How to lay a facing brick

When facing the walls with a brick requires a certain skill, because the masonry should be perfectly even and neat. To do it yourself, you need to study in detail how to lay a facing brick, what methods of laying are, how to properly perform the basting. Finishing such a brick is very appreciated for its external appeal and durability.

Tools for a brick laying

Brick parameters	Hyperpressed brick	Clinker brick	Silicate brick	Ceramic brick
Compressive strength, kg / cm²	150-300	300-500	75-200	100-175
Frost resistance, cycle	75-150	50-100	35-50	15-50
Moisture absorption,%	6-8	Less than 6	6-12	6-8
Thermal conductivity, W/ m ° C	0.7-0.8	0.7	0.3-0.7	0.3-0.5
Bs at a rate 250h120h65., kg.	4	3-4	3,8	3,5

For high-quality facing, you need the appropriate tools:

• construction level - without it you will not be able to lay the brick in even rows;
• trowel - it puts a solution, removes excess, trims the brick when stacking;
• hammer-pick - used for splitting the lining material;
• Bulgarian with diamond discs - used for cutting bricks;
• square metal rod with a section of 10x10 mm - to form the same joints between rows;
• round rod with a diameter of 10 mm - for embroidery.

In addition, you will need a thin building cord or strong thread, anchors and a binding wire for bonding masonry with a bearing wall.

Varieties of masonry

By the arrangement of bricks in the row there are several types of masonry:

• front( bed) - the brick is laid so that the widest side is visible;
• spoon - the long narrow side is visible from the outside;
• pinched - only the ends of bricks can be seen from the outside.

In addition, the masonry is divided into types of decorativeness:

• laying "in half a brick" - vertical seams of spoon or bedding are displaced horizontally by half the length of the brick;
• stacking - vertical seams between bricks are located on one line;
• Flemish - spoon and stamping are alternated in one row;
• "American" - spoon and stamping masonry alternate in rows.

In the absence of experience, it is better to start with a standard spoon masonry in half a brick, and as the craftsmanship improves, you can try other methods. It should be noted that stacking is the most unstable, so it is used exclusively for decorative purposes.

Brick cladding technology

Step 1. Preparation of the

foundation The facing brick should be laid on the plinth, so when pouring and warming the foundation, a cap protrusion is provided along the perimeter of the house for the thickness of the cladding plus 2-3 cm for the air gap. Before starting work, you should check the foundation with a building level to avoid possible misalignments. If any irregularities are found, they are removed with cement mortar. After that, the surface must be swept thoroughly.

Step 2. Mixing the solution

For brick facing, the mortar is prepared from cement M500 and clean fine sand. The components are mixed in a 1: 4 ratio, water is added in small portions. The finished mixture must be homogeneous, sufficiently thick;If the ball rolled from the solution does not dissolve and keeps the shape well, the consistency is considered correct. Water for batching must be taken clean, with a minimum of salts, otherwise on the lining will perform unaesthetic whitish spots - the sunspots, which are not easy to remove. An important point: mix the solution in a small amount, because the laying process takes time, and the solution dries quickly.

Step 3. Laying the lower row

Next to the workplace put a container of water and soak the bricks. Experienced builders recommend laying the bottom row without a solution. Since the length of the perimeter of the house is not always a multiple of the length of the brick, in certain places it is necessary to cut the brick and choose the optimal location of the joints. If you put the first row on the solution, it will be more problematic to trim. Work starts from the corner: with the help of a level, each brick is laid on top of the base and leveled by the seams. Between the load-bearing wall and the lining, 2-3 cm of free space for ventilation is always left.

Step 4. Laying corners

Now you need to lay out the corners to a height of 4-6 rows. On the bottom row along the outer edge put a square rod, dial a trowel a little solution and gently apply it. Slightly leveling the solution, a brick is placed on top, it is pinched by the handle of the trowel so that it touches the rod. Check the location of the level, if necessary, pummel more. Carefully remove the rod, wipe the crumbs of the solution, and then repeat the same on the other side of this angle. When laying the following bricks, the correct banding of the corner is followed: the ends should alternate with long sides on both sides.

Step 5. Wall cladding

When all the corners are laid out, proceed to the wall lining. Between the corner bricks of the second row pull a strong thread, laying it on top and fixing something heavy. Now put on the edge of the first row of bars, cover the surface of the masonry mortar. Bricks intended for this series are placed vertically on the ground, apply a trowel of a little solution to the ends, and then gently lay them on the solution. Knock each of them, focusing on the thread, take out the rod, check the series with the help of a level.

Step 6. Binding of the cladding to the wall

If the brick lining was not planned initially, it is necessary to fix the facade masonry to the bearing wall. Do this in two ways: using anchors and dowels with a binding wire. In the first variant, the anchor is driven into the wall of the building to half, leaving the second part between the rows of cladding. Anchors are better to take galvanized, 6 mm in diameter.

The second option: in the wall drill holes, insert dowels, attach knitting wire to them. Wire must lie on the brick, but do not go beyond its edge. Standard fasteners are installed through 4 vertical rows and at a distance of 70 cm horizontally. One square meter of surface requires about 5 fixtures. Around the apertures, the distance between the dowels is reduced by about a third.

The remaining rows are made in the same way: pull the thread between the corner elements at the heightrow, lay a bar, then a solution and bricks. It should be noted that the width of the horizontal joints should be 10-15 mm, and the vertical ones should be a little less - from 8 to 10 mm. Such a masonry will look most attractive. Near the door and window apertures the brick is cut and fastened so that on the other side the row does not break, then above the opening the picture of the masonry will remain correct.

Step 7. Laying the slopes

For more decorative, the slopes are laid out of another color brick. On the perimeter of the slopes, the facing is done by the tumbling method;The resulting columns with a width of one brick can protrude slightly beyond the edge of the walls. The slopes must be strictly vertical, so when laying, they control the building level.

Step 7. Expansion

Once the mortar is seized, you can proceed to masoning. Surface swept, remove the crumbs of the solution, moisten the masonry with water. Prepare a working solution: mix in equal parts cement and lime, and then add sand. The ratio of sand to cement is equal to 10: 1, water is added so much that the mixture has acquired the consistency of the paste. After that the mortar is filled with seams and starts to form them with the help of a binder. The first to form vertical seams, then expand the horizontal.

Useful recommendations

You can not lay out more than 6-7 rows at a time, as the masonry can deform from a large load. Every 3-4 rows are checked by level to achieve maximum verticality. You can not fill a gap between the lining and the building wall, the air gap is necessary for the ventilation of the surfaces, besides, it performs heat insulation functions. The slope can be installed right after the installation, in order not to rearrange the forests twice.

Video - How to lay a facing brick