Moustafa El-Assaly (a) https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3606-5221
Lindsay Saad (a)
Daniele Malomo (a) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4518-5841

a Department of Civil Engineering, McGill University, 817 Sherbrooke Street West Montréal, H3A 0C3, Canada

ABSTRACT

The number of freeze-thaw cycles is expected to increase with climate change in northern
latitudes, prompting a growing emphasis on assessment and mitigation strategies in the masonry
construction industry in Canada. Bricks used in modern Canadian construction must conform to the
requirements of CSA A82:14 Fired masonry brick made from clay or shale, which includes several
mandatory environmental and mechanical tests. Although CSA prescriptions are meant for new bricks,
reclaimed products must also meet such thresholds to be reused. However, past studies suggest that the
performance of existing bricks is inconsistent with laboratory test results, likely due to the severity of the
tests and their unrealistic representation of field conditions. These incongruencies constitute a relevant
barrier to sustainable circular construction practices, and an incentive to discard bricks which have been
performing well for decades onsite. In this paper, the mechanical and environmental properties of seven
different types of reclaimed clay bricks typically found in Eastern Canada’s existing buildings, are
compared to four different types of modern analogous units, and their compliance with CSA A82:14
verified. Measured properties include freeze-thaw resistance, 24-h cold water absorption, 5-h boiling
absorption, saturation coefficient, and compressive strength. The reclaimed bricks, despite having been
retrieved in apparent undamaged conditions from their onsite location, did not meet the requirements of
CSA A82:14, which highlights the stringency of the CSA laboratory tests and potential ways forward to
revise such standards.
Keywords: brick masonry, freeze and thaw, uniaxial compression, experimental testing, climate change