10 tips for choosing a facing brick

Content

1. №1. Material for the manufacture of facing bricks
2. №2. Ceramic facing brick
3. No. 3. Hyperpressed brick
4. №4. Clinker brick
5. №5. Silicate facing brick
6. №6. Hollow and solid brick
7. №7. Size and shape of the cladding brick
8. №8. Type of face
9. №9. Color of facing brick
10. №10. Strength and frost resistance

Among all facade finishing materials facing brick occupies a leading place. If earlier its range was limited only by a couple of shades and shapes, then today you can find products of almost any color and shape, with a different type of surface. The variety has grown to such a degree that the front bricks are used both for decorating fences and for interior decoration. On the one hand, the expanding assortment is a huge plus, but it is becoming more difficult to choose the right facing brick in similar conditions.

№1. Material for the manufacture of facing bricks

Today, facial bricks are produced from various materials, resulting in products with different operational and aesthetic parameters. The most widespreadtypes of facing bricks:

• ceramic (red);
• hyperpressed;
• clinker;
• silicate (white).

№2. Ceramic facing brick

Ceramic brick is a real classic. Among all facing (and among ordinary) bricks, it is considered the most popular and most preferred to use. It is made from clay by burning at high temperatures. Depending on the type of clay used, products of different shades are obtained. The most common is the red color and its tones, but there are also bricks of natural peach and yellow shade - the remaining colors are obtained by adding pigment to the raw material. Also used is surface staining, but its resistance is several times lower.

TOkey benefitsceramic facing brick include:

• high strength and durability;
• good thermal insulation qualities;
• resistance to ultraviolet and frost;
• a wide variety of shapes, colors and surface types;
• the versatility of the finish and the ability to use the material in any architectural style;
• relatively low price for facing brick, shares and discounts, which are often carried out by large sellers, allow to call the material quite affordable.

The minusesthe material is almost none, it will be an excellent decoration and protection for the walls of the house, but it is better to cover additionally brick hydrophobic composition to better protect the structure from moisture and prolong the period operation.

Ceramic brick is different infeatures of production. Plastic molding productsthey are stronger, durable and frost-proof, they are usually used for construction. For facade cladding they are also suitable, but for this purpose it is more appropriate to use brickdry and dry molding, which differs extremely accurate geometry.

No. 3. Hyperpressed brick

Hyperpressed brick is usedsolely for decorative purposes- houses are not built from it. At the heart of the material is crushed shell rock or limestone, dolomite and marble can be used. The bulk of this component - up to 90%, the rest is for cement, water and dyes. The mass is not fired in the ovens - it is hyperpressed by high pressure, hence the name of the material.

The technology of production allows us to talk aboutnumerous advantagesmaterial:

• exact geometry;
• ecological compatibility, because in composition hyper-pressed brick is actually an artificial stone;
• a huge range of textures and colors, so to realize with the help of this material you can almost any idea. The facial obverse is very similar to that of natural stone;
• high frost resistance (up to 150 cycles of freezing / defrosting), excellent compressive strength (up to M250), durability (up to 25 years), low moisture absorption.

Amongminuses:

• low thermal insulation qualities, but this is not a problem in the presence of high-quality insulation of the house;
• On the surface of the brick over time, microcracks may appear, which, if moisture gets in, will increase, so the surface of the material is better immediately covered with a layer of a hydrophobizer;
• inadequately inflated price.

Specialists also note that it is better to take the material with depressions or holes in the beds - so the adhesion of the brick to the masonry solution will be higher. Hyperpressed brick is used not only for facade cladding, but also for decorating fireplaces and performing interior finishing works.

№4. Clinker brick

Clinker brick can be called a subspecies of ceramic, but for its manufacture use special refractory clay grades, which are fired at higher temperatures, so as a result, very durable material. It is used not only for facing facades, socles, window and door openings, but also for paving garden paths, and even with the arrangement of chimneys - clinker brick withstands constant large loads of different character.

Basicadvantages:

• Low water absorption (not more than 3%) and high frost resistance, which is explained by the minimum the number of pores, because at high firing temperatures, small particles are sintered and completely filled all the emptiness;
• resistance to temperature changes;
• high strength and durability, clinker can preserve the original properties, shape and color of tens and even hundreds of years;
• vapor permeability.

Different shades of clay make it possible to obtain a brick of slightly different colors. The main color of the material is red-brown, but the producers have learned to diversify it by adding various pigments.

Minuses:

• a high price, so not all of the facade can completely finish the facade - often clinker brick is combined with a cheaper ceramic one;
• high thermal conductivity due to the absence of air pores.

Since the water permeability of the material is low, when working with it it is better to use a masonry solution with a minimum amount of water.

Clinker brick is used in construction and facing works for a long time. With the demolition of centuries-old buildings, the clinker is cleaned and applied again. From this material in due time erected fortresses and churches.

№5. Silicate facing brick

Silicate brick - the mosta budget optionamong all analogs, but its operational and aesthetic qualities are not satisfactory to everyone. Choosing such material, you consciously go on a compromise and should be aware of what kind of so little money you can not buy material that will keep the original quality.

Sand-lime bricks are made on the basis of sand and lime, as a result, a light-colored material comes out, for which it received the popular name "white brick". Adding pigment allows you to achieve almost any color. Firing in production is not used - the mass sets by the reaction of quenching of lime and is pressed, processing with increased temperature and pressure in autoclaves can be used.

