Bricks and cinder blocks don't really seem all that unique at a glance. Bricks and cinder blocks are made of two completely different kinds of materials. Bricks are clay-based, with additives of shale and sand, while cinder blocks are made of cement and coal cinders. Cinder blocks were largely phased out as a construction material in the mid-century in favor of concrete blocks, however, so we'll cover both. Cinder blocks and concrete blocks are bigger, measuring in at 7 ⅝ by 7 ⅝ by 15 ⅝ inches, and they typically feature hollow channels that can be used for adding additional structural materials.