Brick processing before laying. Brick treatment before laying Is it necessary to wet silicate brick before laying

Do not rush to mix the mortar and build the walls of the house. First, properly measure the distances and calculate the building material. It is quite possible that somewhere you will need only a third, or even half a brick. We tell you how to divide it into pieces

Tools and materials:

• Kirochka
• bricks
• hammer

Process:

1. Select bricks without cracks.
2. Mark with a pick on its edges the “extra” section that will have to be cut off.
3. With a pick, apply oblique blows, first along the marked line, and then into the end faces, chipping off the corners of the brick. Rub the hewn surfaces with a brick until a smooth surface is obtained.
4. For pinning, a shallow groove is pierced with a pick along the wide edge of the brick. Turn the brick over with the groove down and hit with a hammer where the groove was made until the brick breaks in half.
5. To obtain a ¼ and ¾ brick or corner of a brick, punch an annular groove along all faces. Hit one of the grooves with a hammer until the brick breaks.
6. Before laying, soak the brick in water so that it does not absorb the mortar. High-quality bricks will have to be soaked for some time.

There is no unequivocal opinion among stove-makers: is it necessary soak bricks before laying the oven.

Let's try to understand the details. For example, he claims that soaking is mandatory. And it was this detail that persuaded me to take up the laying of the furnace on my own. The local stove-maker laid dry, the stove cracked in a week and I believed the author that this was the whole point. Then I found out that he was right. But it is in my conditions. That is, in the case when the masonry is carried out from old brick, from what is taken out of old furnaces. In this case, the pores of the brick are already all filled, it is necessary to wet such a brick.

Why are bricks soaked at all? When we apply the kiln mixture to the brick, part of the kiln mortar, namely its more liquid, mobile fraction, is absorbed into the body of the brick due to the capillary effect, thereby increasing the adhesion surface area between the mixture and the brick many times over. And the strength of the future masonry depends on the size of this surface.

Well, then it is obvious that if the brick is soaked, that is, the capillaries are filled with moisture, the suction effect will be less, and the clay mixture will penetrate into the body of the brick more slowly and be distributed there more evenly. In a dry brick, moisture is quickly absorbed and it may not be enough for maximum clay to penetrate into the brick.

When to Soak Bricks

And now I can say the following:

You need to soak if:

Masonry is carried out with old bricks with clogged capillaries, then the lock cleans them.

If you are a beginner baker. When soaking, the oven mixture remains mobile longer and it is easier to correct flaws. When laying dry, the bricks set faster, and in order not to have to redo it often, a certain amount of experience is already needed.

Cons of soaking

If the stove is placed in summer in dry, hot weather, you can soak it without question. But the weather turned bad, damp, cold - spring, autumn, suddenly even winter. The finished stove is like a sponge saturated with moisture, but no heat is expected. Then you can dry it only with a firebox.

But to heat a furnace saturated with moisture is to test its strength. Uneven heating causes additional stress on the seams. Unnecessary cracks appear. The stove, having not entered the stage of work, has already lost some of its strength. And to leave the stove damp before the winter - and completely ruin it. Frozen raw oven mixture is a bomb: when water solidifies, it increases its volume. That is, the frozen mixture tears the masonry with many microcracks. So dry laying is more reliable. If you are just starting out, well, make the mixture thinner so that the brick remains mobile a little longer, or lightly moisten the surface of the masonry with a broom or whisk. This will be a compromise.

I must say, when I laid down my first Russian stove in November, carefully soaking the bricks (firstly, they were old, and they simply needed to be wetted, and secondly, they were frozen, so that they would at least thaw - I dipped them in hot water), drying the finished oven resulted in an enchanting spectacle. Firstly, for several furnaces, steam poured from it like from a steam locomotive, the jamb above the front door was covered with a thick and thick layer of frost, in the hut, despite the minus, there was a feeling of a good steam room. So for a week I squeezed out all the moisture that had accumulated in the bricks and now reluctantly got out. True, my torment paid off - then the stove served for a long time and regularly warmed the room, cooked pies and cereals, in a word, completely fulfilled everything that a village oven was supposed to do. It is not for nothing that they say that the stove is the heart of the house. Only by putting your brick oven into action, you can truly taste all the joys of a real rural life, with its reliable autonomy, with its special comfort and therapy for body and soul.

Is it necessary to wet the brick before laying, a question that many novice builders ask. However, workers in the construction industry did not come to a consensus, and each of them argues in his own way the point of view that he adheres to. The need to soak brick blocks before laying begins is explained by the fact that with the help of water it will be possible to increase the adhesion area many times over and thus create a more durable and reliable structure.

Do I need to wet the brick before laying and when?

If some builders strongly recommend wetting brick blocks before laying them with mortar, others consider this action meaningless. They explain their point of view by the fact that modern cement mortars contain water with a margin, which insures the mixture in case of rapid absorption of water by brick walls. However, as practice shows, it is unconditionally necessary to soak bricks in such cases:

• For construction, bricks are used that have previously been used or old bars of baked clay with clogged capillaries. You can wash them with water.
• It is recommended to wet building material for novice masons. Wet brick becomes more mobile, and in case of incorrect laying, it will be easier to make corrections. A dry bar interacts with the mortar faster, so it is much more difficult to fix a failed area.

When laying a furnace, which is used for the construction, it is wrong to wet it, since it is believed that moisture on the building material will subsequently cause excessive stress, and this is dangerous by cracking the structure. Therefore, it is not worth soaking red brick before laying the furnace device; a dry product will be more reliable for its construction.

Why do they wet?

Proponents of the "wet" method of working with bricks argue that with an increase in the adhesion area, the strength characteristics of the masonry increase and the structure being erected will last much longer.

They argue this as follows. When the mortar interacts with wet building material, drying is slower, allowing the cement mixture to penetrate into the brick more evenly. When using the "dry" method of masonry, moisture is absorbed faster and it is possible that the water may run out before the clay has time to fully squeeze into the building product.

It is not necessary to soak the brick for a long time, it is enough to dip it in water for 2-3 seconds. It is important to know that prolonged contact of the bar with liquid will degrade its strength characteristics, and it may simply crumble. This is quite enough for the building material to quickly draw water out of the building mixture. Experienced masons recommend adding wallpaper paste to the solution, prepared in the same way as for wallpapering. It is believed to have a strong water-retaining effect.

If, when working with, you can not additionally wet it, then choosing clay or ceramic for masonry, you will have to stock up on more water. Brick blocks are immersed in a bucket or walked over them with a wet brush. In addition, professional masons recommend watering the laid brickwork with water if it is hot and dry indoors or outdoors, and then cover it with cellophane. So it will be possible to provide the masonry with the required humidity so that it gains maximum strength.

Stoves are quite common today, even though there are more modern heating systems. For a bath or sauna, to provide additional heating in the house, brick stoves remain indispensable. You can lay out such a furnace from red or fireclay bricks, but fireclay bricks themselves are too expensive, they are rarely used for furnace bodies. Most often, masonry is made from red oven bricks, and fireclay is already taken for the firebox. The result is excellent quality at optimal financial costs.

Fireclay brick is frost-resistant and able to withstand temperatures up to 1500 degrees.

The laying of the furnace itself is carried out in compliance with the order, that is, a special layout for each row. The diagram shows how much material is used and in what order individual bricks and other elements of the future furnace will be located. To begin work on masonry, you must first decide what the furnace structure will be. Today there are 3 types:

1. A heating and cooking stove is the best option that is suitable for providing a comfortable temperature in the house and for cooking. Special compartments for baking bread are popular, but the brick should be chosen carefully, fireclay should not be used, as it releases chemicals when heated, and this is unacceptable when cooking.
2. Ordinary cooking ovens are designed only for cooking, cooking cabbage soup, for drying fruits.
3. Heating stoves, fireplaces are designed to heat a certain area or room.

Separately, there are heaters for baths, the process of their laying differs from conventional stoves. It is necessary to install a special grate for stones, containers for heating water. The furnace itself must be durable, resistant to temperature changes.

Brick options for laying stoves

Furnace brick is different. When choosing one or another option, it is important to take into account the necessary characteristics, future operating conditions. Among these types of bricks, there is not only special refractory, but also fireclay. Most commonly used:

1. Borovichi brick. It is dense, frost resistance indicators are high. The red brick has 3 work surfaces, slightly rounded edges, which makes the block attractive. After construction, such a furnace can no longer be faced.
2. Vitebsk red brick has a lower density, its frost resistance is minimal. Working surfaces 2, the edges of the block are sharp. It is used for laying furnaces, as it has the necessary properties, and its price is optimal. Block sizes may vary slightly. This must be taken into account when performing work.
3. Chamotte brick is also called refractory. When choosing such a material, it is important to pay attention to quality, since it can vary significantly from manufacturer to manufacturer. Good fireclay bricks are characterized by excellent density, cream shade, sharp and even edges, all blocks are of equal size. Today you can buy blocks of various shapes, but Sh8 is used as standard. It is used to decorate furnaces, the hottest parts of the furnace. From such material, you can lay out the entire oven, but its cost will be too high. With exactly the same success, it can be made from ceramic oven bricks, and only a firebox can be laid out of fireclay. Do not use it for chambers intended for cooking, as chemicals are released during heating. When buying, it is best to give preference to well-known brands that will guarantee excellent quality. Otherwise, the stove will soon require repair.

Back to index

Comparative characteristics of red and fireclay bricks

What is the difference between fireclay bricks and ordinary bricks? It is necessary to pay attention to some characteristics that are characteristic of these products. When a furnace is being built, it is recommended to make the firebox from fireclay, and the furnace body from red brick, but they cannot be combined, since they have different characteristics.