Benefits:

• low price;
• good geometry;
• good sound insulation qualities;
• acceptable frost resistance.

As for the variety, the assortment of different colors and variations of the surface, it seems, is not bad, but still in terms of aesthetics, silicate brick is inferior to other types. TOshortcomingsmaterial include heavy weight, brittleness, low moisture resistance and low thermal insulation properties. Despite this, silicate bricks are still actively used in private construction, because it is really inexpensive.

№6. Hollow and solid brick

A brick can have voids inside or be completely solid. For lining use both, and another, butThe advantage is still on the hollow side. It is lighter, so it does not create an additional load on the foundation, and thanks to the openings with air it keeps the heat better. Cavities can be round, square and rectangular in shape and can be up to 30% by volume in silicate bricks and up to 45% in ceramic.

Full-bodiedbrick in the decor is used rarely, it allows you to get a more durable facade, but it's even colder. Of full-bricks for cladding, only elements of complex shape may be needed.

№7. Size and shape of the cladding brick

The standard form of a brick is a parallelepiped, the dimensions of which are250 * 120 * 65 mm, this so-called.single or standard brick.Similar products are actively used in construction and for facing buildings. However, facial bricks can be a bit more subtle: formats 250 * 85 * 65, 250 * 60 * 65, 25 * 85 * 85 and 250 * 22 * ​​65 are common. The brick of the last format is actually a tile, but outwardly such samples look like a full brick.

Facing bricks are not always the right parallelepiped. On sale you can find a wide rangeshaped (shaped) brick.These are products with a non-standard profile shape. Curly bricks are characterized by curvatures, cuts and waves, there are wedge-like and trapezoidal patterns, as well as semicircular and other complex figured products, the shape of which is difficult to describe. Silicate brick is the smallest variety of forms.

With the help of a figured brick it is possible to draw a facade, decorate window and door openings, and turn an ordinary "box" into an exquisite house with a unique architectural style.

№8. Type of face

The surface of the brick can besmooth(the simplest and most common option) orinvoiced. With the first everything is clear: no special techniques during production are not used, but the creation of texture and relief is a more interesting process. Depending on the technology, you can get a product with unique aesthetic qualities.

On ceramic and clinker bricks(they necessarily pass the firing) the invoice can be created in this way:

• standard. On molded, but not yet baked bricks with a stencil apply the desired pattern. After the heat treatment in the stove on the brick, the required relief is formed. Thus, it is possible to create absolutely any pattern, and the strength of the product does not suffer in any way;
• gunning. Before firing on the front of the brick, apply a mineral crumb, which under the influence of high temperature melts and sintered to the surface, forming an interesting pattern and characteristic color transitions. Thus, in general, decorate clinker bricks, since the melting of mineral crumb requires a high temperature;
• engobing. On the surface of a brick not burnt, but dried, a thin layer of ceramics is applied, which is called an engobe. This is a clay suspension with metal oxides, which allow you to achieve a certain shade. Baking with the mass of bricks, the suspension allows you to form the desired color and texture. It is possible to apply engobe only to a part of a brick, so produce products with the effect of aging;
• glazing. The technology resembles the previous one, but instead of ceramics, glaze is used here, which, when baked with a brick, forms a beautiful glossy surface. It protects the material well from moisture and not so intensely as others, it becomes soiled.

Hyperpressed brickin the production process does not pass processing in the furnace, so the texture is created in a different way. To make the relief use a split. Special equipment resembling a guillotine, splits a large stone in certain places on individual bricks. Additional processing by special machines can be carried out - new small chips will complicate the drawing. Hyperpressed brick is produced in such textures as "wild stone "rock "marble "chopped "Finnish" and some others. Manufacturers strive to invent exquisite names, so different names can be used for the same relief.

Lime brickworst of all is amenable to processing, but today we have learned to achieve rustic and crushed texture.

№9. Color of facing brick

The natural shade of the brick depends on the type of raw materials used and the technology of production. Ceramic and clinker bricks can do without adding additional pigments - they already have a noble beautiful shade. The natural color turns out that one manufacturer can have a brick of slightly different shades, so it is better to take as much material as you need to arrange the entire facade and mix products from different parties.

Hyper-pressed and silicate bricks are paintedin massand can be of almost any color. If necessary, tinting of ceramic and clinker bricks is carried out. The more bright the color is, the more dye used, and the lower the strength of the product.

Brick can stainsuperficially, only from the front side, but the quality of such painting is lower.

Choose a color depending on your own preferences, used architectural style and with an eye on the color of the roof, fence and other elements, if they already exist.

№10. Strength and frost resistance

To the facing brick, there are no such stringent requirements for strength as for the ordinary. On the other hand, the finish takes on some of the functions to protect the walls of the house from negative natural influences, so it should be sufficiently resistant to them.

Durabilitycalled the ability of the brick to withstand the load, without breaking. The M100 grade bricks withstand 100 kg per cm2 of surface, M150 - 150 kg, etc. Ceramic and silicate bricks have strength up to M150, clinker and hyper-pressed bricks - M250. For facing, you can use brick strength M100-M150.

Frost resistanceIs the ability to withstand freezing and thawing, without deforming at the same time. Frost resistance is measured in cycles: a brick that tolerates 25 frost-defrosts is labeled as F25. For facing it is necessary to take a brick not less than F50, and for regions with a complex climate - F75.

Finally, we note that it is better to use the products of proven manufacturers, and before buying, consider the sample in the sunlight to assess the real shade and relief.

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