Making bricks with your own hands

One of the most common and oldest building materials is brick. Essentially, a brick is fake diamond having rectangular shape. This shape is much more convenient for construction than the natural stone, from which they built before. The widespread use of bricks in construction was facilitated by the widespread distribution of the main raw material - clay and its high consumer properties, that is: high mechanical strength, durability, resistance to water, fire, atmosphere, and solar radiation. The easiest way is to buy a brick. The variety of bricks produced is now very large. But brick prices will NOT pleasantly surprise you. Therefore, if you want to save money, then do it at home.

Let's consider all the technologies for making bricks at home in order.

Preparation of raw materials for making bricks

Brick is made from pure clays or from clays with the addition of non-plastic materials and burnable additives (sand, fireclay, sawdust, peat, husks, finely chopped straw, etc.). Non-plastic clays, for example, silt, can be used as additives.
The greater the ductility, the easier it is to make bricks. The easiest way to achieve plasticity in clay is to let it sit in a moist state. In a good way increasing the plasticity of clay is its freezing in winter.
To prepare clay for brick production, the harvested and crushed raw materials are placed in a container (like a trough) and soaked in water, adding it gradually in 2-3 additions, with periodic stirring, until the clay is completely soaked.

Do not allow clay with inclusions of pebbles and small stones, cleared from the plant layer of soil, into the process, and also do not allow clay with white inclusions (carbonates) in the form of large particles larger than 1 mm in size.
After soaking, the clay is left to sit for at least 3 days, or longer, by covering the trough with a damp cloth or plastic wrap.

After aging, the clay is checked for quality and suitability for molding, drying and firing. With normal working consistency, clay dough exhibits plastic and molding properties, retains its given shape without deformation and does not stick to hands or metal. As an example of an approximate determination of the quality of clay, the following can be given: clay is rolled up as thick as a finger and screwed onto a bottle. At the same time, it should not tear or have cracks, and also not smear throughout the bottle. The need for additives is determined by damage or cuts on the samples. These additives serve as a kind of strengthening “reinforcement”. Thus, up to 30% additives can be added to fatty clays.

For brick production It is better to take low-fat clays. Available additives include; river sand, sawdust, grain husks, peat chips, etc. Sand is used mainly to reduce the fat content of clay. The amount of sand added should not exceed 3 or 5%. Other fillers for brick bundles - no more than 20%. In this case, the particle size of additives is no more than 3-5 mm. The amount of additives is determined mainly by trial mixing and drying of raw samples.

It is advisable to test the fat content of the clay. This can be done different ways, here is the simplest of them.

To test clay for fat content, you will need 0.5 liters of extracted raw materials. You need to pour water into this clay and mix until the clay absorbs all the water and does not stick to your hands. From this mass, form a small ball, approximately 4-5 cm in diameter, and a cake with a diameter of about 10 cm. All this must be dried in the shade for 2-3 days.
After this, the cake and the ball are checked for strength. If there are cracks in them, then the clay is too oily and sand needs to be added to work with it. If there are no cracks, you need to throw the ball from a meter height. If it remains unharmed, this means that the clay is of normal fat content.
Excessively thin types of clay do not crack, but their strength leaves much to be desired, and therefore it is necessary to add clay of higher fat content to them. You need to mix clay or sand in small portions, in several stages, checking the quality of the composition after each mixing so as not to make a mistake and find the required proportions.

Previously cited detailed description making cinder blocks at home - for those who are interested in this topic.

Once the optimal proportions of the solution have been determined, it can be used to make bricks.

Molding

Brick molding is done manually by placing clay into wooden or metal molds and subsequent compaction.

Forms can be collapsible or non-collapsible. The inner surface of the mold must have smooth surface. A sketch of an approximate shape is shown in Fig. 1-a, 1-b. Before molding, the mold must be lubricated with oil, or whitewash (water with chalk), or simply moistened with water to prevent clay from sticking to the molds.

