How to lay a brick correctly - types of masonry and step-by-step instructions

From the moment of its appearance several thousand years ago to the present day, brick remains one of the most important building materials, along with concrete and wood. A huge number of houses, cottages, sheds, garages, baths, utility and public buildings, etc. are erected from bricks. And even now, despite all modern construction technologies, a person who knows how to quickly and correctly lay bricks is very highly valued. So why don't you join the skill of masons? Knowing , how to lay bricks correctly, you will be able to independently build various residential and outbuildings from this material on your site.

Types of bricks

Brick is a block of artificial stone of regular shape, used for the construction of load-bearing walls and partitions, as well as for facing in the construction of various residential, public and utility buildings.

It is made in the form of a parallelepiped, the edges of which have their own names.

1. The largest edge in area, which, as a rule, is parallel to the base of the masonry, is called bed .
2. The longest side edge, the second largest, is called the spoon or the spoon portion .
3. The short side edge, the smallest in area, is called the poke or the butt piece of the brick .

Bricks are classified according to the following parameters :

• material of manufacture;
• size and shape;
• structure;
• scope.

Let's take a quick look at all of them. According to the material of manufacture, bricks can be of the following types.

1. Ceramic bricks , also known as red, are among the most common. They are made of high quality clay with a low content of impurities.

   Blanks of ceramic bricks are formed, dried and then fired in an oven at a temperature of + 1000 ° C. The manufacturing process is long enough and laborious, therefore, such a building material is relatively expensive. But at the same time, red brick is strong and durable.

   

   Face ceramic bricks

2. Clinker bricks - like ceramic bricks, they are made of good clay, but at the same time, their firing occurs at a higher temperature of + 1200 ° C. As a rule, it has a darker shade and the best indicators of strength and frost resistance among analogues.

   Also, of all bricks, clinker has the lowest water absorption rates - from 1 to 6% of the total mass.

   

   Strong and durable clinker bricks

3. Silicate bricks - are made from a mixture of sand and a small amount of lime. Unlike ceramic ones, they are not fired, but pass through an autoclave, where the temperature is about + 200 ° C and high pressure.Cheap and very popular material for the construction of outbuildings. But at the same time it is less durable than ceramic bricks, and more prone to moisture absorption.

   

   Sand-lime brick

4. Hyper-pressed brick - a building material made from a mixture of rocks and a small amount of Portland cement which are formed and pressed under very high pressure.

   

   Facing hyper-pressed bricks

5. Adobe bricks - as a rule, homemade building material, which are blocks of clay where straw or its analog is used as a filler.

Brick size is determined by government standards. In accordance with them, this building material has basic dimensions, called "normal format", from which all other options are based.

Table.

The main dimensions of the bricks.

Format name	Dimensions, mm
NF - normal format, also known as single	250x120x65
One and a half	250x120x88
Double	250x120x138
"Euro"	250x85x65
Modular single	288x138x65

Important! It should be noted that incomplete parts of bricks are often used in the construction of brickwork. This is half, one quarter and three quarters. To create them, a pickaxe, circular saw, grinder or a special machine are used.

As for the shape of a brick, then, in addition to the standard rectangular, there are many more options that are used for decorative purposes or to create structures of complex shapes.

With these blocks, called shaped, you can see the image below.

According to their structure, bricks are divided into solid and hollow. In the first version, the blocks do not have any specially made holes, pores and voids are obtained due to the peculiarities of the manufacturing technology. Solid bricks are used for the construction of load-bearing walls and other structures experiencing significant stress - they are stronger, but at the same time worse in their thermal insulation qualities.

Hollow bricks have rectangular or round holes in the bed in their structure.

Masonry made of such a material, due to such voids filled with air, has better thermal insulation properties, but at the same time it is not as strong.

According to its field of application, the material is divided into the following categories.

1. Building , also known as ordinary brick, is used for the construction of walls and partitions, which are subsequently finished with other materials. Often it has an imperfect shape and appearance, but at the same time it is cheaper.
2. Facing , or facing brick - can also be used for the construction of load-bearing walls, partitions, plinths and other structures, but at the same time it has a better appearance, therefore it may not be covered with other finishes and while still getting a beautiful and eye-pleasing building.

3. Refractory - used for arranging stoves, chimneys and other structures that may come into contact with sources of fire or elevated temperatures.
4. Decorative bricks are used exclusively for external or internal facade decoration. It often has a special texture or painting.

Important! Separately, it is worth highlighting used brick - this is the cheapest version of this building material, but its strength properties and appearance are very far from ideal.

Brick price

Brick

Types of brickwork, dressing and jointing

Without knowledge of the basic terms denoting elements of masonry, it is not easy to understand various instructions and correctly erect brick walls .

.. Therefore, let's take a look at the basic designations shown in the image below.

Versts - bricks laid on the front (front) and internal (component surface of living quarters) side of the wall. Bricks lying between the inner and outer versts in a row are called zabutka .

In accordance with the appearance of the facade, the rows in the masonry can be butted or spoon . In the first case, the bricks come out on the front side of the wall with a jab. And, accordingly, if spoons are visible on the facade, then such a row is called spoon.

The joint formed by the mortar between the rows of brickwork is called horizontal . And if the mortar is between adjacent bricks in a row, then such a seam is called vertical .

It can be either longitudinal, or transverse . In the first case, the vertical seam is located along the direction of the wall, in the second - across it. Their overlaps in rows of brickwork are called dressings .

Making strong and durable structures from this material is possible only if three basic rules are observed ..

.

1. In masonry, compressive loads must be evenly distributed and minimized for bending. For this, the planes of all rows must be parallel to each other.As a result, uneven distribution of the load on one of the corners or one of the sides of the masonry is excluded.
2. Vertical seams located along and across with respect to the direction of the brickwork should be located at an angle of 90 ° relative to the plane of the row and mutually perpendicular to each other.

3. To ensure an even distribution of the load and to avoid bending moments, each brick in the upper row must be supported by at least two bricks in the lower one.

The classification of brickwork by wall thickness can be found below.

Important! Separately, it should be said that there is another type of masonry - a quarter brick. In this case, the plane of the rows does not pass along the bed of blocks, but along the spoon.

The thickness of such masonry is 65 mm, strength and thermal insulation are low, therefore the scheme is suitable only for thin partitions inside the house.

As mentioned above, to create strong and reliable masonry, its vertical seams must be bridged. To solve this problem, various laying schemes are used, called dressings of seams . Each of them has a certain level of difficulty, as well as its own advantages and disadvantages.

The following seam dressing systems are most commonly used in construction:

• single row , also known as chain;
• multi-row ;
• and a multi-row subspecies - three-row dressing system.

Principle single-row suture dressing consists of alternating spoon and knuckle rows brickwork through one. In this case, you still need to follow some rules.

1. The initial and final rows of masonry must be bonded.
2. Longitudinal vertical joints overlap by 1/2 brick.
3. Vertical transverse joints overlap by 1/4 of the brick.

The one-row seam dressing system makes it possible to create a very strong and reliable masonry with an even distribution of load and minimization of bending moments. But at the same time, this method of laying bricks is very laborious. In addition, the mason needs to produce a large number of incomplete blocks, which increases the consumption of material due to unnecessary quarters or scrap resulting from an unsuccessful split.

From the point of view of saving material and time, multi-row seam dressing system is preferable. In it, one butt row alternates with 5-6 spoonfuls.

At the same time, there are some peculiarities that require compliance.

1. As for single-row dressing, the initial and final rows of masonry should be bonded.
2. The next spoon row should overlap the vertical transverse seams of the previous row of the same type by 1/2 brick.
3. Vertical longitudinal seams in spoon rows are usually not tied.
4. The next stitch rows in the masonry should overlap the vertical transverse seams of the previous spoon row by 1/4 brick.

As mentioned above, such a system is more economical and simpler, but at the same time it is not as strong. As for a three-row dressing, this is a special case of a multi-row one - when there are three spoonfuls between two butt rows.

In brickwork, not only wall thicknesses and block layouts differ, but also the types of mortar joints. Let's consider their main varieties.

