 1 × 2 ²⁄₃ × 8 |
Norman | 4 × 2 ²⁄₃ × 12 |
SCR* | 6 × 2 ²⁄₃ × 12 |
The name “standard” should now be reserved for a non-modular brick with nominal dimensions of 4 × 2¾ × 8.
Name | Nominal Dimensions, inches |
---|---|
double* | 4 × 5 ¹⁄₃ × 8 |
triple* | 4 × 5 ¹⁄₃ × 12 |
A survey in 2002 found no suppliers of these double and triple bricks in the United States, but they appear to be available in Australia and New Zealand, and to some extent in the United Kingdom.
Name | Nominal Dimensions, inches |
---|---|
engineer modular | 4 × 3 ¹⁄₅ × 8 |
engineer norman (Norwegian*) | 4 × 3 ¹⁄₅ × 12 |
6-inch Norwegian* | 6 × 3 ¹⁄₅ × 12 |
Copyright © 2000 Sizes, Inc. All rights reserved.
Last revised: 30 May 2008.