It's good to have a house in the country! But what if there is a plot, but there is no money for building materials? So, we need to build from what we have!

Materials for making bricks and blocks

Today everyone is used to buying ready-made building materials. And our ancestors did everything with their own hands. And their houses were strong, warm, cozy.

The current craftsmen also began to make bricks with their own hands for the construction of a country dwelling. To do this, use a variety of materials.

You can make the following building materials at home:

• concrete cinder blocks;
• adobe bricks;
• terrablocks.

With diligence, work and patience, you can do all the work without any purchased mechanisms. Yes, and financial investments in the material can be minimized.

Forms for bricks and blocks

Of course you can buy them. But if it is decided to do everything with your own hands, then the molds for pouring should be built independently. Moreover, ready-made bricks are useful not only for building a house, but also for building a poultry house, a garage and other utility rooms.

If possible, metal molds can be made. But the easiest option is to put them together from plywood or wooden planks.

They make either single forms, or double, or fused multi-piece. First, knock down the walls of the box. The bottom of the mold is best made retractable. But the covers are not attached in any way, but simply superimposed on top. It is recommended to stuff cone-shaped knobs on them to get voids in bricks and blocks.

Although some craftsmen manage to make bricks without covers at all. Their bricks and blocks are cast, solid, without voids. In this case, the material leaves more, and the thermal conductivity of the walls is higher. That is, housing is less warm, since it is easier to share the temperature with the environment.

If the mold is made for casting two or more blocks or bricks, then partitions are inserted inside. They can be made both stationary and removable. The latter option is considered more successful, since the bricks can be removed without any problems after removing the partitions.

Forms for the manufacture of blocks and bricks differ only in their size. Moreover, everyone chooses for himself how large his building materials will be.

concrete cinder blocks

This option is the most expensive of the three above. But, nevertheless, by making blocks on their own, and not by purchasing, the master significantly saves money.

For concrete cinder block you need to take:

• 1 part cement;
• 6 parts sand;
• 10 parts filler.

Expanded clay or gravel acts as a filler. But a thrifty owner can replace purchased ingredients with ordinary garbage, which is easy to pick up both in his yard and from neighbors or (forgive me, people with an aristocratic upbringing!) in a landfill.

It is important to use something that does not rot and does not shrink as a filler.

These are:

• broken glass;
• stones;
• pieces of brick;
• plastic;
• small metal parts.

When combining ingredients, it is necessary to measure the parts, based not on the weight of the materials, but on their volume.

Calculate the volume of the filler by a method based on the law of Archimedes.

To do this, you need a container of a known volume and water. First put the material in it. Then fill everything with water, filling the container completely. After that, it remains just to calculate how much water fit, subtract this number from the known volume of the container. Just that figure will remain, which will be equal to the volume of the measured material.

adobe bricks

For the production of building materials of this kind, the following ingredients are required in equal volumes:

• clay;
• sand;
• wet manure or;
• filler.

As a filler are used:

• shredded insulation fibers;
• reed trifle;
• shavings;
• sawdust;
• chopped straw.

It is possible to add lime fluff or cement to the mass to increase strength.

If there are difficulties in finding peat or manure, experts advise making your own stabilizer for bricks. To do this, vegetable tops, leaves, weeds are dumped into a special pit and poured with a clay solution. After three months, the rotted mass can be used as an ingredient for making an adobe solution.

Terrablocks

It is even easier to use ordinary earth as a material for bricks and blocks.

For earthen bricks, one should not take the top layer of soil, in which plant roots are found in large numbers, but located deeper. Silty soils are not suitable for work.

Terrablock Ingredients:

• 1 part clay;
• 9 pieces of land;
• 5% fluff;
• 2% cement;
• filler (slag, garbage, crushed stone, expanded clay, crushed insulation).

You can mix the ingredients for the composition with your feet by placing it in a pit, a large bath-type container. There is an option to perform this work with the help of special devices - soil mixers, reminiscent of concrete mixers in miniature.

Drying bricks

Concrete bricks and cinder blocks dry out in good warm weather in one to two days. But adobe and earth building materials have to be kept under a canopy for a week or even about half a month. A canopy is needed to protect bricks and blocks from precipitation and sunlight.

Moreover, adobe and terra-bricks are first dried in a horizontal position for 2-3 days, and then turned over on a barrel. After a few days, they are transferred to the opposite side, then upside down.

If brick production takes place in winter, it is necessary to equip a room with walls, ceiling and heating for drying.

It is very important to remember when building a house from adobe or earthen bricks: finishing should not be carried out earlier than a year after the walls were erected!

This rule follows from the fact that buildings from this building material have a tendency to strong shrinkage.

Video on how earthen bricks are made using a simple homemade machine

Brick is one of the most ancient building materials, known even to the first civilizations of Sumer in history and even earlier. But for many people today it remains a mystery - brick, what are they made of? In our article, we will open it by filling this gap in your knowledge.

Additionally, you can watch the video in this article about the production of bricks:

What types of bricks are

The most common are two types of bricks - fired ceramic and silicate. The latter, which has a not so ancient history, has somewhat worse moisture resistance and some other characteristics, but its price is less. We will give the greatest attention in our article to ceramic bricks, since they are produced in large quantities compared to other types.

In addition, there is an adobe - a brick made of unbaked clay. In construction, it began to be used even earlier than ceramic, but was almost forgotten due to its low strength and almost zero moisture resistance.

Houses from it were built only in the southern regions, as the material perfectly retains coolness and stabilizes the humidity in the room. Now, due to the fact that adobe is more environmentally friendly than most other materials, it is beginning to be used more and more widely.

Why do you need to know what bricks are made of?

As we said at the beginning of the article, first of all, you need to know what a brick is made of to broaden your horizons.

But this is only one reason to learn brick making technology. There are two more:

1. knowing how and from what bricks are made, it is easier to choose the right material for construction and use it correctly;
2. you may want to make a brick with your own hands.

If the first argument is undeniable, then the second may raise doubts, because it is easier and often cheaper to purchase ready-made material.

But sometimes homemade bricks have advantages over their industrial counterpart:

• The factory material has a standard shape and dimensions; with self-production, you can get rid of these restrictions.
• If material and fuel are free, then self-made bricks will also be free, not counting labor.

• Hand-molded brick looks like an old one, and fits well into the interior and exterior of buildings, as in the photo below. Although you can buy factory material of this kind for a decent price.

Also, if we are talking about unbaked adobe brick, then it is not manufactured industrially at all. Now in detail about the materials for all these types of bricks, and briefly, to make it more clear, about the technology of their manufacture.

ceramic brick

The raw materials for this material are:

• clay rocks;
• tripoli and diatomites;
• additives mineral and organic;
• water;
• brick finishing materials.

Now about each of the components in more detail.

Clay

This is the main raw material for the production of bricks, in fact, all other components of the mixture for molding are just additives to clay. Therefore, we will tell about it in more detail.

Clays are sedimentary rocks formed primarily by the destruction of feldspars. In a completely dry state, it is dusty, when mixed with water, forms a thick plastic mass. Depending on the deposit, the composition may vary, but always includes one or more minerals of the kaolinite group - consisting of oxides of silicon (silica) and aluminum (alumina), as well as other chemical compounds.

Clay deposits

Clay deposits are primary, that is, the rock is located where the decomposition of spars occurred, but secondary clays are more common:

• Deluvial- transferred by rain or snow waters. They differ in heterogeneous composition and a large number of impurities, layered structure. Deposits are usually associated with existing or former swamps, lakes, rivers and are located in lowland areas.

• Loesslike- the transfer was due to the wind. The deposits are distinguished by rock uniformity, porous structure and a large amount of dust particles.

• Glacial- the rock is transferred with the movement of the glacier. Deposits are most often in the form of lenses with the inclusion of stony particles, from small to huge boulders.

Types of clays according to the ratio of silica and alumina

Clay rocks are also usually distinguished by the ratio of clay and sand.

The types of rocks are shown in the table below:

For the production of bricks, mainly loams are used. Clays are usually mixed with lean additives, which can be sand or sandy loam. Clay sands are not raw materials for bricks.

The composition of the clay is shown in the table below:

Let us give some properties of each of the oxides and talk about their influence on the characteristics of clay and finished (fired) bricks.

Alumina

The most important and refractory oxide in the composition. With an increase in its proportion in the composition of clay, the plasticity of the mixture, the strength and fire resistance of finished products increase.

Silica

With a large amount, this mineral clogs clay, and when fired, it can destroy a brick or create cracks in its volume due to a change in the modification of quartz. But if its proportional ratio is not greater than in the table above, then silica reduces the draft and increases the strength of the material. Fine-grained sand improves the drying of brick blanks.

Iron oxide and ferrous oxide

Gives the burnt stone a red tint. At a content of more than 3 percent, it reduces the firing temperature. It enters the composition of clay primarily as an admixture in deluvial deposits.

Titanium dioxide

It practically does not affect the properties of raw materials and products, except that it can give a greenish tint.

calcium oxide

It is a harmful impurity if included in the particulate mixture. As a result of brick firing, particles are converted into lime, which, when interacting with water, increase in volume and destroy the material.

However, in a finely atomized state, it makes the raw material more sensitive to drying and reduces the formation of cracks.

magnesium oxide

The effect on the properties of raw materials and material is the same as that of calcium oxide, only less pronounced.

Alkali metal oxides

Reduce the firing temperature (called floods). Additionally, the coloring effect of iron and titanium oxides is reduced.

Also, almost always, organic impurities are included in the composition of clay, they give the composition for molding a gray color, and darker shades for finished products. They increase the plasticity of the mixture, however, after firing, they increase the draft and contribute to the formation of cracks.

Clays can also contain volatile substances that are removed during drying and firing. They increase the porosity of the material, which worsens its strength characteristics, but improves the thermal insulation properties.

This section of the article is given only for theory, and not for you to independently explore the clay mined in the nearest quarry or just on the bank of the river. However, when buying bricks or raw materials for its independent production, you can ask a few questions that baffle the non-specialist seller.

Clay grain size

Clays are also divided according to the size of the particles that make up the rock, and their ratio to each other. A set of sieves is quite inexpensive, so the study of this characteristic is quite possible at home.

1. Highly dispersed- in the composition of particles passing through a sieve of 0.001 mm more than 60 percent and through a sieve of 0.01 mm more than 85 percent.
2. dispersed- through a sieve of 0.001 mm from 20 to 60 percent, and through a sieve of 0.01 mm 40-85 percent.
3. coarse-grained- fractions less than 0.001 mm less than 20 percent, and through a sieve of 0.01 mm less than 40 percent.

Raw materials are also distinguished by the size of large inclusions encountered:

• small inclusions - size up to 2 millimeters;
• medium - 2-5 millimeters;
• large more than 5.

The best for brick is fine clay, it is the most plastic. Inclusions in the grain composition are unacceptable; they are screened out on a sieve or crushed when preparing a mixture for molding.

plasticity of clay

It is determined by the difference in water saturation (absolutely dry rock is taken) between the thresholds, when the raw material becomes a liquid mass and its rolling is possible.

They are divided into the following categories:

1. water saturation difference more than 25% - highly plastic;
2. 15-25% - medium plastic;
3. 7-15% - moderately plastic;
4. 3-7% - low plasticity;
5. less than 7%, cannot form a plastic rolled dough at all.

The greater the plasticity of the clay, the more high-quality brick it will turn out.

If you are going to make a brick yourself, then the easiest way to check the plasticity is to roll out a uniform ball of clay and crush it. The fewer cracks in the resulting "pancake", the higher the plasticity.

Processes that occur in clay during firing

When clay is fired, moisture is removed from the raw material, and a chemical reaction occurs in which kaolinite is transformed. Initially, unbound moisture evaporates from the raw material.

Then, when heated to a temperature of more than 500 degrees, water, which is part of the compounds, is removed from the crystal lattice. If the temperature exceeds the limit of 1000-1200 degrees, then aluminosilicates mullite and sillimanite are formed, which have strength, hardness and insolubility in water.

Tripoli and diatomites

In addition to clays, some enterprises also use tripoli and diatomites for the production of ceramic bricks.

These are mainly plants near large deposits of these rocks. They are sedimentary rocks, mainly of organic origin (remains of diatomaceous algae).

The chemical composition is shown in the table below:

As you can see, in terms of chemical composition, these rocks are very close to clays, so they can be used in the production of ceramics. A brick made of such a material has a greater porosity than clay, and therefore has excellent thermal insulation properties, but less frost resistance and strength.

Additives

In principle, it is possible to make a brick only from one clay, but in order to improve the properties and characteristics of the finished brick, facilitate molding and make drying and firing better, various additives are introduced into the composition of the raw material.

They are divided into the following varieties:

• emaciated;
• emaciated and burned out completely or partially;
• burn out completely;
• enriching and plasticizing;
• hardening and fluxing additives.

Now in more detail about each of the types.

Skinny Supplements

Introduced into excessively fatty raw materials to reduce the proportion of alumina and precipitation of products. The following materials are used as lean additives:

• Quartz sand. Use only pure coarse sand (fractions of 1.5-0.15 millimeters) without impurities. It is unacceptable to introduce carbonate sand into the raw material, even if it is contained in the form of impurities. Fine sand practically does not reduce the draft.
• Chamotte is the burnt waste of ceramic products. Crushed to fractions of 1.5-0.15 millimeters. It is an effective leaner superior to sand. Reduces sludge better than other additives. Up to 15% of the total volume of the mass is introduced, since a larger amount complicates molding, however, if the brick is made by semi-dry pressing, then the proportion of fireclay can be increased to 25%.

• Dehydrated clay is clay from which water has been removed by firing up to 500-600 degrees. It also significantly reduces shrinkage. Enter in an amount up to half the volume of the mass. Simultaneously with dehydrated clay, coal should be added, and the firing temperature should be increased by 35-50 °C.

Skinny and burnout partially or completely supplements

• Wood sawdust. Facilitate the formation of bricks, but reduce the strength of the product and increase its water absorption. The introduction of sawdust also reduces the density of the brick and, consequently, its thermal insulation properties. Preference should be given to slitting sawdust, as the fibers reinforce the brick. They also increase frost resistance. Enter up to 10% of the total mass, a larger amount worsens the appearance of products. It is effective to introduce another leaner together with sawdust - coal or fireclay.

