What is white mortar for facing masonry made of? How to make a white joint in brickwork? How to lay facing bricks correctly

During construction brick building with your own hands, experts recommend not to forget about some points. The main ones are aesthetic appearance buildings and protection from precipitation. The finishing of a building includes certain types of work. One of the most acceptable is jointing of brickwork.

Standard brickwork has seams running horizontally and vertically. Technological process Grouting is the filling of joints with mortar that is designed to bind the bricks together. After dressing, the mortar that protrudes beyond the boundaries of the brickwork is removed. After this, they begin to unstitch the seams with their own hands.

The jointing process is the work of grouting joints, which are performed in order to increase the tightness of the brickwork.

Grouting allows you to decorate the facades of a building, and the surface of the walls after such procedures becomes resistant to aggressive action. environment. As a result of this, we can say with confidence that grouting the joints of the brickwork increases the service life of the building.

Before you begin jointing work, you need to become familiar with the basic methods of sealing seams. You can often find the following types joints:

When performing jointing, it is necessary to adhere to the recommended sequence of work. First of all, seams that are located vertically should be processed, and then horizontal ones.

According to the standards specified in SNIP, the thickness of the horizontal seam should be 10–15 mm, and the vertical one – 8–15 mm. In order to save money, it is allowed to make thin seams, the thickness of which may be lower than the recommended SNIP standard. Also, the value of these indicators may vary depending on climatic conditions.

You should not do jointing on hot days, as the solution will quickly harden. This is a violation of the technological process.
It is not advisable to carry out jointing during rain, as the solution absorbs excess moisture.
It is recommended to mix the solution in small portions using an electric concrete mixer.
Do not apply liquid or dried grout mixture to the expansion joint. This may compromise its integrity.

Purpose of jointing

The grout is designed to:

improve the appearance of the building. This kind decorative design buildings well masks the difference in color shades that are obtained due to the fact that the solution is mixed in stages over several days;
protect the cement base from destruction. This will significantly increase the service life of the structure and delay the implementation of overhaul. The main reason why the cement base is destroyed is moisture;
increase thermal insulation properties brickwork, which will keep the room warm in winter. To do this, you must carry out all the work yourself in accordance with the rules and regulations.

Features of application

The basic rule is this: the surface of the walls that will be finished cannot be plastered in advance. This is due to the fact that the grout acts as a kind of finishing material, which must be applied to separate part walls.

Grout is most often used for exterior finishing work.

Use this method for interior decoration possible in cases where it is necessary to give the surface a certain color.

Brick jointing can be done at any stage of building construction. The most suitable stage for this work is the construction of walls, since it is easier to remove excess mortar.

When jointing the brickwork of an old building, it is necessary to remove old mortar to a depth of 10–15 mm.

To increase the strength of the structure, it is necessary to use bandaging of brickwork seams at the stage of building construction. Bonding is the laying of bricks with a certain offset.

To carry out the work, it is necessary to use only well-sharpened Building tools. This is done so as not to damage the building materials.

Grouting technology

The technological process can be divided into the following stages:

Brickwork preparation work. At this stage, the surface of the walls is cleaned from dirt and dust. Next, final cleaning is done using a hard bristle brush. After this, the surface to be treated is first moistened with water.
Preparation of the solution. Important condition is that the solution should be of uniform consistency without lumps.
Carry out jointing. To do this, you need to make a recess of 10–15 mm in the old mortar. A stiff bristled brush will need to be used for final cleaning. After this, you can apply the solution.
Using jointing, it is necessary to press the mortar into vertically located seams. This technique will get rid of excess air.
Finish horizontal gaps using long jointing. During this work, the solution is evenly distributed throughout the entire seam.
Shape the newly laid mortar. To do this, you can use available materials, such as a plastic tube, rubber hose, wooden plank or a sharpened wooden peg.

Today construction market offers a varied assortment of building mixtures, from which you can prepare the required amount in 5-7 minutes. But most builders, due to the high cost of high-quality proprietary mixtures, prefer to use traditional ones for cladding. mortars, have long been used due to the availability of components, ease of preparation and use.

Builders still prefer to make solutions for facing works from traditional components: water, sand, cement and slaked lime.

Composition of the universal mixture

Solution for construction work choose based on technical characteristics facing material: nature of the surface, size, operational characteristics, technology of its laying.

A workable mixture is obtained by mixing sand, cement, slaked lime with water in a certain ratio.

The strength of the masonry depends on cement, which, when combined with water, turns into a mass with sufficient plasticity. The use of Portland cement M400-M500 is considered optimal. Due to its hydraulic properties, cement hardens precisely in humid conditions.

Sand (necessarily sifted) plays the role of a filler, gives the mixture volume and helps reduce shrinkage.

To make it possible to work with the solution much longer, add slaked lime.

Slaked lime ensures the fluidity of the composition, due to which defects and gaps in the brick are filled. In addition, slaked lime promotes slower drying, which increases the working life. Many builders prefer to replace lime with clay in the mixture.

To increase moisture resistance and prevent efflorescence, it is recommended to add special building materials containing the mineral - Rhine trace, which is capable of crystallizing salts on the “wrong” surface of the brick (Sopor KMT).

Special plasticizers

Quite often finishing work, including face masonry. have to be completed in the autumn or winter season. The quality will increase if, instead of lime, you add specially developed organic-based plasticizers, which prevent the appearance of cracks and peeling, help increase the adhesion of bricks, and maintain the integrity of the masonry. By adding only 0.03-0.3% of plasticizers by weight of cement, you can increase frost resistance, reduce shrinkage and water absorption. Thanks to this, technical performance characteristics front surface. Synthetic fatty acids, soap naft, PVA glue, and other water-repellent substances are used as plasticizers.

When purchasing cement, you should pay attention to the fact that you can purchase plasticized ready-made Portland cement M400 and M500. It uses sulfite-alcohol mash as a plasticizer, which increases the frost-resistant properties of the masonry.

Preparation

Before mixing the solution, you need to calculate the amount of facing material that you want to use, given that the solution retains its qualities for about two hours.

Experienced builders know that the solution retains its qualities for about two hours, this is due to its technological features. When starting to knead it, you should calculate how much facing material you plan to use, taking into account the fact that laying one brick usually takes about 2 minutes. If you don’t have a special mixer, a sheet of plywood or other flat surface that needs to be wetted is suitable for preparation.

It is recommended to pour half of required quantity sand, pour the remaining ingredients into the cavity. Then pour the remaining sand on top and thoroughly mix cement and slaked lime with the sand. Pouring clean water into the hole made in the center of the heap. tap water, gradually mix dry materials into the center using a shovel. The solution should be stirred periodically using chopping movements. The thickness of the resulting mixture should be such that it maintains the shape of the depression made in it.

Plasticity and mobility of the mixture

Readiness for use is indicated by homogeneity and plasticity. A consistency is achieved at which the shape is retained when moving, that is, external influence. At the same time, it easily slides off the shovel, returning to its previous shape when stirred. After the cessation of exposure, the solution retains its original properties. To maintain plasticity, it is allowed to add a little water during work, since it should be the same when carrying out similar work. Using a properly prepared plastic mortar, you can ensure a tight fit of the brick to the surface to be refinished in less time. short term, achieve beautiful and even masonry.

Another important indicator is the ability of the solution to spread in an even layer over the surface being treated without compaction, under its own weight. This point is important because when facing jointing, due to plasticity and mobility, the shortcomings of the brick are masked. When performing large volumes of masonry, mobility is determined with a special 15-centimeter cone, immersing it in the solution. Mobility (plasticity) corresponds to the depth of immersion in centimeters. In the cold season, mobility 9-13 is optimal for solid brick, 7-8 - for hollow. In summer, plasticity 12-14 is considered optimal.

Ingredient proportions

Methods for mixing the solution: 1 - mixing in a wheelbarrow, 2 - mixing on plywood, 3 - mixing in a concrete mixer, 4 - hose for adding water, 5 - cement, 6 - sand.

The technical characteristics and operational properties of the elements of the universal mortar determine its quality in the frozen state.

In conditions of protection of the facing space, for its preparation, 6 parts of sand and 1 part of quicklime are used for 1 part of cement.

When cooking increased strength it is enough to reduce the amount of sand to 4 parts and lime to 0.5 parts by 1 part of cement. If desired, lime is replaced with plasticizers.

When mixing, you should take into account the type and quality of the brick. When laying sand-lime brick Its poor hygroscopicity should be taken into account, so the solution is prepared with a minimum amount of water to give thickness. It is recommended to add 1 part slaked lime and 4 parts sifted sand to 1 part cement.

When using hollow bricks that absorb water, remember that the mixture used should not contain lime or clay. The cement-sand mortar used in this case in a ratio of 1:4 will not be so plastic and easy to use, but the thermal insulation properties of the facing material will be preserved. It is advisable to introduce plasticizing additives with this ratio of ingredients.

Color additives

Until recently, in all finishing works solutions were used that gave the same color effect. Modern construction technologies They suggest tinting to obtain an aesthetic effect building mixtures to match the facing material. Thus, it is recommended to lay red bricks using white or black mortar; for yellow bricks, brown, red, and black are suggested.

For gray bricks, white solutions are recommended, and for brown ones, white and red ones. Pigments that decorate the masonry must be added to the mixtures for facing work. The red color of the finish is provided by red lead (for 100 bricks - 3 kg). Carbon black gives the mixture a brown and black color (for 100 bricks, add 100-200 and 750 g, respectively). But if necessary white jointing, you will have to use white quartz sand or white cement.

Brickwork is often used as a method of cladding the walls of buildings for various purposes. For these purposes, special facing bricks with high aesthetic characteristics are used, however, masonry mortar gray does not add beauty to the walls. To give the facade an impeccable look, it is advisable to decorate the seams between the bricks - make them colored! White seam in masonry is especially in demand. Next, we will look at several ways to achieve this.

Basic methods

Masonry mortar is a mixture of building components and water. As a rule, it is gray in color. Accordingly, to get a colored or white seam, you can go in two ways:

Color the solution itself in different ways.
Use colored grout for the joints.

Both methods have their own characteristics that must be taken into account when making a decision.

Coloring the solution

This method is good because it reduces the labor intensity of the work - the white seam in brickwork obtained directly during the construction of the facing structure.

In order for the cement mortar to become white, coloring components must be added to it. They may be:

slaked lime, which is known to increase the plasticity of the solution and improve its performance properties;
colored colors for masonry is one of the ways to give cement mortar any shade. The point is that expectations may not be met - strict adherence to the proportions of preparing the mixture is required, the best effect is achieved when using special white cement, against which the color will be most visible;
Titanium oxide is a universal bleach that can perfectly lighten the cement mass.

The listed components will help to make a white seam during masonry, which will save time and labor costs, but you will have to pay for it - additives are needed in significant quantities, which increases the cost of the working material.

The best option is to use titanium oxide. This component is not washed out and does not affect the strength of the wall in any way. In addition, you won’t have to expect unpleasant surprises from the solution - delamination, the formation of efflorescence (as when adding lime).

Preparation and laying

To make masonry mortar white and reduce material consumption, masons use 2 types of working mixture at the same time - classic and colored.

Gray cement-sand mortar is prepared using traditional technology. It is placed on an invisible part of the masonry.

To make the white mixture, you need to prepare:

white cement grade M500 - 1 part;
titanium oxide (whitewash) - no more than 10% of the amount of cement;
sand - 3 parts;
water as needed.

The dye is dissolved in water and the sand is mixed with cement, or the dry component is mixed with a binder before mixing with the liquid.

House made of red or brown brick with white joints can be faced using exclusively white mortar or laid only on outside masonry surface.

Grouting joints

The essence of this method is the treatment of formed gray seams with colored compounds.

Advantages of grout:

the ability to give the masonry any color;
wide choose dry color mixtures;
seam protection from aggressive external environment, waterproofing and strengthening;
the seam can be renewed, the color of the grout can be changed;
the cost of the material is significantly lower than coloring the solution itself.

The disadvantage is that the work is labor-intensive; grouting is carried out separately after the construction of the structure.

You can make a brick joint white or colored using different mixtures:

on cement based- the most common, suitable for interior and exterior work;
on epoxy resin- grout for interior spaces. This coating can be washed and cleaned, it is not afraid of water and high humidity.

Cement grout is sold as a dry mixture. It is enough to dilute them with water in the proportion stated on the label to obtain a white or colored solution.

There is another way - using a color that is introduced into the cement mixture.

How to grout

A house made of brown brick with white seams or facing with red masonry with jointing of the same color - there are many options for facade design. But the difference is not only in the chosen color, but also in the shape of the seam created by the mason. It depends on the shape of the instrument used for design.

For stitching you will need:

long spatula;
narrow jointing.

Work algorithm:

The masonry is cleaned of dust and other contaminants.
The seams at the work site are wetted - this will help achieve high adhesion between the grout and the base.
Prepare the solution according to the instructions. Mixing the components must be done using a metal sieve and a construction mixer.
The mortar is applied to the spatula along the entire length, the tool is pressed tightly against the edge of the bottom brick.
Using a jointer of the desired shape, push a small amount of mortar into the joint and rub the mixture.

The work should be carried out in sections, wetting the surface in a timely manner. It is important to immediately remove excess grout from the brick before it sets.

To paint or not

Dark brick with white seams looks solemn, this classic version façade design. And it doesn’t matter whether the stone used is brown or red - a gray mortar of cement and sand definitely does not decorate the facade.

When choosing a method for painting seams, you should rely on 2 main factors:

construction timeframes. If they are getting tight, it is best to paint the masonry mortar;
financial opportunities. In this case, you should calculate the amount of painting and grouting work and choose the appropriate option.

