Quality
Standards and testing.
Anyone can say their bricks are strong. Here is the standard each product is manufactured to, how it is tested, and what the results were.
The standards that apply
SANS 1215
Concrete masonry units
Stock bricks, maxi bricks and hollow blocks. Sets requirements for materials, dimensions and dimensional tolerance, compressive strength, water absorption and density, and how units are sampled for testing.
SANS 1058
Concrete paving blocks
Pavers, and it is a different standard for a good reason. Since the 2012 edition it grades on tensile splitting strength and abrasion resistance rather than compressive strength, because those are the properties that matter under a wheel.
SANS 2001-CM1
Masonry construction
How the units are built into a wall on site. We manufacture to the unit standards, and this is the one your bricklayer works to.
The National Building Regulations set the floor for single storey housing: a nominal 3.5 MPa for hollow units and 7.0 MPa for solid units. Every masonry product we make is specified at or above that floor.
A note on wording
“SABS approved” is not a specification.
You will see the phrase used loosely across our industry, including in our own early draft documents. It is worth being precise about it, because it is the difference between a claim and a fact.
SABS is the South African Bureau of Standards, the body. SANS is the standard the body publishes. A product is not “SABS approved” in any general sense: it either complies with a specific SANS standard or it does not, and complying is something a test certificate demonstrates.
So we will tell you which SANS standard each product is manufactured to, and we will show you the certificate. If a supplier will not name the standard, that is worth noticing.
What we test
How often, and what for.
Sampling frequency and the measured results come from our own production records and an independent laboratory. Both are published here once the first full batches are through.
- Dimensions and dimensional tolerance
- Squareness and face flatness
- Compressive strength, masonry units
- Tensile splitting and abrasion, pavers
- Water absorption
- Drying shrinkage
Independent verification
Test certificates
Crush test results from an independent laboratory, published as downloadable PDFs with the laboratory name and the date of test. A dated third party certificate outranks any testimonial for a quantity surveyor or a municipal buyer.
CMA membership
Concrete Manufacturers Association producer membership requires a quality assurance system, a purpose built facility, occupational health and safety procedures, technical competence and financial stability. It does not require a trading history, which is why a new manufacturer can hold it from the start.
Ask us for the certificate.
Before you specify, ask for the test certificate for the product and the batch. We would rather you checked.
WhatsApp is answered fastest. Use the form for a formal quotation, so the quantities are right first time.