• Lignin is a waste product in the production of alcohol by hydrolysis from wood. Reduces shrinkage and cracking during drying. In addition, it is also a plasticizer. Add up to 20% of the total volume of the mass. If it is necessary to obtain a porous brick by reducing strength, then the proportion can be increased to 40%.

• Peat - milled and waste from the production of briquettes. It is used, as a last resort, in the absence of other leaners, because due to the high moisture capacity it slows down drying and worsens its quality.

• Furnace slag is an effective leaner that improves the quality of firing. It is advisable to use with the introduction of up to 10% of sawdust at the same time.

• Ashes from thermal power plants, waste from the combustion of coal dust, in addition to the emaciating effect, improve the quality of roasting, as they include a small amount of unburned fuel. Enter up to 45% of the volume of the mass. It is effective to mix with other additives, such as sawdust, before administration.
• Coal enrichment wastes are predominantly shale rocks containing up to a third of combustible substances. They are used in the same way as ash from thermal power plants.

Burnout Additives

Solid fuels are used as burnable additives - various types of crushed coals, coke, etc. They are introduced up to 3% of the volume of the initial mass, and fuel resources for the production of bricks from these additives can be up to 60-80% of the total fuel consumption required for making bricks.

The main task of burnable additives is to speed up firing, improve the sintering of raw materials, and hence the strength of the finished brick.

Advice. Do not neglect these additives when making bricks yourself. By introducing them into the mixture, you can achieve high-quality firing even in a small oven.

Enrichment and plasticizing additives

It is used to increase the proportion of alumina in the mixture, as well as to improve the formation of bricks and reduce the formation of cracks and shrinkage. They are used as enriching and plasticizing additives.

• High plasticity clay. Introduced into the composition, if the content of alumina in the feedstock is less than 7-8% percent. It enriches the mixture with alumina and increases their ductility. Enter in the form of a suspension with a moisture content of 40%. The amount of highly plastic clays in the composition of the mixture can reach 20%.

• Waste from coal mining. Rocks discarded during mining or processing of coal may contain alumina and be used as an enrichment additive for a mixture intended for the manufacture of bricks. Plastic waste is introduced in the form of an aqueous suspension, solid in the form of fine dust to facilitate mixing.

• Bentonite clays. They enrich and plasticize the mixture due to the large amount of hydroaluminosilicate (up to 70%) in the composition of bentonite. The disadvantage is that bentonite clays increase in volume with increasing humidity. Increase sensitivity to drying. Enter in an amount of up to 3% of the volume of the raw mixture.

Surfactants form a film on the surface of the particles of the mixture, which plays the role of a lubricant and increases the plasticity of the composition while reducing the amount of water required for mixing by 2-4%. The introduction of surfactants also improves moisture transfer, both during drying and during firing, and prevents the formation of microcracks, which means it increases the strength of the brick.

• Extracts from straw and peat. Prepare by boiling peat or straw for 15-20 minutes (take 1-2 kilograms per 10 liters of water). It can also be obtained using a 1% solution of caustic soda without boiling. Add to the water intended for the preparation of the molding sand in the amount of 50%. In this case, plasticity increases by more than two times.

Advice. If you are going to make a brick yourself, then this is one of the most affordable plasticizers (not counting purchased ones).

• Sulfite-alcohol stillage. In the pulp industry is a waste. In addition to surface-active properties, it also has adhesive properties, due to the presence of resins and sugars in the composition. Increases brick strength by 3-4 MPa. It is introduced into the mixture in the form of a one percent aqueous solution.

• Yeast waste. They are waste water used to wash the yeast. Enter in the amount of 4%. Works just like other plasticizers.

Hardening and fluxing additives

Pyrite cinders, a waste in the production of sulfuric acid from iron pyrite, are used as hardening and fluxing additives. Contribute to the acceleration of sintering and increase the strength of the brick. The higher the firing temperature, the more pronounced their effect. Also, the sensitivity of the mixture to drying is somewhat reduced.

Materials for brick texture

Used primarily for facing bricks. They are introduced into the composition of the mixture, which is used to form the front part of the brick, or separately applied to this surface.

Light clays

As a rule, fusible (sinter at a low temperature). Change the color of the brick surface to a lighter one (if they contain titanium oxides, then with a greenish tint). They also increase the fire resistance of the surface layer of the brick.

fusible glass

It is used primarily for the manufacture of glazed bricks.

The surface can be either glossy or matte, by mixing glass and clay. Waste (cullet) is most often used as a texture additive, but in some cases, blocks of glass of the required color are purchased.

Quartz sand

It is used as a thinner of the surface layer. Must not contain iron compounds.

Scrap porcelain and refractory products

Production waste is used, which is carefully crushed in mills before being introduced into the mixture.