1. Undercut - the seam boundaries coincide with the plane of the walls. The result is a flat and smooth brickwork.
2. Wasteland - the seam boundaries do not reach the plane of the walls, there are small gaps between the bricks. As a rule, this type is used in the event that the masonry will be plastered. In the process, finishing material will enter these cracks and, thus, it will stick well to the wall.

3. Convex and concave semicircular and double-cut seams - in profile, the solution on the wall border looks like a semicircle or triangle, extending or, conversely, entering beyond the masonry plane. Used for decorative purposes.

Tools and accessories for bricklaying

Any construction work is impossible without the use of tools. Consider everything you may need to properly lay bricks.

Mason's trowel is a triangular metal shovel with a curved handle.

The most important tool for laying bricks is necessary for applying mortar to a wall or a separate block, for mixing it or cutting off excess.

Pickaxe hammer - used to split bricks into halves and quarters. The sharp side is used for small or normal-sized blocks, the blunt side for those that are larger. You can also use a circular saw or grinder instead of a pick hammer.

Trowel for jointing - with its help, jointing in brickwork and giving them the necessary shape.

Nylon cord for arranging the mooring, with which the correct position of the new row is controlled bricks.

Ordering - metal corner, fixed at the corners of the house with clamps ... It contains holes or other fasteners that allow you to quickly move the mooring cord exactly to the height of one row of brickwork (taking into account the thickness of the seam).

The use of ordering significantly speeds up and facilitates the work of a bricklayer.

Shovel for stirring cement mortar. You will also need buckets, a trough and other containers to prepare and carry it to the point of laying bricks. When working with a large amount of mortar, it makes sense to buy or rent a concrete mixer.

To control the position of the corners, you need a carpenter's square .

You will also need a tape measure to measure distances and lengths. And for marking - a pencil.

In the work of a bricklayer, it is of great importance to control how evenly one of the bricks lies horizontally and vertically row. For these purposes, use building and water levels .

Prices for building levels

Building levels

For laying the upper rows of bricks, use scaffolding or scaffolding .

It is better to transport building materials using a wheelbarrow.

Scaffolding prices

Scaffolding

Also during construction it is better to wear separate work clothes and use protective equipment - glasses and gloves .

Important! We should also mention the templates for the bricklayer. These are simple plastic devices that allow even an inexperienced person to apply perfectly even layers of mortar to the bed and vertical surfaces of bricks.

Mixing the mortar for masonry

You will need cement mortar to join the bricks into a solid and solid wall.

And in this section of the article, you will learn how to cook it.

Step 1. Prepare all the necessary components - cement grade M400, good sand, a little water and a plasticizer. The latter is necessary to create an elastic, high-quality mixture that will easily lay on the brick and smooth out. Use either specially formulated additives or common detergent as a plasticizer.

Step 2. Turn on the concrete mixer, pour three quarters of a bucket of water into it, then add 30-50 ml of detergent. Wait for the mixture of the two liquids to mix well and foam.

Step 3. Add two buckets of sand.

Also wait until all the components in the mixer are mixed.

Step 4. As soon as the sand is mixed with the liquid, add two more buckets of sand ...

Repeat the same steps as in the previous operation.

Step 5. Add one bucket of dry cement grade M400 to the concrete mixer. Turn the pear down a little, about 5-10 °.

Step 6.

Stir the ingredients evenly until the mixture is becomes slightly damp. After that, gradually add water to the concrete mixer. Do not overdo it with water, otherwise you will have to re-add dry components and plasticizer, while it will be difficult to maintain the correct proportions.

Step 7. As soon as the mixture is completely mixed and begins to peel off the walls of the concrete mixer, pour it into a prepared trough or any other container of suitable volume.

Step 8. Stir the mixture with a shovel, check how elastic it is and whether its consistency is suitable for use in masonry.

Step 9. Having prepared the mixture for bonding the bricks, do not forget to clean the stopped concrete mixer from the remains of the solution.

Prices for popular models of concrete mixers

Concrete mixers

How to lay bricks correctly - step by step instructions

Now let's start describing how to lay bricks correctly.

For this, several step-by-step instructions have been created, each of which is placed in a separate subsection.

Important! Before starting construction, it is advisable to "practice" the brickwork and its individual elements, such as corners and pillars. This will give you the basic skills of a bricklayer and save you from some mistakes in the process of building your own house, barn, garage or any other building.

