Brick houses are still popular due to their reliability and durability. And, although the construction and laying of walls is often entrusted to specialists, it is not difficult to do it yourself.
Types of brickwork
Brickwork is not only durable and of high quality. Using this material you can create a large number of drawings.
However, the complexity of the pattern requires greater skill in performing the work. Let's look at the most common masonry options:
Do-it-yourself chain bricklaying involves a constant series of tie and spoon rows. Mandatory condition: the joints must coincide vertically.
The cross pattern is distinguished by the ligation of the spoon masonry with horizontal seams.
Dutch masonry includes the connection of bonded and combined rows. The last of them is formed by horizontally alternating bricks placed using the butt and spoon method.
Gothic masonry is based on mixing the basic principles of masonry.
To obtain masonry in the English style, one brick must be laid with a bandage in two. Another condition is the alternation of a splice and two spoon rows.
Well masonry is considered the simplest and most rational. It is formed by erecting two half-brick walls and connecting them with a bridge vertically or horizontally.
In order for the result to be appropriate, you should choose a template for laying bricks and follow it.
How to determine the correctness of brick laying
Common challenges for new masons include laying bricks in a line at a uniform level and getting right angles. For the process to proceed correctly, the following must be observed:
- The first row requires special attention. Place them at a distance of three mm. The evenness of the row is checked using a special tool.
- The brick must be laid evenly both horizontally and vertically.
Equipment
Each master has and uses the following devices for bricklaying:
- To level the products, a hammer-pick and a grinder are used.
- To check the evenness of the wall, the master uses a plumb line, level and tape measure.
- Trowels are used not only for applying mortar, but also for preliminary adjustment of bricks.
- When making a corner in brickwork, rowing is necessary.
- Safety is ensured by special measures in the form of glasses.
- Since the work requires a solution, a container is needed.
Preparation of the solution
Mixing the solution is an important part of the job. It consists of sand, cement and water. For greater plasticity, washing powder or clay is added to it.
Laying hollow bricks using this mortar is prohibited, because this will violate their hermetic properties.
For working in a small team, it will be useful to purchase a concrete mixer and buy 300 or 400 grades of cement.
Laying corners
When choosing where to start laying bricks, pay attention to the corners. Experienced craftsmen usually bring the corners above half the wall before starting work on the flat sections of the wall. This is not surprising, since half the correctness of the design depends on the evenness of the corners.
Note!
The perimeter of the future house is determined using a tightly stretched cord. To make the angle even, novice masons use the order. It helps to fix and correctly lay the first bricks.
Experienced craftsmen can do without this tool, relying on experience. To regulate the vertical, a plumb line or level is used.
Making seams
Since each row of brickwork is interspersed with mortar, you need to know the basic principles of working with it:
When choosing a waste floor, the solution should not only not end up on the outside of the wall, but also leave cracks, which will then be plastered.
Convex seams are classified as decorative. They are performed using a special tool. From available materials, you can use a pipe cut lengthwise.
Note!
A concave seam is not considered difficult to perform. It requires a stick or tube.
Smooth seams are considered the most optimal, since after them there is no need to further level the surface. They are often used in the manufacture of chimneys and fireplaces.
Main masonry
Immediately after the corners have been drawn, you can begin laying the wall. The corners will rise as the walls are built. But it is important that the cord does not sag. The brick is laid tightly to the corner on the previously applied mortar with a gap of 3 mm.
If there is a need to cut bricks, it makes sense to use a grinder. If this tool is not available, this work can be done with a pick.
To ensure the density of the masonry, take a little more mortar than necessary, and press down each brick thoroughly. What has come out must be assembled with a trowel. Don't be discouraged if you don't get the desired result right away. Sometimes it takes practice to get the job done right.
Note!
To ensure that the result obtained is correct, pay attention to the photo of the brick laying.
Strengthening masonry
This kind of work is necessary for those who want to extend the life of an old house instead of building a new one. Whatever the do-it-yourself brick laying scheme, before starting this work, you need to check the reliability of the foundation. If there are cracks in it
or ruptures, your structure will not last long.
After you are convinced of the reliability of the foundation, it makes sense to strengthen the wall with reinforcement and wire plaster. Other tools necessary for this work include chain-link mesh, a special solution for plastering walls, trowels, nails and wire.
Wall strengthening technology
The first stage of work is to clean the wall. Then you need to clean the seams and hammer in nails at a distance of no more than 100 mm so that the height of the head is 20 mm higher than the wall level.
Now you need to place the chain-link mesh as firmly as possible on the prepared nails. Instead of such a mesh, you can use ordinary wire. Only when forming cells should you pay special attention to the corners, avoiding holes in these places.
The next step is to plaster the wall. The composition necessarily includes cement and sand in a ratio of 1:3 or 1:4, as well as polymers to increase viscosity and plasticity.
For the basement part of the wall, a cement-lime mixture, which is water-resistant, can be used. To avoid lumps, the components of the composition must be sifted. The layer of plaster should be such that it covers the frame.
Conclusion
If you have decided to master the profession of a mason for the first time, you should not rush into the process of completing the work. Prepare materials and tools carefully.
Make a plan and calculate the number of bricks. And if you have decided on the masonry method and theoretically imagined the end result, you can begin the process.
DIY brick laying photo
To start our conversation, we first need to decide on the purpose of a building material such as brick. The scope of its use is huge. It is used in construction for the construction of load-bearing walls, partitions, for laying stoves in private houses, chimneys, etc.
In the first stages, it will be very useful to understand the types of material and its application depending on this. The first option is a regular clay red ceramic brick. Such bricks can be used in almost all types of masonry: main walls, masonry, when laying various types of foundations, etc.
The next type is silicate (white). It is typically used in areas where there is minimal exposure to moisture. It is used for cladding, for the construction of partitions and main walls.
The next thing we need to focus our attention on is that the brick can be solid or hollow. With the first option, everything seems to be extremely clear. This is a solid rectangular block. The hollow one has free spaces in its structure. Why is this being done? A hollow sample is better able to retain heat. However, it is less durable than the previous sample. Hollow is most often used for the installation of facing masonry and for the construction of partitions.
As for the size, it is divided into standard (single), one and a half, double. Standard dimensions are presented in the form 250x120x65mm, where 250mm characterizes the length, 120mm is the width, and 65mm is the height, respectively. The one-and-a-half sample differs from the standard one only in its increased height. It is 88 mm. The double height is 140 mm. These are commonly used metrics. However, there are also variations where the brick is presented in the form of partial length dimensions (i.e. less than 250 mm). They can be 180, 120, etc. in length. The size of the material affects the choice of method and type of brick laying.
Red brick laying sand-lime brick laying materials for brick laying types of brick laying
Let's take a closer look at how to choose the right brick. When choosing, we initially decide the following question: what do we plan to use it for. For the construction option, the presence of some minor defects is acceptable: chipped corners (no more than 10 mm deep), small cracks (no more than 30 mm). The facing sample should not have any chips, stains, faded areas, etc. Those. in simple words, the requirement for the quality of facing bricks is higher than for construction bricks. It would be a good idea to ask for a product quality certificate when purchasing. In this way, you will protect yourself from purchasing a possibly low-quality product. After purchase, an important detail is that it is necessary to ensure its proper storage. If you bought a brick in bulk, then after delivering it to the site, it must be stacked on a wooden pallet to prevent its contact with the ground. This is done so that the material does not accumulate excess moisture, does not get dirty, etc. It would not be superfluous to store the laid material under. If there is none, cover it with something (film, pieces of slate, etc.).
Types of bricklaying
To go directly to the consideration of the types, it is very important for yourself to take one moment: a brick consists of three main elements:
- Bed (widest part)
- Spoon (long side part)
- Butt (narrow side part, ends)
Based on this, masonry can be either spoon or bonded. Let's briefly describe both. Spoon - the row is laid along the wall, and the spoon side is directed towards you. When the brick is laid across the wall and the butt is facing you, this is a butt row. Everything is quite simple here. As a rule, when installing load-bearing walls, ligation of joint seams is used. It represents the alternate use of spoon and bonded masonry. If this point is ignored, then under heavy load the wall may deform with all the ensuing consequences. In terms of wall thickness, the masonry can be half a brick (a row when the spoon is pointed towards you), the size of one sample (when the row is made pointing towards you), 1.5 (butt + spoon) and, finally, two pieces (two butt rows ).
In masonry, it is permissible to make a thickness of 1-1.5 cm (for horizontal seams), but for vertical joints - 1 cm.
Based on the type of bricklaying, there are also multi-row (followed by a bonded row, then several spoon rows) and single-row (when the spoon and bonded rows alternate).
The binding of samples in masonry is done using cement mortar. During the laying process, it is often necessary to change the length of standard samples. The best way to do this is to use a grinder with a disc for concrete. If you don’t have such an assistant at hand, you can get by with a hammer-pick. Having previously made a notch in the right place, we cut off the excess part with a hammer.
That, in principle, is all that I would like to draw your attention to. Let us only recall that these are the basics, without which no work begins. If you decide to do the masonry yourself, we recommend visiting the construction sites and asking for advice from the craftsmen. After all, masonry is a rather complex process, which is difficult to complete without some practice.
Before you start building walls, you need to make a foundation for them. In this case, it is a strip foundation, which was previously leveled with brickwork.
1. First of all, you need to clear the foundation of debris.
2. To level out unevenness on the foundation, it is necessary to prepare a thin solution. A solution is made from a mixture of sand and cement grade M 400.
3. Then uneven areas should be leveled.
4. Before starting work on the construction of walls, it is necessary to install waterproofing. To do this, take roofing felt and cut it to the required size.
5. It is convenient to cut roofing felt by one person using nylon thread and brick.
6. To do this, lay the roofing material on a flat surface, and on top of it a nylon thread tied to the brick.
7. The next step is to bend the roofing material to the desired size, in our case in half.
9. We step on the roofing felt and try to pull the thread through the folded edge of the roofing felt, thereby cutting it.
10. After we have cut the required amount of waterproofing, we lay it on the foundation.
11. To prevent the waterproofing from being blown away by the wind, it is pressed down with cinder blocks.
12. We begin laying the walls by placing the corners.
13. After the corners are set and the diagonals are checked, we begin laying the wall.
15. To fasten the blocks together, you need to apply the solution to the end of the block.
16. Place the block in its place, while pressing it against the adjacent block.
17. To ensure that the walls are even, we lay the masonry under a mooring cord, which is attached to a bracket made from electrode wire No. 3 by bending it in half.
18. We stretch the mooring cord over the entire length of the wall, securing the brackets with bricks on the corner blocks.
19. In this case, the thread of the mooring cord should be tightly stretched. We apply tension to such an extent that the bracket is at the limit of being pulled out from under the brick.
20. The consistency of the mortar for laying blocks should not be liquid. To save mortar, we lay the bed only along the area of contact between the block and the working surface.
21. When laying the block, the mortar will fill only the necessary parts of the contact.