Laterite stone is widely used as a construction material in place of regular brick. This stone is rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by intensive and prolonged weathering of the underlying parent rock. Tropical weathering (laterization) is a prolonged process of chemical weathering which produces a wide variety in the thickness, grade, chemistry and ore mineralogy of the resulting soils. The majority of the land area containing laterites is between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
Laterite is widely found in india and many other countries in world.
Laterite Quarry
Laterite is quarried using cutting wheels driven by electric motors or petrol/diesel engines.
First the rock is cut in rectangular grids of desired brick size using a vertical circular cutting blade.
After cutting grid, it is cut at the bottom of brick using horizontal spinning cutting blade.
Check out following video of Laterite Quarrying.
Cost
- Cost of laterite stone for building construction is around Rs. 22 to 35 depending upon various factors such as distance of laterite quarry from location of construction, as well as quality of stone.
- Labour cost for brick work is around Rs. 20 per stone.
Advantage of Laterite Stone compared to regular clay bricks
- Laterial stone is bigger in size compared to regular brick. They are normally produced in 12″ long by 9″ width and 6″ height. They replace around 4 number of regular bricks.
- Less amount of mortar is required for wall construction using laterite stone.
- Laterite stone do not absorb any water, hence they do not have to be immersed in water before using for wall construction. So less water is required during construction.