Dry laying on the base

Work begins with laying the first row of bricks "dry". It is necessary to calculate how many blocks will be needed in this case, and for a rough idea of ​​how to make the correct masonry.

Step 1. Unpack the bricks and check the specimens from different pallets. Due to some peculiarities of raw materials and technological process, they may differ from each other in shade or size. Identify these features in advance. When laying walls and other structures, it is advisable to use bricks from the same batch, one shade.

Step 2. Spread and fix roofing material on the basement or foundation - it is necessary for waterproofing. Without it, the brick will "draw in" water, which will not in the best way affect its durability. Then lay out the first row of blocks without mortar and careful fitting. Prepare a pin or piece of reinforcement with a diameter of 8 mm - this corresponds to the thickness of the mortar layer between the bricks.

Step 3. Now lay the bricks on the edge of the plinth, carefully aligning them and observing the required clearance using a pin of the appropriate diameter. In this way, dry layout is performed around the entire perimeter of the building being erected - pay special attention to the corners.

Step 4. Measure the length from one corner to the other, record the results.

Also take measurements diagonally - is everything correct, are the project figures being observed.

Step 5. In the corners, mark the plinth with a pencil in the places where the edges of the bricks will be located. If you wish and have time, the same marks can be placed along the entire length of the walls - this will require additional efforts from you now, but at the same time it will greatly facilitate the work in the future.

Laying out the first row

One of the most crucial stages in laying bricks - working with the first row.

The quality of the subsequent masonry and the entire structure as a whole depends on how correctly it will be laid out. Consider this and do this work as carefully as possible.

Step 1. Using the marks made during the dry laying stage, lay the first bricks on the corners of the plinth. In this case, a reinforcing wire mesh was also lined over the roofing material.

Step 2. After planting the corner bricks of one of the walls on the mortar, carefully adjust them in height with the handle of a trowel or with very light and careful blows of the blunt part of a hammer-pick. In this case, be sure to use both the water level and the building level - you need to make sure that the blocks on the two edges of the walls are at the same height.

Step 3. Using the same principle, lay out the first row bricks on all corners of the future building.

Step 4. Pull the mooring thread between the corner bricks, along which all other blocks in the first row will be aligned horizontally and vertically. The cord is fixed either with the help of corners (as in the photo below), or in order. Please note that the mooring thread should not sag and that when laying it, it is undesirable to "press" it towards one of the brick edges.

Step 5.

Start laying out the other bricks of the first row.Place the mortar on the base with a trowel, level it to a height of about 1.5 cm, lay a brick, level it horizontally and vertically using a mooring thread. If this is your first time working as a bricklayer, check with the building level. In this case, it is allowed to adjust the brick by light tapping with the handle of a trowel or the blunt end of a hammer-pick.

After that, the thickness of the horizontal joint should be approximately 8-10 mm, and the vertical joint should be 8 mm. Remove excess mortar with a trowel.

Step 6. Following the same principles as above, lay all the bricks of the first row.

Step 7.

After laying the last brick in the first row, check again , whether the height of all blocks coincides, whether there is somewhere a bulging forward or backward relative to the base. If everything is in order, proceed to laying out the corners of the second row, moving the dock and further construction work.

Brick masonry in and out

After laying the first row, you need to start creating the subsequent layers of brickwork. In this case, the actions are performed according to a similar algorithm - corners are created, the thread is pulled, blocks are laid. In this subsection we will focus on the last operation.

There are two basic techniques for laying bricks - flush and press. Let's consider both in sequence. Let's start by laying the bricks using the sprinkling method.

Step 1. Pull the mooring threads along the upper edges of the row being laid out.

It is advisable to do this both from the outside and from the inside. Then pour the cement mortar onto the bed of the previous row of bricks.

Step 2. Spread the mortar over the surface of the previous row of brickwork with a trowel ..

. Its thickness should be slightly more than the thickness of the horizontal seam you are planning. Also make sure that the mortar completely fills the vertical longitudinal and transverse joints on the previous row of brickwork.