Metal mold for 1 brick

Wooden mold for 3 bricks

We must also remember that clay products decrease in size when dried and fired. This phenomenon is called air shrinkage - during drying and fire shrinkage - during firing. So, to mold an ordinary brick (250x120x65 mm), a mold of 260x130x75 mm is required.
You can make molds for several bricks at once in the form of a plate and then cut the plate into bricks the right size with a stretched string or metal tape moistened with water. The form can be with or without a bottom. The forms are installed on a clean, flat surface. Sawdust or a small amount of sand is poured into the bottom of the mold. The prepared clay is placed into molds with a shovel and then compacted. As the mold shrinks, clay mass is added until the edges of the mold are filled. Excess clay from the mold is cut off with a smooth wooden or metal strip.
Next, the cut surface is smoothed and the molds are removed. If the plate is molded, it is cut into bricks. Then let the raw brick “dry” and send it for drying. Withering lasts one hour or 2 hours and is determined by the absence of indentations from the fingers when it is lifted. Rejects from molding should be re-entered into production.

Usage hot water When preparing clay, it accelerates the drying of raw materials.
The raw molding process can be mechanized using the simplest screw press With manual drive or driven by any power plant (electric motor, engine internal combustion, wind or water engine). Such a press can be made in any mechanical workshop.

Drying bricks

When drying, it is necessary to ensure that moisture evaporates evenly both from the inside of the brick and from its surface. This is achieved by slow drying. Uneven drying causes warping and cracking of products. Correct drying is achieved mainly experimentally. The drying time can be reduced by reducing the initial moisture content of the raw brick, as well as by more thoroughly processing the mass and moistening it with hot water.
Drying of raw bricks usually takes place in drying sheds. For small volumes, if the weather permits, the raw material is dried in open areas. Term natural drying of raw brick varies, depending on climatic conditions, from 5 to 20 days.

The molded raw brick is placed in bags in 6-8 rows in height, with each row sprinkled with sand or sawdust. This brick is aged in a barn until the raw brick gains sufficient strength. As the bags dry, they are expanded with freshly molded raw material with a similar filling. The bottom row of raw bricks is often placed on a poke.
If we take into account that the top rows dry somewhat faster, the entire package will dry approximately at the same time. This operation will significantly increase the capacity of the drying areas, with approximately the same drying time. If the brick is kept in a barn, then drying is carried out for 3 days in indoors, and then in a ventilated room.
When choosing a drying site, it is necessary to ensure that the soil is not wet. It is better to lay it on the ground for these purposes. wooden shield or, as a last resort, fill the area with dry sand and make a drainage trench.

If drying is carried out outdoors, then it is necessary to make a rain shelter over the drying area. The outside temperature during drying must be at least 10°C. After drying, the raw brick is sent for firing to produce brick.
The readiness of raw brick for firing will be determined by the following criteria: a brick taken from the middle rows is broken in half and if there is no dark spot in the middle (a sign of moisture), the raw material is considered suitable for firing.

Brick firing

Brick firing is carried out in homemade stoves , the device of which is not difficult. The shapes of the kilns, their structure, and the placement of raw bricks for firing are described below.

The quality of bricks during firing depends on: the time of temperature rise, the final firing temperature, the duration of holding the temperature reached, the nature of the gaseous environment and the cooling rate. At temperatures up to 150°C, drying of raw brick occurs. This creates significant amount water vapor, which, when the temperature rises rapidly, is released so quickly that it can rupture the product. Therefore, it is not recommended to sharply increase the temperature.

When installing a furnace, it is necessary to provide fire safety measures. From wooden buildings they must be no closer than 100 m. Level groundwater at the construction site should be below 2.5 m (in order to reduce heat loss).

Brick kilns can be round or rectangular. Variants of furnace shapes are shown in the figures below.

Round oven option. Sizes are arbitrary

A variant of a rectangular stove with several fireboxes. Oven dimensions are arbitrary

The furnace is constructed as follows: first, a foundation 60 cm wide and 50 cm deep is laid, then walls 50 cm thick are laid, decreasing after 2/3 of the furnace height to 25 cm. The inner part of the wall up to 2/3 of the furnace height must be vertical, then the wall may taper to form a chimney. The walls can be laid out either from baked bricks or from adobe on thin clay solution to make it easier to dismantle the walls after the stoves are no longer needed.

When laying walls, it is necessary to provide an opening for loading raw bricks, in which, after loading, a firebox is made. The firebox can be made both in front of the stove and inside it. If the width or diameter of the stove is more than two meters, then several fireboxes can be made, depending on the size of the stove.