Preparation of materials for brick molding

We told what materials are used to make ceramic bricks. However, the raw material must be prepared before molding. Additives are crushed or mixed (dissolved) with water.

Most operations are carried out with clay. The fact is that it, mined in a quarry (especially if the deposit is secondary), is always heterogeneous, even samples taken at a small distance from each other differ in chemical composition, humidity and impurities. Before preparing the molding sand, the clay is averaged.

For this:

• mixing the clay at the mining site with an open-bottom bucket;
• if possible, clay is allowed to mature in dumps at the place of mining or brick production for several years, it freezes (several freeze-thaw cycles go through) and becomes more loose and homogeneous;

• before preparing the mixture, it is passed through rollers, which grind the particles, sift to remove stony inclusions and mix thoroughly.

Optimal mix composition

In production, specialized laboratories are engaged in the selection of a mixture for bricks. After analyzing the raw materials, they select the ratio of clay and additives in order to obtain high-quality bricks.

Moreover, the moisture content of the mixture before molding can be different. If the brick is made using the most common plastic molding method, then the initial mixture will contain more than 20 percent water. In the production of semi-dry pressing about 7 percent.

The second production method involves the use of raw molding presses, therefore it is the least suitable for making bricks with your own hands. But when using it, they do without drying the raw brick, firing can be carried out immediately after molding, which reduces fuel costs and production time. The downside is that semi-dry pressing brick is somewhat more porous and has less frost resistance.

If you are going to make a brick yourself, then, of course, you will not be able to do this, because this requires special equipment. Therefore, we can advise you to turn to the old methods known for more than one hundred years.

The instruction is as follows:

• Knead about half a kilogram of clay, gradually adding water until the mixture no longer sticks to your hands. Make several similar batches with different ratios of sand and clay, writing down the proportions.

Advice. It is better to scratch the batch number on the sample with a pin or toothpick. Proportions naturally write down on paper.

• From the mixture we make samples in the form of a ball with a diameter of 5 centimeters and a disk with a diameter of 10 centimeters.
• We dry our samples at room temperature.
• We choose a batch (the proportions of which we recorded) from which the highest quality samples were obtained. They must be free of cracks, and the ball must withstand a fall from a height of about a meter without damage.

silicate brick

This type of brick, as we have already said, appeared much later than ceramic - its mass production began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As we noted at the beginning of our article, the main advantage of this material is its low cost.

Making sand-lime bricks at home is almost impossible (we will talk a little about the technology below), since presses and autoclaves are required, which are impractical to design or purchase for small-scale production. Therefore, this part of our article is more of an informational value.

In order to make such a brick, only three materials are needed - sand, water and lime. If a colored material is needed, then a pigment is additionally introduced into the mixture.

Silicate brick production technology

Although our article focuses on the raw materials for production, and not the production itself, in this section we will briefly describe how silicate bricks are made in order to better understand the requirements for raw materials.

There are two ways to prepare the raw mass:

1. Silage - quicklime or its mixture with hydrated lime, as well as sand, are mixed and, at low humidity, loaded into tower-type containers (silos) for slaking. The process takes 8-12 hours.
2. Drum - a mixture of lime and sand is quenched in sealed rotating drums with steam, under a pressure of 0.15-0.2 MPa (1.5-2 atmospheres). The process takes less than an hour, and additional mixing of the components also takes place.

Then the brick blanks are pressed from the mixture under pressure, which are sent to autoclaves, where they are treated with live steam at a temperature of about 180 ° C at a pressure of 0.8 MPa. Moreover, the parameters are raised to the required for an hour and a half, then they are kept for 5-6 hours and also slowly reduced.

During this treatment, water, Ca(OH)2 and SiO2 (slaked lime and sand) react to form strong, non-water soluble compounds.

Sand

This is the main component of the mixture, the consumption of raw materials for the production of bricks is 90-95 percent of the volume (excluding water). Only pure quartz sand is used (to reduce transport costs, sand-lime brick production is often built near its deposits). The requirements for sand for the production of silicate bricks are somewhat different from the requirements for sand for the preparation of mortars, we list them.

1. The fractional composition of sand should provide the most dense packing of its particles (the minimum volume of empty spaces between grains). To do this, the sand is sieved and crushed (grind) to obtain fine particles.
2. Clay inclusions should be no more than 10%.
3. More than 0.5% mica inclusions are not allowed. During heat treatment, it will swell, which will lead to the formation of cracks and cavities inside the material.
4. The presence of organic and sulfurous impurities is not allowed.
5. Grains should be, if possible, not rounded, but with a rough surface. Therefore, instead of river sand, it is desirable to use mountain sand.

Lime

This is the second component of the raw mix for sand-lime brick; it is contained in the dry composition for molding 5-10%. Quicklime or hydrated lime, as well as their mixture, are used. The following special requirements apply to lime.

