Any opening can be made more spectacular if supplemented with a jumper or arched vault. This design is reliable, because the load is better distributed due to the greater length compared to a direct jumper. This allows you to do without the use of concrete or metal when facing or erecting walls.
Arched structures can be used for:
- brick cladding;
- the construction of street barbecue and barbecue;
- the construction of openings in the bearing walls;
- creating portals in the form of gates and gates;
- the construction of stoves and fireplaces.
Tool preparation
If you are faced with the question of how to make an arch out of brick, you should take care of the presence of some tools, among them you should highlight:
- buckets;
- lace;
- Master OK;
- a pickaxe.
You will need a power tool, namely:
- electric jigsaw;
- screwdriver;
- Bulgarian.
Do not forget about the marking as well as the carpentry measuring tool.
Preparation for work
In order to fold a brick arch, you will need to assemble a temporary supporting timber formwork. It can be a lath, whetstone or sheet material. Such a support will repeat the shape and dimensions of the plane of the arch. For successful work you will need some parameters. It:
- arch shape;
- arch radius;
- distance between support planes;
- wall thickness.
Arched vaults are presented in two varieties. An arch can be arched or have the correct shape. The form does not play a special role in the work, so you should be guided by a combination of the form with other architectural elements. As for the radius, then in the right arch it will look like a semicircle. It is half the distance between the supports.
The radius of the arch of the beam structure is determined individually. An arch can have any thickness, even have the appearance of a continuous tunnel. First you need to build a structure whose thickness is 250 mm, which is equal to one brick. The brick jumper must be stable. In this case, an odd number of products is used. The central stone, which is also called the castle stone, is located at the same distance from the supports or their projections. If it turns out to be less than the standard, you can cut it with an angle grinder. The thickness of the seam in the lower part of the masonry should be about 6 mm, and in the upper - 30 mm or less.
Work on the formwork
If you want to build a brick arch, you will need to create a formwork made of sheet material. Semicircles or segments are cut out of it, the dimensions of which will be equal to the future arch. To enhance the circle, the bars are screwed. The walls are fixed by a bar at the required distance. The slats should be distributed along the edge of the circle at a distance of 200 mm so that they form a supporting frame. They are fixed with screws.
Before you build an arch of brick, you must overlap the working plane of the formwork with sheet material of the type of fiberboard. The wooden plane is lubricated with diesel fuel or oil, so that it does not deteriorate from the solution and is easier to dismantle. On this we can assume that the formwork is ready. It can be installed in the opening.
Formwork installation
Even if the weight of the bricks is small, and the arch will be located at a height, it is necessary to install the formwork on the racks. They are attached to the supports with dowels. An additional support is installed in the central part. It is important that struts are located between the racks.
The arch is laid out simultaneously with the plane, so the place of the pit can be determined by the level of a number of masonry. Its height must be known in advance. If the jumper is arched (it is also called segmented), the stops for the pit should be laid out additionally. Brick for this is cut in place. The beginning of the arch will fall on the plane of the pit.
When the correct brick arch is being built, the vaults begin with products that are arranged horizontally. After that, they rise, changing the angle of inclination. The formwork is therefore installed after laying the first brick in the support.
Masonry work
Creating an arch is not much different from ordinary masonry. Difficulties can only be expressed in the calculation and manufacture of a flat formwork. If the structure is cold, it is best to use a solution prepared with an increased proportion. It provides for the connection of 2.5 parts of sand with a part of cement. If we are talking about a barbecue or stove, you should use a solution on clay.
When creating an arch under a brick, you must lay out products on both sides of the formwork at the same time. It is important to use the limiters of the thickness of the lower layer. The plane must coincide with the plane of the supports, while the seams are filled with mortar. Circles can be removed only after 21 days from the date of completion of work.
Brick consumption
If you want to build a brick arch with your own hands, you need to calculate the material. Everything will depend on what height the structure will have. The height of one row is 72 mm, which is equal to the height of the brick and the height of the seam.
If the masonry is in one brick, then to determine the amount of material it is necessary to find out the perimeter of the arch, which is divided by the height of one row. This will allow you to get the number of bricks that you have to purchase.
How to avoid the risk of breakage
Having considered a photo of brick arches, you can choose a design. But for the successful completion of work this is not enough. For example, in order to reduce the risk of breakage, you should choose the correct radius, which is true with a sufficiently large width. A small radius will perceive large loads without distributing them. As a result, cracks can form, but the array will not collapse.
To create a template, you should use corners or steel bases. They are additionally fixed, but often this leads to adverse consequences. This is due to the fact that when using a wooden template after its dismantling, the masonry is compacted and shrinks. But when using a metal base, the masonry does not sag.
The risk of breakage increases if the template will be stored in the structure for a long time after its creation. For example, if the template is left in it for the night. During this time, the wood absorbs moisture and swells, and the masonry does not withstand stress. To eliminate unpleasant situations, the arch is covered with polyethylene.
Brick finish
Brick finishing of the arch is carried out after smoothing roughnesses with sandpaper. Treated areas must be primed and coated with putty. Then an adhesive solution is prepared, which has a cement-sand base. You can also use liquid nails to lay decorative bricks .
Work is carried out from the bottom up, it is necessary to follow from the corner of the wall opening. A distance of 5 mm is maintained between the bricks. The edges are polished with a file. As soon as the solution dries, you can make seams. To do this, grout the desired color. She is filled with a construction syringe. You can use a rubber spatula. The grout is rubbed into the seams, but the composition should not get on the front of the stone.
Finally
Before you begin to build brickwork, you must create a supporting structure. A 10 mm chipboard is suitable for this. The circle is cut out according to the template, while preliminary calculations should be used. If the design should turn out to be more stable and durable, the chipboard can be replaced by a frame made of reinforcement.