The floor of the furnace, the so-called POD, is covered with dry clay chips or small crushed stone, a layer thickness of 10 cm. Loading the furnace, that is, setting bricks, is carried out as shown in Fig. 4. Loading the furnace with raw bricks begins in columns with a gap between the bricks, forming combustion channels during laying. Each channel is blocked with raw brick, leaving a gap.

The density of the charge per 1 cubic meter of the furnace (its internal part) is 220 or 240 pcs. ordinary brick measuring 250x120x65 mm. Towards the top, the density of the cage increases to 300 pieces. per 1 cubic meter

Set density is 220 - 240 bricks per 1 cubic meter. oven (its internal part). At the top, the density increases to 300 pcs.

Option for laying “legs” for high stoves

The first 4 rows are the “cage legs”. The laying of the raw material on the “legs” is carried out in a herringbone pattern. The upper rows are compacted

Option for laying raw material for firing

Lead the cage strictly adhering to the scheme. After 1.5 m, or 2/3 of the furnace height, the loading of raw materials is carried out simultaneously with the laying of the furnace walls. In this case, the masonry is narrowed with a slope of about 30°C. The higher the furnace, the more efficient its operation, since the heat of the flue gases in the upper part is used to dry the raw brick. For better draft, you can install a pipe on the stove. The oven is carefully covered with a thick layer of clay. The opening is sealed under the firebox. The firebox must have a well-fitting door or lid. Firewood is used for firing, but coal is more effective. It is possible to install nozzle burners operating on diesel fuel or fuel oil. For better combustion solid fuel It is advisable to install grate bars at a height of 20 cm, which need to be strengthened.

Fuel consumption per 1 thousand units. fired brick is 1.8-2.6 cubic meters or 100-140 kg of coal. Firing goes through several stages. First, the furnace is ignited and the temperature is maintained at 150-200°C to dry the raw brick for 2 days. The fuel is low-grade firewood. Then the fuel supply is increased, gradually raising the temperature to 850-1000°C, firing time is 3-4 days. The temperature can be observed visually. 850-1000°C - light yellow-orange color.

After complete firing, the cooling stage begins. Re-coat the cracks with clay. The firebox is laid with bricks and covered with clay, excluding air leaks. The cooling time is at least two days. After complete cooling, the kiln is opened, the bricks are selected and sorted. A well-fired brick should ring when struck with a hammer. Unfired or unfired bricks are again laid for firing or used for the foundation or interior walls in dry rooms.

When firing bricks and cooling the kiln, it is necessary to observe following rules security:

Firing and cooling of bricks must be under constant supervision and control;
- do not allow premature opening of the oven;
- do not allow inspection of the readiness of firing and cooling of the brick by climbing onto the stove;
- do not allow contact large mass water into a hot oven to avoid steam burns;
- laying of raw bricks for drying and fired bricks, when disembarking from the kiln, should only be carried out with an inclination towards the inside of the stack to avoid the stack falling.

For not large quantity homemade brick, you can use a simpler “oven” for firing bricks.

This can be done in a regular barrel with a volume of 200-250 liters. It is necessary to lay bricks in a barrel, leaving small gaps for uniform heating. You definitely need a pit for the fire, 40-50 cm deep. The bottom of the barrel is cut out and the barrel is placed on the fire on legs 20 cm high. This will make it more convenient to maintain and regulate the fire, and the heating of the mass of bricks will be uniform.

Now the barrel needs to be filled with bricks. They must be laid with small gaps, one on top of the other. Then, to prevent cold air from entering the barrel during firing, you need to close it metal sheet. A cut-out bottom can come in handy here; it will be especially convenient if handles are attached to it.

Now you need to stock up on fuel and patience. The process takes from 18 to 20 hours, during all this time, while the bricks are being fired, it is necessary to maintain the fire under the barrel. After this, the barrel should cool down. This should happen gradually, and the lid should not be opened. You need to regulate the temperature in stages, reducing the flame of the fire. An artificial cooling method will not work here; cooling must be only natural.

4-5 hours after the barrel and its contents have completely cooled, you can open the lid and remove the finished fired products.