1. It must be thin.
2. The content of magnesium oxide (MgO) is not more than 5%.
3. Extinguishing lime should be as fast as possible.
4. The presence of burn particles is not allowed.

Raw brick (adobe)

Adobe brick is essentially a semi-finished product of ceramic - raw, which can then be burned. According to one version, having discovered that adobe, unintentionally burnt by the flame of a hearth or fire, acquires greater strength and water resistance, people invented ceramics.

Therefore, its composition is almost the same as that of ceramic bricks - clay, sand, water and additives. In addition to them, materials that reinforce products are introduced into the mixture. Let's take a closer look at each component.

Clay

Exactly the same as for ceramic bricks, which is also pre-prepared (averaged, mixed). If necessary, sand and additives are introduced into it, adjusting the proportion of alumina in order to achieve plasticity and minimal shrinkage.

Advice. Almost always, a mixture ideally matched in terms of plasticity and shrinkage does not lag behind the mold (for adobe, it is often made of wood). Do not add water, better lubricate or just wet the form.

Sand

It does not have such stringent requirements for impurities, since there is no firing. For example, organic substances will not reduce the strength of adobe if they are present in the form of remnants of undecayed roots and other parts of plants.

Additives

The list of additives that are added to adobe is less than for ceramic bricks, which is also due to the lack of a firing stage. This is understandable - fluxing and burnable additives are useless.

Also, the surface of adobe bricks is not textured; during construction, masonry made of this material is usually protected from moisture by other materials, and not put on display. Only thinning or enriching additives and plasticizers are introduced into adobe.

Reinforcement materials

For reinforcement throughout the volume of raw brick, materials with greater tensile strength than clay are introduced into the mixture. As a rule, they are of vegetable origin. The very word "saman" is translated from the Turkic language as straw. We list how raw bricks can be reinforced.

1. Finely chopped straw. It does not matter what cereals it may be wheat, rye, oats, etc., the main thing is that it be dry and not damaged by rot.
2. In the absence of straw, hay, reed stalks are used.
3. Sawdust - best from cutting wood along the grain.
4. Bonfire - a departure from the scutching of textile plants (flax, kenaf, hemp).
5. Chaff - waste in the form of small parts of a plant when threshing cereals.
6. You can also add to the composition of the mass and polymeric materials, trimmings of polyethylene twine, etc.

In desert areas, manure from farm animals was added to adobe, naturally making bricks for the house, no one will use this material.

We hope that in our article we have sufficiently disclosed the topic - what brick is made of. In our opinion, after reading it, you can even pass an exam at an educational institution. The material presented will also be of good help if you are going to make one or another type of brick at home. Let your house from it be durable and comfortable.

Brick is the main building material used all over the world. During its existence, it has undergone tremendous changes. Today, brick is a high-tech building material that allows you to build reliable and high-quality buildings. Depending on what the brick is made of, its properties and characteristics are determined,. The production of building material is carried out in large volumes and rates, since the demand for it is always high.

Types of bricks, manufacturing methods and applications

Bricks are classified into four main types: silicate, facing, refractory and ceramic. To understand their purpose and properties, it is necessary to consider each type separately:

Ceramic- classic red brick.
It is made from fired clay. The building material has high strength, is universal, so it is widely used in construction. The building made of ceramic bricks is durable and reliable.
Today there are products of almost any color. According to its structure, a brick can be solid or hollow - its cost and strength depend on this criterion.
Silicate- white brick
It is made from sand and lime. The production technology consists in autoclave synthesis. In order for the building material to acquire additional operational properties or a different shade, coloring pigments and functional additives are added.
Silicate brick, unlike its ceramic counterpart, has higher sound insulation, but low moisture resistance, so it is not used in the construction of facilities with high requirements for durability and strength.
Refractory brick. Produced from refractory baked clay - fireclay. In order to increase strength, graphite or coke is added to the composition.
This building material, in turn, is divided into four types - alumina, quartz, carbon and lime-magnesium. Refractory bricks are commonly used in the construction of chimneys, stoves and fireplaces.
Facing brick- reliable and durable building material.
It has a long service life and presentable appearance. Brick perfectly protects the walls of the building from any weather and precipitation. Bricks are made from cement, a pigment component and limestone using pressing technology.
The scope of application is the restoration of the facades of old buildings and the finishing of new ones, the laying of footpaths and sidewalks, the erection of fences, walls and architectural elements. The original appearance of the brick is preserved for many years, it does not fade and does not accumulate dirt.

Video - What brick is made of

Brick is widely used in the construction industry around the world. Despite the emergence of cheaper, alternative materials for the construction of objects, brick does not lose its leadership. Due to its versatility, it allows you to solve a variety of construction tasks. A wide price range makes the brick very affordable, offering not only expensive, but also budget options.