It should be noted that for mashing you will need not only material, but also labor resource. However, the work can be done independently, without using the services of specialists.

A private house made of red brick with white seams looks impressive, voluminous and expensive. This is a classic facade design option that you can do yourself. White seams set off the stone, highlighting its texture, size, and clarity of lines. The only problem color scheme- the fragility of the visual effect; over time it acquires a grayish tint. It is created using grout or a solution of the desired color. The finished mixture can be purchased at a hardware store or made with your own hands with the addition of white sand and lime. Light joints work best with brown, red and other dark bricks.

The meaning of color scheme in a brick wall

The white seam of the brickwork is used to strengthen decorative effect. With its help, the texture, color, and material of the stone are emphasized. It highlights every element and makes a dark brick house more presentable. The expressiveness of the texture is emphasized by the shade of the seam. The combination with red in construction has always been considered a classic. A gray or black seam blends in with the elements and does not visually set off brown or other dark colors. construction material. Wherein brick facade looks dull.

It is important to consider that light-colored seams quickly become dirty and gray. For visual effect, it needs to be updated regularly.
White highlights red, brown and black brick. This effect is mainly used when exterior decoration, but are also found in the interior decor of rooms with brick wall. When building a fireplace with this combination, you should remember the impracticality light shade and its possible imminent contamination. It is enough to use a solution of a color so that the surface of the building looks unusual without the use of mosaics or modeling. Light joints in brickwork are found during construction:

This design of seams decorates brick fence.
private houses;
non-residential objects (for example, courtyard buildings);
fences;
columns and other architectural structures.

What solution is needed?
White mortar for laying bricks can be purchased at the store in ready-made version or do it yourself. It includes White sand, lime and cement. Plus, special admixtures are added to ensure the strength of the masonry. It perfectly shades the masonry brown, enhancing texture and scale. There is a wide selection of ready-made mixtures on sale that do not require additional components and guarantee color purity. It is important to remember that when making a solution you should be careful about the concentration of ingredients, which affects the strength and reliability of the masonry.

The process of making decorative masonry from special grades of bricks often faces the problem of inexpressiveness of the color scheme. Despite the relatively large number of colors and shades of facing bricks, most often the customer and the contractor argue about the color of the resulting building; one building can have too different shades and colors, even from the same batch of bricks.

For what purposes was the colored solution invented?

In addition to the unpleasant effects of lime or salt efflorescence on red or dark background, the color and shade of the bond seam can radically change the shade, overall impression and perception of colored masonry. Masters engaged in decorative masonry, know firsthand about the insidious effect of darkening the original color of the wall. The rich fiery red or beige color of the brick acquired a grayish tint upon completion of the masonry.

The reason is the gray or dark gray color of the brickwork joint. Approximately 15% of the surface of a brick wall is occupied by the joint surface, gray and featureless. Bright shade Even 3% of street dust that has settled on the brick can darken the finished building, and 15% of the gray seam can completely ruin the appearance of the building.

To prevent loss of shades, experienced craftsmen take some measures in advance:

The interbrick joint is grouted with grout mixtures of various colors and compositions;
A brick wall is painted with special color compounds that reveal the color and, often, give the brick texture water repellent properties, preventing efflorescence and discoloration;
They use a colored mortar for laying bricks; after jointing and contouring the seam, the required color and shade of the entire brick building is achieved.

For your information ! Despite the fact that there are only five basic pigments for producing a colored binder, in practice, using additives in bricklaying mortar, it is possible to obtain about 30 individual colors and shades.

Using the capabilities of colored solutions

Ability to manipulate color characteristics brickwork or even individual sections of the wall makes it possible to professionally emphasize the beauty of the texture of the material, especially in the rays of the setting or rising sun.

In what cases is it preferable to change the color of the seam?

By choosing the color of the seam, it can be highlighted with maximum contrast, strength, or, conversely, merged into one color with the brick. In both cases, the effect is achieved by using special mineral paints and a couple of compounds that prevent the loss of astringent properties and protect the coloring pigment from destruction and leaching.

Contrast is a universal way to emphasize the expressiveness of masonry

Has always been and will remain a champion in efficiency and expressiveness white solution for laying bricks. In combination with any, except yellow color, shades and colors allows you to visually make masonry on colored light solution and bright. The question of how to make white mortar for bricklaying always depends on the economic feasibility of such an undertaking.

The white color of the masonry seam can be obtained:

adding excess slaked lime;
zinc oxides;
titanium oxide.