Causes of brick defects during its manufacture and measures to eliminate them

	Type of defect	Reasons for education	Remedies
		I. Molding
1	Raw material has low strength and breaks without effort	Increased sandiness of clay or presence of inclusions	Adjust the composition of the mass, do not allow clay with inclusions into production
2	Raw material is easily deformed and easily sticks to your hands; timber is easily deformed	High humidity masses	Reduce the moisture content of the mass by introducing dry additives
3	The raw material exfoliates	Insufficient compaction of the clay mass in the mold	Increase force when compacting
4	"Raisins" - inclusions of unmixed lumps	The tire is poorly mixed, there is not enough water to soak the clay, there is not enough time for the mud to soak	It is better to mix the clay and the mixture. Add water to soak the clay, increase the soaking time of the mud and the curing of the mixture
5	Inclusions of grass, roots, large shavings, etc. are noticeable.	The clay is not cleared of impurities. Unsifted sawdust was used	Clear the mud. Sift sawdust
6	The dimensions of the raw material are larger or smaller than required	The charge has changed, the molds have worked together, the cut of the “hump” on the molds is uneven. Increased humidity of the mass	Adjust the composition of the charge, replace the molds, evenly cut off excess mud from the molds, reduce the moisture content of the mass
		II. Drying
1	Large amount of raw material has cracks	The charge was selected incorrectly. High moisture content	Select and adjust the charge. Reduce clay moisture
2	Presence of deformed bricks	High humidity of the formed mass. The raw material is forced to dry	Adjust humidity. Place the raw material more carefully to dry
3	The raw material dries unevenly in height	A large number of bricks in height. Dense laying of bricks during drying	Reduce the number of bricks in height. “Discharge” the brick laying by drying
		III. Burning
1	The fire goes along the top of the stove, the lower rows of the cage are underburned	The charge is too discharged, which causes a drawback in the flow flue gases in its upper part, the fuel is incorrectly distributed by volume	Compact the top rows of the cage. Distribute the fuel evenly throughout the volume
2	The brick has many cracks	A sharp rise in temperature and large changes in temperature	Extend the firing mode, thin out the top rows of the charge
3	The brick has many notches	Rapid cooling of products, insufficient closure of fireboxes, cold air leaks through the fireboxes	Increase the cooling time of products. It's better to seal the fireboxes
4	Brick has reduced strength	Condensation of water vapor on raw material (steaming)	Reduce the humidity of the raw material entering the kiln, increase the drying time of the raw material before firing, increase the drying time of the brick in the kiln
5	When saturated with water, baked brick increases in volume and collapses	Presence of inclusions in the form of “duktik” - white inclusions	Switch to another clay or grind it more thoroughly, do not allow clay with white limestone inclusions into production
6	Overburning or underburning of bricks selected places by oven volume	Unevenness in the traction system, cold air leaks	The charge in the furnace volume is too dense or sparse, too big hole fireboxes Monitor the uniformity of fuel supply
7	The brick has chipped corners	Careless attitude towards raw materials in all operations	Handle products with care

The quality of the work done needs to be checked and for this purpose a small test of self-made bricks must be done.

Sacrifice one brick and break it with a construction hammer. If it is well fired, it will have the same color and the same structure throughout the entire fault. Now these fragments should be filled with water for several hours. After being in water, a well-fired brick should also have the same color and structure over its entire surface.

Naturally, the material for production DIY bricks is clay. There are many options for obtaining clay, the main thing is to find it in sufficient quantity. You can try visiting quarries in the area, or it may be right on your property. But, it is worth considering the composition and quality of the clay, not every type and type of clay is suitable - we advise you to check whether it is suitable in quality and what its fat content is.

For determining the fat content of clay There are several ways, you can find them below.

Take some clay, about half a liter. Gradually we begin to pour and mix water into the clay. We continue until the clay absorbs water and begins to stick to our hands. Next, you need to give the mass the shape of a ball (3-4 cm in diameter) and a flat cake (about 10 cm in size), and leave to dry for several days.

After two or three days, it is necessary to inspect the figures. The presence of cracks indicates that it is necessary to add sand to the clay, because... she's too fat. If there are no cracks, a strength test must be carried out. To do this, you need to throw the ball from a height of about a meter. If the ball scatters into pieces, then the clay is thin and not suitable for making bricks. Clay with a higher fat content should be added to the existing raw materials. If the Ball remains unharmed, then brick production can begin.

It should be remembered that it is necessary to mix clay or sand in small portions, and control the quality of the raw materials after each batch. This will allow you to find the optimal proportion and avoid mistakes.

DIY mold for making bricks.