The main properties of brick

When choosing a brick, you should pay attention to its technical characteristics, on which the quality of the future structure depends. Knowing what a brick is made of, you can determine its properties:

Porosity. The degree of filling of the brick volume with pores determines its structure. The porosity coefficient affects the performance characteristics of the material, such as thermal conductivity, frost resistance, etc.
Density. The parameter is determined by the ratio of the volume and mass of the brick. The indicator to some extent reflects the thermal conductivity and porosity of the material.
Strength. This criterion has a numerical designation. The strength of a brick indicates its resistance to certain conditions and loads without damage and deformation. The permissible load is indicated on the basis of 1 sq. see immediately after the "M". For example, M100 or M300. The higher the number, the higher the strength.
Thermal conductivity. Indicates the ability of a brick to give off heat to other surfaces or the atmosphere with a difference in temperature.
Frost resistance. The parameter is extremely important for the regions of those countries where the climate is changeable. It is taken into account in the manufacture of bricks and is indicated by the manufacturer. Frost resistance refers to the amount of freezing and thawing (full cycles) at which the strength of the material is maintained. Frost resistance is marked with the letter "F", after which a number is written indicating the number of cycles. For example, F25 or F100. For the construction of residential buildings, bricks of the minimum marking F35 are usually used.

In addition to what the brick is made of, you should pay attention to its size and shape. In the construction market, consumers have access to a wide range of materials that will allow them to implement any design solutions at the highest level.

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

For determining the fat content of clay There are several ways, which can be found below.

We take a little clay, about half a liter. Gradually, we begin to pour and mix water into the clay. Continue until the clay absorbs water and starts to stick to your hands. Next, you need to give the mass the shape of a ball (3-4 cm in diameter) and cakes (about 10 cm in size), leave to dry for several days.

After two or three days, it is necessary to inspect the figurines. The presence of cracks indicates that it is necessary to add sand to the clay, because. she's too fat. In the absence of 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 breaks into pieces, then the clay is thin and not suitable for brick production. Clay with a higher fat content should be added to the existing raw materials. If the ball remains unharmed, then, you can start the production of bricks.

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.

Form for making bricks with your own hands.

Raw (baked brick), made by hand from high-quality raw materials, in compliance with all norms and rules, practically corresponds in properties and quality, well known to everyone, to the red (burnt) counterpart. The raw material can be used in the construction of small utility rooms, such as sheds and baths.

Since, in this situation, there is no need to organize in-line production, it is not required to purchase or assemble a forming press on your own.

To start production, you need the simplest form. It can be made 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 get high-quality bricks at the exit.

The size of the form can be any, depending on the desire, but it is desirable to build cells of a standard size - 250x120x65mm. Sometimes, during the production process, special voids are formed in the bricks, designed to improve the adhesion of the surface of the product with the mortar. That is why the protrusions in the top and bottom cover are made. All parts of the mold are attached to each other with nails 50-60 mm, 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 want to improve the quality of finished bricks, you can make a special forming press, but this is an extensive topic for a separate article.

Forming bricks with your own hands.

Do-it-yourself raw (brick) formation passes as follows: moisten the mold from the inside with water, sprinkle with a little fine dust, cement, this will make it easier to remove home-made bricks from the mold cells. Next, fill the molds with the clay mixture and shake to fill in the corners better. If there is more clay than necessary, the excess should be carefully removed with a construction trowel or a suitable metal plate. Top with a removable lid and leave for a while.

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

The next step is drying. It must be taken seriously, because this is the most important stage. Here everything 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 sunlight, rain and at the same time air circulation will not be disturbed. The drying process can take approximately 6 to 15 days, depending on temperature and humidity. The higher the temperature and the drier the air, the less time it will take to dry.

As a result of this step, we will get raw brick.

In cases where you still need to create a fired brick, then if you wish, you can fire it yourself. Of course, this stage is very difficult to perform, and requires a lot of time and effort. Do not count on a large volume of production. This process makes sense only for a small number of bricks - within fifty aisles. Making more is completely unreasonable.

Burning bricks with your own hands.

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

Under the fire, it is necessary to prepare a recess in the ground, approximately half a meter deep. We cut the bottom of the barrel and install it on legs, 20 cm high, on a fire. This will allow you to monitor the fire, as well as adjust the temperature for more even heating.

The next step is to fill the barrel with bricks, leaving small gaps. In order to prevent the penetration of cold air into the barrel, it is closed with a lid. We advise you to proceed as follows: the lid is easy to build from the cut out bottom, attaching handles to it, for greater convenience.

The firing process itself takes, on average, about 20 hours. A sufficient amount of fuel should be prepared, and it is even better to make a reserve, because the fire will have to be maintained all this time. By the end of the firing, the fire of the fire is gradually reduced. Next, the barrel needs to cool itself, open the lid to improve air circulation, or use any artificial cooling method is prohibited! After about 4-5 hours, the barrel, along with the contents, will cool down sufficiently. Now you can open the lid and start taking out the finished fired bricks.

