# Frequently asked questions

The questions we get most about the ecological brick, the presses and the brick-making business.

## Brick and soil

The ideal soil is weathered subsoil (saibro) or soil from a hillside cut, which exists all over the country; its color changes from one region to another. Do not use black topsoil with grass and organic matter.

In the course that comes with every Vimaq press, you learn to choose and prepare the soil. If you prefer a precise analysis, Vimaq runs laboratory tests for R$ 15.00 per sample.

The ideal mix is 8 to 10 parts of soil to 1 part of cement, and it can vary with the soil composition.

No. The bricks are cured with water, and that is the main ecological feature: no cutting down and burning trees. The pressed mix of soil, cement and water makes the brick stronger than the fired brick from a brickworks, as well as better looking and more practical.

Savings on cement, plastering sand, rebar, paint, finishing and labor. The house is thermo-acoustic, and the build is environmentally sound.

It is stronger and can be used together with the hollow brick. On walls that will hold cabinets or anything that needs a hole to fasten, the hollow brick can crack, especially in kitchens, boundary walls and houses with more than one floor. On those walls, use the solid interlocking brick for most of the wall and the hollow or single-hole brick only where the electrical lines, plumbing or columns run.

The 12.5 × 25 cm, made by the VM-12,5x25 and the VH-12,5x25. The 15 × 30 cm comes next.

## Presses and output

A good output is between 1,000 and 1,500 bricks a day on the manual press, reached as operators gain experience. On the hydraulic, it reaches 2,500 a day.

One brick per pressing, on all models.

After years of testing several models, we found that manual presses making 2 and 3 bricks per cycle have a design flaw: they cannot fill the die boxes with the same amount of soil. Usually one brick comes out well pressed and the others poorly pressed, and those can crack in the wall or in transport.

Poorly pressed bricks also break when removed and dirty the press, which has to be cleaned before the next cycle. That is why a 1-brick press often produces more per day than a multi-brick one.

Yes, with the VM-Master or the VH-Master: they make the 12.5 × 25 cm and the 15 × 30 cm brick by swapping the die box. The other models make one size each; what changes is the brick models.

One person can already produce. With two or three helpers, output goes up: one prepares the mix, another presses and another removes and stacks the bricks.

Replacing the refill with labor and inspection included costs R$ 150.00, and we also ship by mail to distant cities. Replacing the refill is much cheaper than buying a new press: a press without a refill is a disposable press.

## Crusher

It breaks up the clods of soil that come from the hillside cut. After mixing soil, cement and water, it also crushes and leaves the mix ready to press, replacing the sieve.

Yes, with a medium or fine mesh sieve, but the yield is lower. Factories with more than two presses need it so they do not take on more labor; one crusher feeds up to 2 presses.

Yes. In the course, we teach how to work with and without the crusher.

## Business

Vimaq customers sell to building material stores, contractors and builders, local governments and community build days; build fireplaces, barbecues and masonry furniture; wall off lots; clad facades with brick tiles; lay floors; and build and sell houses.

See more in Entrepreneurship.

## Did not find your question?

Ask on WhatsApp. The team answers, including on weekends.

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