Do-it-yourself raw (unfired brick) made from high-quality raw materials, in compliance with all norms and rules, practically corresponds in properties and quality to its red (burnt) counterpart, well known to everyone. Raw material can be used in the construction of small utility buildings, such as sheds and bathhouses.

Since, in this situation, there is no need to organize continuous production, there is no need to purchase or assemble a forming press yourself.

To start production you need simplest form. You can make it with your own hands, from available materials: two sheets of plywood and thin boards, 20-25 mm thick. For greater productivity and speed, it is advisable to prepare several forms. These forms can easily replace an industrial press, which will allow us to obtain high-quality bricks at the output.

The size of the form can be any, depending on desire, but it is advisable to build cells standard size- 250x120x65mm. Sometimes, during the production process, special voids are formed in bricks, designed to improve the adhesion of the surface of the product to the mortar. This is why the protrusions are made in the top and bottom covers. All parts of the mold are attached to each other with 50-60 mm nails, only the top cover is not fixed with nails, which allows you to remove it to fill the mold and remove the formed brick from it.

If you need to improve the quality of finished bricks, you can make a special molding press, but this is a broad topic for a separate article.

Making bricks with your own hands.

Forming adobe (brick) with your own hands proceeds as follows: moisten the mold from the inside with water, sprinkle with a little fine dust and cement, this will make it easier to remove homemade bricks from the cells of the mold. Next, fill the molds with the clay mixture and shake to better fill the corners. If there is more clay than necessary, the excess should be carefully removed with a construction trowel or a suitable metal plate. Cover with a removable lid on top and leave for some time.

To remove the brick, you need to remove the lid and turn the mold over.

The next stage is drying. It must be taken seriously, because it is the most important stage. Everything here is a little more complicated than it might seem at first glance. After shrinkage, the size of the brick can be about 85 percent of the initial dimensions.

It is recommended to use shelving with a canopy, in such conditions the bricks will be protected from direct sun rays, rain and air circulation will not be disrupted. The drying process can take approximately 6 to 15 days, depending on the temperature and humidity. The higher the temperature and drier the air, the less time it will take to dry.

As a result of this stage we get raw brick.

In cases where you still need to create a fired brick, then, if desired, you can carry out the firing yourself. Of course, this stage is very difficult to complete and requires a lot of time and effort. You should not count on a large production volume. This process makes sense only for a small number of bricks - about fifty. Making more is not at all rational.

Firing bricks with your own hands.

The kiln can be made independently; a metal barrel with a volume of about 200-250 liters is ideal for this purpose.

It is necessary to prepare a hole in the ground for the fire, approximately half a meter deep. We cut out the bottom of the barrel and place it on legs, 20 cm high, on the fire. This will allow you to monitor the fire and also adjust the temperature for more even heating.

The next step is to fill the barrel with bricks, leaving small gaps. To prevent cold air from entering the barrel, it is closed with a lid. We advise you to do the following: you can easily construct a lid from a cut-out bottom, attaching handles to it for greater convenience.

The firing process itself takes, on average, about 20 hours. You should prepare a sufficient amount of fuel, and it’s better to even make a reserve, because the fire will have to be maintained all this time. By the time the firing is completed, the fire of the fire is gradually reduced. Next, the barrel needs to cool down, open the lid to improve air circulation, or use some kind of artificial way cooling is prohibited! After about 4-5 hours, the barrel and its contents will cool down sufficiently. Now you can open the lid and start removing the finished baked bricks.

For quality control finished product We suggest doing the following: split the brick with a hammer. Well-burnt brick has a uniform color and structure over the entire fracture area. If a broken brick is immersed in water, then after some time in water the color and structure of the brick should remain uniform over the entire area of ​​the fracture.

In case the quality test handmade bricks, passed perfectly, congratulations, you were able to make a brick with your own hands!

Brick is one of the best and most common building materials today. It is used by both private builders and professional companies. There are small and large enterprises that manufacture and sell these products. You too can create own business, which will satisfy your requirements and also become a source of income. However, to obtain quality bricks must be observed technical specifications and stick to the manufacturing process. Making bricks at home does not involve the use of expensive equipment. As the most important condition stands proper preparation raw materials.

Manufacturing Features

The forms can be boards that are pre-knocked together. Subsequently, raw materials are placed in them. Forms should be made of such dimensions that the finished product matches the dimensions and appearance traditional brick, which has dimensions within 25x12x6.5 cm. The lid will allow for compaction of raw materials that fit into the molds. Brick production will be faster if you make several templates.

Work technology

The inside of the mold must be moistened or sprinkled with dry cement in advance. Next, the prepared solution is laid. As you fill the mold, you need to compact the mixture so that all the corners and voids are filled. Excess solution should be removed with a spatula. Next comes the turn of the lid, which is placed on top. On next stage waiting certain time, after which you need to turn the mold over and remove the resulting semi-finished product. The room should be equipped with shelving under a canopy, on which bricks will be laid for drying. Natural shrinkage will occur within 15%. At this stage, it becomes a catalyst for the bringing together of substances in the mixture.

In this case, the product should not be exposed to direct sunlight. Brick production is carried out in a well-ventilated room. Drying lasts from 7 to 14 days. It must be remembered that making bricks without firing is one of the fastest and simple methods obtaining the described building material. The only but important drawback is that the resulting products can only be used to form partitions indoors. This is due to the fact that humidity can have a destructive effect on them.

Area of ​​use of raw material

It will be possible to use raw material when arranging partitions and walls that will be located inside buildings. These can be buildings, as well as baths, which are used for economic purposes. However, in mandatory You will need to waterproof the inside. Apply this material possible during construction main walls in buildings that have one floor. In this case, the roof must be wooden.

Brick firing

Making bricks at home involves firing at the next stage. This will allow you to get high-quality construction material. In conditions industrial enterprises Special ovens are used for this. Whereas with self-production you can construct a product that is made from available materials. To do this, prepare a depression of up to 0.5 meters in the ground. Above it, with a deviation from the bottom of 20 cm, should be installed metal barrel, which has no bottom. Holes should be made in the walls of the container in which the fittings are installed. On the resulting shelf you need to place semi-finished products that have been pre-dried. The top of the barrel is covered with a sheet of metal. A fire should be built in the prepared hole.

Nuances of firing

Brick production technology requires maintaining a certain temperature regime in order for the finished product to be of high quality. During the first eight hours, the temperature should be kept within 200 degrees. The firing process takes from 12 to 16 hours, during which the temperature must be maintained between 800 and 1000 degrees. Next 4 hours temperature regime should be gentle, from 500 to 600 degrees. Gradual adjustment of the temperature will allow you to achieve the desired result, eliminating the occurrence of cracks. You can make a fire using coal or wood. The filled container should be allowed to cool with the lid tightly closed. Only after this will it be possible to release the brick, checking its readiness.

Making large quantities of bricks

An installation for the production of bricks, or rather for firing, can be intended for a more impressive amount of building materials. To do this, set up a stove using a container. Its shape should resemble a structure, narrowed at the top. Raw material is placed in it and covered with sand or soil to provide thermal insulation. Afterwards, a fire is built inside, and the temperature should remain the same as that described above. Production is also possible at home. To do this you will need to use special machine, which compresses the prepared mixture into a denser mass. There is no need to use electricity to operate. Then the process will be quite simple.

Alternative brick options

The production of clinker bricks involves the use of slightly more complex equipment. The products are formed using semi-dry pressing technology. At the same time, there is an opportunity to save energy. Used in production vacuum press, which is sometimes replaced by a lever one. In some cases, masters use tape installation. After the blank is formed, the brick is sent for drying. For this purpose, special electric fireplaces are used that support high temperature. The most important raw material is refractory clay. It is characterized by plasticity and a high temperature threshold. When preparing a solution, metal oxides or minerals that belong to the kaolin group are added to the ingredients. This allows you to obtain stronger products.

Making ceramic bricks

Production ceramic bricks at home involves the preparation of raw material, its formation, as well as subsequent extraction in a quarry; it is not suitable in its original form for the formation of high-quality bricks. The mass is brought to readiness, during which processing activities are carried out. This may be natural or mechanical influence. At the drying stage, the percentage of moisture content in the products decreases to 6%. This indicator is needed to ensure that cracks do not form during firing and also does not deform. finished products. If chamber dryers are used, they will be able to provide temperatures ranging from 120 to 150 degrees. Depending on the moisture content of the raw material, as a rule, this stage takes no more than 3 days. The final stage is firing. To implement it, ring or tunnel furnaces will be needed.

Production of sand-lime brick

The production of sand-lime brick involves the use of autoclave synthesis. In order to make one unit of material, 9 parts will be needed quartz sand, which is pre-sifted, additives, as well as one part. The last component must be special.

One of the most common materials used in modern construction is a brick. Making it at home is not that difficult. To do this, you need to know the technology of its production. Methods for making bricks with your own hands have been known since ancient times. Using your own material can significantly save money on construction.

Before you start making bricks yourself, you need to prepare the raw materials from which the bricks will be made. For these purposes, clay of a certain quality and fat content is used. To find out if this material is suitable for manufacturing, you need to do the following:

1. Place a clay sample in a container of water and mix well. As a result, the raw materials should not stick to your hands.
2. The resulting material is rolled into a ball, the diameter of which should be 5 cm, and into a cake with a diameter of 10 cm.
3. The samples are placed on fresh air so that the sun hits them. They will stay like this for several days.
4. If cracks appear on the resulting samples, then such material is excessively greasy and it will be necessary to add sand to it.

Today, there are two methods by which bricks are made at home:

• using firing;
• without using it.

Step-by-step instructions for making products without firing

To produce a product yourself, you must adhere to the following technology:

The main stages of brick firing at home

You can make products yourself by firing the product. Today this method is very popular, but requires a certain amount of knowledge. As a result, you can get classic brick Red. The following technology is suitable for these purposes:

1. Prepare the place where the firing will take place. To do this, you can use a regular barrel with a previously removed bottom. Such a barrel is placed on a steel stove without a top. There is another firing option - using a fire. To do this, you need to dig a hole and mount a barrel on top of it on homemade legs. This design heats up evenly.
2. The bricks must be laid so that a gap is formed between them. Thus, the material is laid to the very top of the barrel.
3. After the material is laid, the barrel is covered with a metal lid. It is recommended to warm up the products for an average of 20 hours. In each case, this time is individual. After this time, you need to cool the resulting product. The process of cooling the barrel should occur gradually. This will take a lot of time and a gradual decrease in temperature.

This is the most important process that requires attention Special attention. Important point– When cooling, do not open the metal lid. This can be done five hours after the product has completely cooled down.

General information about the firing process

Brick after firing does not tolerate temperature changes. You also need to protect it from exposure to harsh cold air. If this is not done, cracks may appear on the brick. While the products are in the container, moisture and a large amount of excess carbonates are removed from them.

By maintaining a proper firing regime, a barrel on a fire or stove can be heated evenly. The result of this will be the production of high-quality bricks.

Low-melting clay, when exposed to a temperature of 1000 degrees, turns into a clay shard as it is sintered. Refractory clay forms a clay shard at a temperature of 1200 degrees. After the brick has cooled, check the quality of the resulting material. For these purposes, you need to break one brick and look at its structure inside. It should be uniform.

Making raw bricks at home

It’s easy to make raw brick at home. If, when making such a product, all the required conditions are strictly observed, then it will be in no way inferior to baked clay bricks.

You can make such a brick according to the following instructions:

1. Prepare a container for mixing the following ingredients: clay and purified fine quartz sand. The proportion should be 1:5. Next, you need to add water in a small amount and mix the mixture thoroughly.
2. Prepare a brick mold. It is recommended to make it yourself from plywood and boards. The classic brick shape has dimensions: 250x120x65 mm. To improve the adhesion of the mold to the solution, it is necessary to make small protrusions on the surface of the lid that will form recesses in the product. You can connect the formwork parts with long nails. The top cover must be removable. The more templates are made, the faster the manufacturing process will be.
3. Once the solution and container are ready, you can begin filling out the form. In order to make it easier to remove the finished product from the equipment, a mold with inside it is necessary to moisten it with water and sprinkle its surface with fine sand, cement or dust. The raw materials must be compacted into the equipment to ensure uniform filling. Excess clay is removed using a spatula or plywood.
4. The mold must be covered with a lid, which is then removed.
5. The formed bricks are then removed from the tooling and turned over.
6. At the final stage, the finished product is dried. The best place for this: shelves located under the canopy. During drying, the product shrinks by 15% of its original volume. It is recommended to hide bricks from direct exposure to sunlight. Drying time is two weeks.
7. After drying, such bricks must be fired.

Do-it-yourself bricks can be of higher quality and stronger than those produced in industrial conditions. For this, the main thing is to strictly adhere to production technology.

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