Found out how much weight a single brick actually takes before it crumbles
I was reading an old trade manual from the library (the one on Main Street, the big one with the stone steps) and it had a whole section on material strength. I always figured bricks were tough, but the number surprised me. A standard clay brick can handle about 3,000 pounds of pressure before it fails. That's like a small car sitting on top of one brick. It made me think about how we build walls, you know? We're stacking things that can each hold a ton and a half, but the weak spot is always the mortar joint, which only holds about 250 to 500 psi. It really puts the whole 'strong like brick' saying into a new light. The manual said most failures come from movement or bad mortar, not the bricks themselves giving out. Has anyone else come across stats like that, or found a good way to explain load bearing to a curious homeowner?