Step 3. Take the brick, tilt it slightly down with a spoon or poke (depending on how you need to put it) and, immersing it in the solution, move it so that a layer of mixture floats onto the inclined edge.

As a result, you get horizontal and vertical seams at the same time.

Step 4. Follow the same principle for laying the rest of the bricks.If they deviate in height from the boundary established by the mooring thread, adjust them with light tapping with a trowel or hammer. Cut off excess mortar from the outside with a trowel, partially fill the vertical joints where the mixture is not enough.

Now let's look at the laying of bricks in the press.

Step 1. As in the previous instructions, pull a mooring thread along the upper edges of the row, and lay out and level the mortar on the bed of the lower layer of bricks.

Step 2. Then turn the trowel to one side and gently move it over the mortar part to the vertical edge of the brick next to which you are going to lay the new one.

As a result, you should have an even side seam.

Step 3. Holding the mortar on the vertical edge with a trowel, lay the brick in the right place and press it to the bed of the previous row and to the spoon (or poke, depending on the type of masonry) of the neighboring block. Pull out the trowel carefully.

Step 4.

Follow the same principle for laying the next brick. Adjust them in height with light strokes with the trowel handle, if necessary.

Step 5. Cut off excess mortar flowing from the horizontal and vertical seams with one stroke of the trowel. The mixture can be sent into a bucket to its main part or laid out on top (in the case when the junction of pokes or spoons of two bricks is not sufficiently filled with mortar).

Step 6. Repeating the previous steps, lay out all the other bricks in the row.

Prices for cement and base mixtures

Cement and mixture bases

Video - Bricklaying for beginner masons

Video - Mistakes of beginner masons in brickwork

How to cut and chop a brick

When working with brickwork, especially when using complex dressing schemes, there is a need for a large the number of incomplete brick blocks - halves, quarters, etc. To obtain them, the material must either be split with a pick or cut with a grinder (or circular saw). In this section, you will learn how to do this.

Let's start by splitting the brick.

Step 1. Examine the brick before splitting it. Pay particular attention to the presence and depth of cracks. If they are and are not in the place where you plan to split, it is better to take another brick, since when working with such an instance there is a risk of getting a marriage.

Step 2. Take the brick correctly - the middle of the hand should be in the place where the split line is planned, with your fingers firmly hold both future halves. Otherwise, one of the pieces of building material, when struck with a pickaxe, can fly off and fall on your foot or crack to a state of marriage.

Step 3. With the sharp edge of a pickaxe, scratch an approximate split line on the brick.

Step 4. Hit this line with a strong and quick blow. After it, the brick should split into pieces of approximately the size you need. If you work with large blocks, do a few hits or use a blunt part of the tool instead of a pointed one.

Step 5.

After hitting, divide the brick into pieces you need size and set aside for storage. If necessary, they can be slightly beaten off along the cut with a pickaxe to remove excess.

Now let's consider sawing a brick with a grinder. With this tool, you get excellent and even cuts of blocks, but at the same time, the work must be done much more accurately and with the obligatory observance of safety measures.

Step 1.

Lay the brick on a flat base. It is desirable that it have slats or other devices for fixing the building material.

Step 2. Stand so that neither your legs nor other parts of your body were not on the cut line. You should be "away" from her.

Thus, the risk of injury due to a sharp movement of the grinder "under itself" is minimized.

Important! Also, keep in mind that no one should be behind you or in front of you - being close to strangers is a violation of safety precautions.

Step 3. Turn on the grinder and wait for its disc to spin up. Then start the sawing process.

In this case, the master stood in such a way that the disc was spinning "away from himself" - the dust received during work goes to the side, and not onto it.

After finishing cutting, carefully lift the grinder up, turn it off and put it aside. Transfer the resulting halves (or 1/4 and 3/4 of the brick) to a separate pallet or other storage location.

Bavarian brickwork

This method is used not only for facing the facade walls of various buildings, brick fences, gazebos and barbecues are also erected in this way, decorative architectural elements. What is "Bavarian brickwork"? Read about it in this article.

At this point, the basic acquaintance with the bricklaying process can be considered complete. Now you know more about the bricklayer's craft and get the opportunity not only to better control the work of third-party teams, but also to create some of the brick structures yourself.