Laying facing bricks with your own hands
Thanks to external decoration, it is easy to change the architectural appearance of the house. Laying facing bricks with your own hands will make the façade attractive. The work requires accuracy and adherence to technology; it is quite painstaking, but the result will please you for many years.
Types of facing bricks
The main function of the facing material is the decorative design of the house, so manufacturers offer a huge selection of shades and textures of the front part of the brick. The appearance and characteristics of the product are influenced by the raw materials and technology used in production. There are several types of facing bricks.
Ceramic - classic brick made of baked clay. Depending on the type of raw material, it has a reddish or white-yellow tint. The material is resistant to mechanical damage and ultraviolet radiation, and does not lose color due to fading. It is made smooth and rough, with a flat or wavy surface. The brick allows steam to pass through well, so moisture does not accumulate in the masonry.
Hyperpressed brick is made from shell rock or limestone with the addition of Portland cement and dyes. Production is carried out by pressing under high pressure. The product is resistant to moisture and frost, its cost is lower than that of ceramics. Bricks are made solid, hollow and figured.
The disadvantage of the product is its smooth surface, which makes adhesion with the solution difficult.
Clinker bricks are made from plastic clay, which is fired after pressing. Bright shades of the material are obtained thanks to the addition of dyes. The product is characterized by high sound and heat insulation, frost resistance, strength and durability. This material has the highest cost among facing bricks.
The low water absorption coefficient of clinker bricks increases the time required for laying.
Features of choice
All bricks for facing finishing can be divided into two groups:
- corpulent – a material with a dense continuous structure, characterized by high strength;
- hollow - a product made with holes in the body; this design reduces the thermal conductivity and weight of the brick.
The facing material is characterized by stable geometric dimensions, the inaccuracies are:
- length – 4 mm;
- width – 3 mm;
- height – 2 mm.
When choosing a material, you should inspect it for defects and chips. When visually assessing facing bricks, pay attention to several criteria:
- color range of material;
- quality of the front side of the product;
- embossed or smooth surface of a brick.
To achieve maximum masonry quality, you need to know the basic rules:
- Where to start? First of all, masonry is carried out without mortar to determine the amount of brick that needs to be trimmed.
- The material is cut with a grinder, a stone disc is used. Working with a metal disc or hammer is prohibited.
- The masonry mortar is made from 1 part cement, 3 parts sand, 1 part water. The sand is sifted before mixing. The consistency of the mortar should be thick enough, the brick should lie tightly. To give the mixture a shade similar to brick, coloring pigments are added. Ceramic products are soaked before laying.
- The size of the horizontal seam should not exceed 10 mm, vertical - 12 mm.
- If the front part is contaminated with the solution, it is immediately removed with a trowel. Every 4 rows, the facing brickwork is wiped with a damp cloth to remove any remaining dirt.
- To ensure ventilation of the masonry, three vertical seams are counted and the fourth is not filled with mortar.
- The cladding of the building is carried out at a temperature of +5ºC.
Tools and equipment
- Buckets for solution.
- Scaffolding.
- Master OK.
- Plumb and level.
- Hammer.
Installation technology
Having determined during dry laying out the places for cutting bricks and window and door openings, proceed to leveling according to the level of the base. The first row of bricks is laid on it along the entire perimeter of the building. The solution is applied at a distance of 1.5 cm from the edge. After the first row, corner pillars are formed to a height of 4–6 rows. A thread is stretched between the elements, along which the bricks of the remaining rows are laid. This guideline helps maintain horizontality. To tie the cladding to the main wall, anchors with wires attached to them are used.
After the solution has set, the seams are embroidered with a special device. During the work process, it is necessary to ensure the cleanliness of the front part of the brick and wipe it.
Brick cladding gives the house a respectable and attractive appearance, and doing the work yourself allows you to save on the services of craftsmen.
Video
The technology for laying facing bricks can be viewed in the following video: