Scientific work has been done to determine the amount of water
absorbed by {brick}s and the rate of absorption, in an attempt to arrive at some scientific basis for grading bricks according to their resistance to the penetration of rain. This work has to date been of little use to those concerned with general building work. A wall built of very hard bricks which absorb little water may well be more readily penetrated by rainwater than one built of bricks which absorb a lot of water. This is because rain will more easily penetrate a small crack in the mortar between bricks if the bricks are dense than if the bricks around the mortar are absorptive.
Experimental soaking in water of bricks gives a far from reliable guide to the amount of water they can absorb as air in the pores and minute holes in the brick may prevent total absorption and to find total absorption the bricks have to be boiled in water or heated. The amount of water a brick will absorb is a guide to its density and therefore its strength in resisting crushing, but is not a reasonable guide to its ability to weather well in a wall. This term ‘{weather well}’ describes the ability of the bricks in a particular situation to suffer rain, frost and wind without losing strength, without crushing and to keep their colour and texture.