This is an important stage for hand-made, soft-mud and some wire-cuts, where the moisture level is relatively high. It is vital that the bricks are dried to allow them to shrink as they release excess moisture. This prevents twisting and cracking in the kiln. It also enables them to develop a leather skin, allowing them to be handled and stacked without deformation. Drying can take place naturally outdoors in what are known as drying hacks, or in drying chambers where bricks are open-stacked on pallets so that a flow of heated air can pass over them. Alternatively the bricks can travel through heated tunnels on cars. Heating and levels of humidity must be carefully monitored to control shrinkage.

(Brick Work- History, Technology and Practice: Gerard Lynch)

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