To control the quality of the finished product, we suggest doing the following: chop the brick with a hammer. A well-fired brick has a uniform color and structure over the entire fault area. If a broken brick is immersed in water, then after a while in the water the color and structure of the brick should remain uniform over the entire area of ​​the fault.

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

Brick is one of the most ancient building materials used to this day. But few people know what brick is made of, what mineral. It is an artificially made stone of standard sizes. Its composition depends on the purpose in which area it will be used. During the invention, he has undergone great changes in production technology. And even despite the emergence of other cheaper and alternative materials for the construction of buildings and structures, he has not lost his leadership in the construction market.

At the moment, brick is the most popular building material in the world.

Material types

In construction, there are two types of bricks:

• silicate (white), consisting of sand and lime, is made by high pressure steam treatment;
• ceramic (red), in the production of which clay is used, is made by firing.

Many are interested in knowing how both types of bricks are made.

Production of ceramic material

The brick is made of clay, the quality of which largely determines the quality of the future building material.

How ceramic bricks are made for masonry is easier to understand by considering the production in stages.

The first stage includes the process of selection by chemical composition and extraction of clay from the quarry and preparation of the charge (mixture of raw materials). The second stage is the distribution of the mixture according to the forms and the natural drying of the brick. The third stage includes the final firing in the kiln.

It should be said about the main property of the raw materials from which ceramic bricks are made - this is plasticity. Plasticity is the ability of a material to take any shape without ruptures and cracks when exposed to external forces, and this shape must be maintained even after this exposure. In the construction environment, plasticity is also called fatness. The fat content directly depends on the amount of aluminum oxide in the clay. The more oxide, the higher the plasticity. The high content of aluminum oxide increases the strength and refractoriness after firing.

Another very important characteristic is the clay's sensitivity to drying and firing. During its processing, air and fire shrinkage occurs. This is manifested in a change in the linear and volumetric dimensions of the semi-finished product and bricks. Highly plastic samples shrink by 10% or more (at a rate of 6-8%), and this has a bad effect on crack resistance during drying and shape retention during firing.

After geological exploration is completed, the development of a clay quarry and its transportation to a brick factory begins. There it is ground in special mills to the state of powder. Simultaneously with grinding, additives are added to the clay. The next operation involves adding water and kneading the clay mass. After that, molding and pressing takes place to give the future brick high strength. The resulting semi-finished product is dried for several days in natural conditions. Then the kilns are fired.

During this process, clay is sintered, which gives the brick strength, hardness and hygroscopicity. The pressed surface after firing has a glossy sheen, which gives the brick an aesthetic appearance. Buildings made of ceramic bricks are durable and very reliable.

And today, very often there is a brick of different colors. The structure of a brick can be either solid or hollow. Its strength and, accordingly, the cost depends on the structure. The selection and chemical structure of raw materials for the production of ceramic bricks is a very complex and multi-level task.

Production of silicate material

What is silicate brick made of?

Silicate, popularly called white by its color, consists of quicklime and sand.

The main components are:

• river sand (quartz);
• quicklime;
• water.

The proportion of sand is from 85 to 90% of its mass. For production, washed sand, cleaned of all kinds of impurities and debris, is used, mined from the coastal part and the bottom of rivers (river quarries), from waste during crushing of rocks, from blast furnace slag, etc. The formation of a silicate mixture is affected by the size of sand grains and its the form.

The amount of lime added to sand depends on its chemical characteristics. Brick factories use only quicklime. Basically, it is 6-8% of the mass of sand. Limestone mined in quarries is crushed and fired in kilns. The firing temperature is 1000°C. At this temperature, crystalline bonds are broken and a new composition is created. The resulting white powder for the formation of a plastic mass and for slaking lime is mixed with water based on the production technology. The resulting mass of sand and lime is prepared using a silo method or with high-pressure steam treatment in a centrifugal drum.

If the drum manufacturing technology is used, then the components are sintered. After all these operations, which take about 10 to 13 hours, the final product acquires strength, hardness and perfectly smooth surfaces.

How to make stone brick

Stone bricks are often used for decorative masonry, so many are interested in how to make stone bricks. The technology for making stone bricks is as follows.

The basis for the work will be a stone, which in shape should be as close as possible to a brick. You will need a form that can be made from boxes. The mold and stone must be greased with grease. The voids must be filled with silicone and leveled. Leave to dry for 14 days. In this way, a silicone mold is made.

To make a stone brick, you need gypsum and anhydrite mixed with water. The solution is poured into silicone molds and dries for 20 minutes. Stone brick for laying is ready.

Conclusion

If we compare the manufacture of silicate and ceramic bricks, then the lower price can be attributed to the advantage of the former. However, in terms of properties, it is in many ways inferior to red. Knowing what a brick is made of, you can even make it yourself. Stone brick is used for decoration.