Characteristics of fireclay bricks:

• density - 1910 kg / m³;
• frost resistance - 15-50;
• porosity - 24-30%;
• heat capacity - 1.04 kJ/kgC;
• thermal conductivity - 0.84 W/ms;
• linear expansion - 5.3.

Characteristics of red kiln brick:

• density -1950-2050 kg/m³;
• frost resistance - 15-75;
• porosity - 8%;
• heat capacity - 0.9 kJ / kg * C;
• thermal conductivity - 0.5-0.7 W / m * C;
• linear expansion - 3.5.

Back to index

The kiln laying process

The thickness of the clay mortar when laying bricks should be no more than 3-5 mm.

All brick kilns can be classified into:

1. Black ovens without a chimney. They are rarely used, since to start using it is necessary to wait until all the fuel burns out. They are used today only for baths.
2. Gray stoves have a chimney, but soot deposits are observed during use, the fuel should burn out completely. Most often used for baths.
3. White stoves heat up longer than others, but their heat transfer is optimal, the design does not stain all surfaces around with soot. The chimney is often made of brick, although today you can use more modern options that are easier to use.
4. Furnaces with small cooking surfaces. During masonry, in addition to the firebox, a work surface with a cast-iron hob is also provided. On such an oven, you can cook food, quickly heat water for domestic needs.

After the furnace is chosen, more precisely, its design, it is necessary to prepare the order. Today you can find a variety of schemes, which indicate in detail not only the location, but also the total number of solid bricks, halves, quarters. This is very convenient for material calculations. After the scheme is selected, it is necessary to begin work on the preparation. To do this, a place is selected for the furnace, the base is poured, that is, the foundation cushion. It is desirable that the location of the furnace be provided during the construction of the house, since the weight of the structure will turn out to be quite large.

Back to index

Tools for the job

To save money and due to the refractory qualities of fireclay bricks, it is used only for laying the firebox.

To fold the oven with your own hands, you need to prepare the following tools:

• angle grinder, abrasive wheel designed to work on stone, metal;
• drill, nozzle-mixer for mixing solutions;
• capacity for 10-12 liters for solutions;
• trowel for laying bricks;
• building level, plumb;
• wooden mallet for laying bricks;
• marker, tape measure.

Back to index

masonry mortar

It is necessary to take a mortar for masonry, clay, ordinary cement in this case is completely unsuitable. Before cooking, the clay must be soaked, the sand washed and sieved. It is necessary to take only river, no lumps and the content of silt in it is not allowed. The recommended fraction is 1-1.5 mm. During the preparation of the masonry mortar, a proportion of 1:2 or 3:2 parts of sand to clay is observed.

There are several methods for making high-quality clay masonry mortar:

A fireclay brick oven will last for many years, since the material is not subject to destruction during temperature changes.

A solution is kneaded from pre-soaked clay and sand, then a ball with a diameter of 5 cm is formed. Then it must be laid on a wooden board, and then squeezed with a second plank. If the clay crumbles, then the solution is of poor quality, it can not be used. If the cracks occupy 1/3 of the volume, then the mortar is excellent for laying the furnace. If the cracks occupy half the volume, then sand must be added, after which the plasticity should be checked again.

The second method is that the solution is kneaded according to the selected proportion, after which 2 balls with a diameter of about 5 cm are made from the resulting solution. A cake 10 mm thick is rolled from one ball, both pieces of the solution are then left in the shade for about 2 days. If after 2 days both parts are covered with cracks, then the clay solution is greasy, the addition of sand is required. If there are no cracks, and the ball remains intact after falling, then you can use the mixture for masonry, it has the necessary qualities.

It is soaked to increase the adhesion of the masonry mortar to the surface of the brick itself. The more mobile fraction of the cement mortar is absorbed into the brick due to the capillary effect. Due to the wetting of the brick, the surface area of ​​the adhesion between the brick and the cement mortar increases several times. The strength of the future masonry depends on the size of the surface.

Accordingly, when the brick is wetted, the capillaries of the material are filled with moisture, and therefore the suction effect is reduced. Accordingly, the mixture slowly penetrates into the body of the brick, due to which it is distributed more evenly. If the brick is completely dry, the moisture from the solution will quickly be absorbed, and therefore it will not be enough for high-quality and uniform adhesion to the brick.

And now consider situations when it is necessary to wet a brick:

1. Masonry is carried out using an old brick (used), in which the capillaries are clogged. Due to the lock, the capillaries will be cleaned.
2. If you have never done bricklaying before. When soaked, the cement mortar remains mobile longer, making it much easier to correct mistakes made during laying. If you lay the brick dry, setting occurs many times faster, and therefore only a true professional with rich experience can carry out such masonry.

Disadvantages of Soaking

When laying bricks in dry, hot weather, soaking is also required. However, if the air humidity exceeds 70%, and the temperature tends to zero, it is impossible to wet the brick in any case. The absorbed moisture at a negative temperature will turn into ice, which expands and can destroy the brick. Accordingly, bricklaying in cold and wet weather must be carried out dry.