The latter connection gives exceptionally high quality White color, resistant to oxidation for ten years. Previously, white lead additives were used, but due to the toxicity of lead, its use was abandoned long ago.

The high cost of titanium salts often forces one to resort to trickery. To obtain a colored seam, two are actually used. various types solution. The first is the usual one based on cement-sand mixture. The second is a colored, white composition that is mixed based on white cement M-500 with the addition of a coloring pigment. Brick laying is done using both mortars. The first mixture fills the entire area for laying bricks, not reaching outer edge walls 2-3cm. The space left for the outer part of the seam is carefully filled with a colored - white solution.

In addition to excellent frost resistance, white cement has a dense structure and retains moisture very well, which prevents the penetration of some of the salts of the usual solution onto the wall surface in the form of stains and efflorescence.

The use of colored solutions to mask masonry seams

In addition to contrasting the line of brick laying, a colored binder can be used to completely hide the structure of the wall. At the same time, the mortar joint itself has an absolute color match with the color of the facing brick. When the seam is cleaned, it is leveled flush with the bricks and, after drying, even follows its texture. The wall may look like a monolith or have a completely different pattern, a larger grid of blocks made of several bricks, or specifically outlined and shaded.

And often this is not a whim of the artistic imagination of the home owner. Experts recommend a similar technique to increase thermal insulation characteristics walls In addition, the main problems of cracking beautiful ceramic bricks are associated with the intensive absorption of moisture by the masonry through a mortar joint recessed into the wall.

The leveling technique is effective, but requires considerable effort and knowledge in precise selection composition of the colored binder. As the colored seam dries, it lightens. Moreover, under the influence of the sun and rain moisture, part of the coloring pigment may fade, which is why a thin mesh of the seam appears against the background of the wall, but clearly visible from a distance.

Specifics of preparing colored solutions

For the production of juicy and bright colors Most often, metal salts are used - iron, nickel, chromium, cobalt, copper. They are stable and resistant to heat and low temperatures. In addition to the coloring pigment, it is important to choose the right supporting base for the color mixture, usually white cement in bright colors or slag Portland cement for dark, almost black colors. The most durable brands have a distinct dark, almost black color, which helps to obtain a black mortar for bricklaying.

Previously, carbon black additives were used for black or very dark colored compositions, but, as it turned out, amorphous carbon greatly reduces the strength of the solidified solution due to poor wetting; now the carbon black has been replaced with complex iron salts.

Let's prepare a colored solution with our own hands

The main difficulty in preparing a colored solution is exact dosage dye into a stock white or gray solution. Often, a colored solution acquires its true shade only after prolonged stirring and complete dissolution of the dye. Therefore, before mixing the main portion of the colored solution, several test mixtures are performed with different amounts of dye and water. The pigment itself must first be dissolved in warm water, with a slight settling of undissolved grains of dye.

Next, a dye solution, half of the cement and a third of the amount of sand are poured into a mixer or hand mixer in small portions. As the solution is beaten and mixed, the rest of the cement and sand is added. Usually total quantity pigment placed in the solution is not recommended for more than a tenth of the solution M100 and 1/12 for M75-M45.

Advice ! If you need a complex shade of a colored solution, it is better to use a proprietary color solution; your own experiments will often require large quantity experiments and trial batches, which will cost many times more.

Innovations in the use of colored masonry mortars

The desire to give the walls of a house a refined and slightly pretentious look pushes craftsmen to unusual solutions in the use of colored solutions. A small addition of finely ground glass powder with a fluorescent component makes the grout mesh glow against the background of dark brick for several hours after sunset.

One more unusual use is the grouting of colored mortar joints with a mixture that changes its color depending on the ambient temperature. Thus, as the wall made of facing bricks warms up or cools down, it can change its shade and texture pattern.

Such things can be called eccentricity, but practice shows that those who like to decorate their homes in the most in an unusual way There is enough, which means there will always be a couple of fresh offers to meet demand.

Conclusion

The reliability of the quality of coloring pigments is also important. Most of the color components and pigments sold, even in wholesale transactions, are counterfeits; you need to understand this and be prepared for a thorough analysis and comparison of the purchased product.

Salts of non-ferrous metals are quite expensive raw materials, and in counterfeits they are often replaced with aniline water-soluble dyes. Most often, the durability of colored solutions suffers. After a season or two, the dyes fade or are washed out by rain moisture. In this case, it is necessary to treat the seams with a weak acid solution and grout them with new grout or repaint the entire wall.

Sometimes experts advise testing a sample of a dry mixture of a colored solution by heating it over an open fire to a temperature of 250 o C; theoretically, a high-quality mixture should not discolor; a fake will lose color. But there are no practical methods for such verification yet.