Everyone understands that the construction of any object is a significant waste of money. Many people who are building any objects, try to find options for performing work that would not be very expensive, but would provide decent quality. The use of cladding blocks has become quite common today, as this option helps to save money. In addition, this material has a number of characteristics useful in the operation of the building.
Expanded clay
A fairly common type of such material was facing expanded clay concrete block. Today, technology allows you to create many building materials in an industrial environment. This type of product is also artificial. To make this type of blocks, foamed and baked clay is used. Inside the structure of each block contains balls of a porous type. Despite this, the load that the product can withstand is quite high. In addition, the presence of a void inside such a cladding unit allows it to retain heat perfectly. Due to these qualities, expanded clay is considered a fairly suitable material for construction and cladding.
Types of blocks
Currently, there are several types of cladding blocks. They are divided into three types, which depends on their purpose:
- Slit-like.
- Hollow.
- Corpulent.
It is worth noting that building a wall from such a material is much easier than using ordinary brick. As for the cost of blocks, it depends on the design of the product itself. The most expensive is a corpulent block. This is understandable, since the largest amount of raw material is consumed to create it. Most often, such blocks are used only for the installation of walls that perform the function of load-bearing.
It is also worth noting that houses from a claydite-concrete type cladding block can have a minimum thickness of 40 cm, and when laying brick walls, the wall thickness should be at least 60 cm.This advantage has become possible because expanded clay concrete has the best soundproofing and heat-insulating qualities.
Wall covering
As for the facing block made of such a material, its appearance can reproduce brickwork, plaster or even marble. In addition, the advantage of cladding in blocks is also that eliminates the need for additional home decoration. This allows you to save a large amount of material resources.
Another rather significant advantage of the cladding unit is that manufacturers produce half and even angular models, which greatly simplifies the installation process. In addition to these two advantages, there are a number of other positive aspects. For example, such masonry cladding blocks will be completely environmentally friendly. This building material is able to withstand the effects of fire and moisture, perfectly retains heat, is not susceptible to decay, is frost-resistant. In addition, he has a pretty attractive appearance.
Facing brick
To date, blocks of ceramic facing bricks have also become quite common material. This product is also made of clay, but from the one that goes through the firing procedure in a variety of conditions. Common types of production are plastic and semi-dry molding. Most often it is the first type of production that is used, since it allows you to better mechanize the entire process, which greatly increases productivity, increases the stability of the technology.
The difference between an ordinary brick and a ceramic facing block is that the first material performs only one function, and the second several at once. Facing raw materials not only protect the walls and insulation, but also create a decorative shell, which makes the appearance of the structure more attractive.
Pros and cons of facing bricks
Among the advantages of facing bricks and ceramic blocks, the following parameters stand out:
- High strength.
- Good resistance not only to frost, but also to moisture.
- The material is considered environmentally friendly and has good indicators of heat conservation.
- Another good plus is the complete absence of a tendency to ignite.
- The life of the unit is quite large.
However, there were some shortcomings:
- Houses made of ceramic brick cladding block are high in weight, since the block itself is quite heavy. Because of this, additional pressure is created on the foundation of the structure.
- The process of laying such material is much more complicated, which raises the requirements for the qualifications of a bricklayer who will deal with this type of work. This is most noticeable from the front of the house, where ornaments are often required to be laid out.
- Both the material and the installation work are quite expensive.
Types of facing bricks
Today, 4 types of facing bricks are distinguished, each of which differs in production technology.
The first type is clinker. It is considered the most durable among other cladding blocks. For manufacturing, it is necessary to carry out the firing procedure at a temperature of 1900 degrees Celsius. The material practically does not absorb water, which positively affects the service life, however, and complicates the masonry process.
The second type is hyperpressed facing blocks. They are made without a firing procedure, but under sufficiently high pressure. As for quality, it is somewhat worse than those produced by firing. Some problems with thermal conductivity due to too high density are observed. The greatest advantage of this type of cladding unit is that it has perfectly even edges and shape.
The third type is a porous brick. To create such a structure, it is necessary to lay sawdust in the raw materials at the formation stage. During firing, they will burn out, forming at the same time many small cavities. The advantage of this material is that its weight is reduced. However, the sound conductivity is increased. But he has better heat-saving properties.
The fourth type is engobed brick. In another way, this facing material is called two-layer or color. During production, a very thin layer of colored clay is applied to the dried block. Its thickness is only 0.2-0.3 mm. After going through the firing procedure, this material acquires a matte color layer.
Material characteristics
Ceramic brick blocks can be hollow, solid, front or furnace. They may also have significantly different surfaces. It can be smooth, rough, glazed, curly, shaped. It is worth mentioning that the production technology of such blocks does not allow reproducing the same color 100%. For this reason, if it is necessary to lay a large area, then you need to purchase blocks from the same lot.
As for the main technical characteristics of brick blocks, they are as follows:
- As for the length, it is the same for everyone and is 250 mm.
- The width is 120 mm, however, for hyper-pressed bricks, the width can also be 60 and 90 mm.
- The height of the blocks can be 68, 88 and 138 mm.
- The density of the material varies from 1000 to 2100 kg / m 3 .
- The porosity of the blocks starts at 6% and can reach 45%.
- The frost resistance of the blocks also fluctuates. It can be from 15 to 100 cycles.
- As for the brand of strength, it is from 75 to 1000, and the thermal conductivity is 0.3-1.16 W / m2 ° C.
The choice of facing bricks
With regard to the selection of suitable material, it is necessary to be guided by the following points:
- Facing raw materials must have the correct shape and geometry (if this is not a "torn" block).
- The edges should be fairly even and clear, without any defects and chips.
- The hue of all blocks should be uniform and not have any spots.
- There should not be any cracks on the faces.
- The minimum compressive strength should be 20%.
It is very important to correctly calculate the amount of facing material that will be required during the construction of the building in order to choose the right lot. If you have to buy material, you may not find it identical in color and some other characteristics. This is due to the fact that even a slight change in temperature during production will lead to a significant change in operational characteristics.
Facing torn block
Blocks of this type are very popular, since the decoration of buildings with this material allows you to create a building very similar to the medieval one, for example.
Such material is called “torn” because in the process of its creation one of the faces breaks. This is done in order to give the most natural appearance to an artificial product. In order to create such a material, the battle of granite, slag, expanded clay, brick, glass is used as the initial raw material. Components typically range in size from 3 to 5 mm. Then they are mixed with cement and water. As additives, modifiers and dyes are used.
Varieties of torn blocks
To date, the facing material in this category can be of three types.
The first is already familiar to us hollow or full. As for the application, the first type is used more for decorative decoration inside the building or for facade decoration, for the construction of the fence and so on. Solid is suitable for the construction of various supporting structures.
Materials can be made of various shapes, for example, in the form of a wedge, a regular parallelepiped.
Such blocks can be produced with standard sizes of 250x120x65 mm. Size may vary. It depends on what exactly the facing block will be used for.
As for the properties of torn bricks, they are as follows:
- No susceptibility to rotting, burning, corrosion.
- Moisture resistant.
- High strength.
- Environmental friendliness.
- It does not fade or fade when exposed to sunlight.