Choosing Your Concrete Blocks

What size.....?

Blues Bricks &  Paving BrickYard, Masowe 2.

Concrete blocks come in different sizes.  Innovations in the manufacturing processes have added greatly to a rich variety of dimensions, aspect ratios, textures and colours of bricks. 

Spoilt for choice?  This is common in many facets of our lives of late.  We the final consumers often find ourselves buried and confused by the wares vendors hang out for us to choose from.

What to look for in concrete blocks.

Any satisfactory walling system must meet certain minimum performance criteria. If you are building a home, or fencing around your home, special consideration may be given to any one or a combination of the following criteria:

 • structural strength and stability

• durability

• accommodation of movement

• weatherproofness

• acoustic insulation

• thermal properties

• fire resistance.

What standards.....

Many vendors may not find it important to lab test own product since regulation in this regard is lax or pretty much non-existent in this parts of our woods.  We at Blues Brick and Paving have subjected all our products to such lab tests, both here in Lesotho and in South Africa.  

We have consistently scored above industry standards in areas of physical standards of dimensions, strengths, and such properties as tolerances, surface texture and appearance.

So what size of block to buy?

The most commonly used sizes of concrete blocks are 4.5", 6" and 9". (more about the imperial measurement system later!)

Contractors and many home owners in Lesotho prefer sizes 6" and 9".  Hence why, except in very rare instances, or by special order, most brickyards would carry only these two sizes.

In our next blog we shall explore the different sizes and outline their "customary" usage and preferred specifications by many home owners and architects.

4.5" Concrete Block.

6" Concrete Block.

9" Concrete Block.