As a practice, suitable clay deposits are first found and thoroughly tested for quality of brick production. Clay for bricks is prepared in the following order.
Dirt: The top layer of soil is removed. This is because the soil in the top layer is full of impurities, so it has to be discarded for making bricks.
Excavation: The soil that is excavated is spread over the surface soil, which is slightly deeper than the normal ground surface. The height of the soil pile is about 60-120 cm.
Cleanliness: The soil should be freed from stones, pebbles and vegetable matter. If these particles are high, the soil will have to be washed and screened, which is considered uneconomical.
Weathering: The process of softening soil by exposing it to the environment. Exposure durations vary from weeks to entire seasons.
Mixing: The soil is loosened and whatever ingredient is to be added is spread over it. Blending indicates intimate mixing. A small portion of the soil is taken each time for mixing.
Tempering: In this step, the clay is brought to a suitable degree of hardness and made suitable for moulding. The required amount of water is added and the entire mass is mixed to form a mass of uniform character. Mass tempering is usually done in a pig mill. The process of grinding clay with water to make plastic is called pugging.
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