If you will be laying claydite-concrete blocks with your own hands, step-by-step instructions will help you to carry out the work correctly. Such manipulations are not particularly difficult, which is why you can do the business on your own, without the help of specialists. However, you need to familiarize yourself with the technological features, as well as find out which solution is suitable for laying expanded clay concrete products, which are produced by pressing, in the process of which water, sand, cement and expanded clay are used.
Varieties
Expanded clay blocks, the pros and cons of which are described in the article, are safe, environmentally friendly and lightweight building material. Due to the presence of expanded clay, the products are porous and are characterized by high thermal insulation qualities. Before starting work, you may prefer blocks of different sizes, but the most common are those that have the following dimensions: 390x300x188, 390x190x188. These products are used for walls, while for the formation of partitions, blocks with dimensions of 390x190x90 millimeters should be preferred.
Specifications
The material may be solid or hollow. The first variety has a higher strength, but inferior in terms of thermal insulation properties to hollow analogues. If it is planned to strengthen walls or a partition, then it is necessary to purchase blocks in which grooves for reinforcement were formed at the production stage. This is due to the not too high strength of the material.
Preparation of materials and tools
If laying claydite-concrete blocks with your own hands will be carried out, step-by-step instructions should be previously studied by the master. It implies the need for the preparation of materials and tools. You will need a rubber hammer, tape measure, trowel, level, cord, plumb, as well as a grinder. Do not forget about the presence of a shovel, as well as containers for the preparation of the solution. An alternative solution may be a concrete mixer. If you plan to build walls, it is important to ensure the availability of scaffolding, which can be made independently. The foundation of expanded clay concrete blocks can also be erected. To form it, as well as for building walls, you will need water, cement, sand or a special dry building mixture intended for masonry. If a heater will be used, laid simultaneously with the installation of blocks, it is important to take care of its presence.
Solution for installation of expanded clay concrete products
If the claydite-concrete blocks are laid with your own hands, the step-by-step instructions presented in the article will allow you to get acquainted with the technological features. In the process of work, you can use a solution based on sand and cement, instead of which adhesive mixtures intended for masonry are often used. In the first case, cement, sand and water should be mixed, observing a proportion of 1: 3: 0.7. It is important to prepare cement grade M-400 or higher. The volume of liquid can be adjusted depending on the moisture content of the sand. The solution should have a plastic consistency, which makes it easy to seat products. However, it is important to prevent the mixture from spreading.
Construction dry mixes
When laying claydite-concrete blocks with your own hands, a step-by-step instruction should be read in advance, this will help to eliminate a lot of mistakes. If you decide to use a dry mortar, then you have to mix it with water, following the instructions on the packaging. Such compositions are plastic and can reduce the thickness of the formed seams. However, such a solution will cost more in comparison with a cement-sand mixture. For one cubic meter of masonry, 40 kilograms of the finished mixture will be necessary. The consumption of any mortar will depend on the thickness of the joints, which can vary from 6 to 9 millimeters when using a cement-sand mixture.
Solution preparation
If you decide to use expanded clay concrete blocks, reviews of house owners should be read in advance. They overlap with the characteristics of the products that have been described above. Thus, according to buyers, in order to build a warm house, the walls of which will not have an excessive effect on the foundation, expanded clay concrete should be used. Among other things, this material, as consumers emphasize, has a fairly affordable cost. Builders and home craftsmen note that the use of blocks of this type does not imply the need to order construction equipment, which would entail additional costs. If you decide to choose expanded clay concrete blocks, reviews of house owners will certainly allow you to make a choice. For the preparation of the cement-sand mixture, in their opinion, it is preferable to use a small concrete mixer, the volume of which will correspond to the amount of composition produced in 2 hours. The solution should be constantly mixed, which will exclude its delamination. In this case, the mixture will retain plasticity and uniformity. This is especially true of the composition of sand and cement, which are devoid of plasticizers. If you decide to use a ready-made building mixture, it is recommended to stock up with a mixer with a nozzle, which is installed on an electric drill. With this approach, it is important to prepare a container of the appropriate volume.
Masonry methods
Before the mortar for the masonry is prepared, the master must decide which method of work will be used. The planned wall thickness will affect this . You can lay the products in half a block, in one block, 60 cm wide, with two parallel walls in half a block, as well as in a block with a facing brick. If you decide to use a technology that involves laying a wall with a width of a block, it is important to alternate and tie up the yoke and spoon rows. If the products are mounted with a width of 60 cm, it is important to ensure bandaging of the blocks, leaving voids between them. The technology, which provides for the arrangement of two parallel-oriented systems stacked in half a block, is carried out in parallel with the placement of insulation material between them. If it was decided to use the method of laying in a block, and then brick cladding will be carried out, then heat-insulating material is also laid between the formed walls.
The nuances of the work
After the masonry mortar is ready, you can begin to work. It is necessary to start the process from the corners of the building. A layer of a solution of 3 cm thickness is laid on a waterproofing layer. Shrinkage of products is carried out by pressing and tapping on the surface with a rubber hammer. If you decide to build a house from expanded clay concrete blocks with your own hands, then the position of the corners should be controlled using building and water levels. Between the formed corner blocks, pull a cord along which the entire row will be laid along the perimeter of the building.