Brickwork for a long time was the main method of building walls. Currently, due to the advent of concrete structures, bricks are used mainly for facing works.
In any case, no matter how the brick is used in construction, it must be properly laid. Errors in laying bricks lead to irregularities in the outer part of the wall.
Sometimes this leads only to cosmetic problems, but in more serious cases, even the collapse of individual elements of the masonry structure is possible.
One of the main problems when working with bricks is the wrong laying of corners. This article discusses the most common errors in this process and describes how to avoid them.
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The sequence of actions when laying a corner
The first row of bricks when building a corner
When erecting the first row of bricks, as a rule, no problems arise. The first row is the basis for the entire wall structure, and it is rather problematic to make a mistake when creating it.
First of all, this is due to the fact that there is no alignment of the bricks in the vertical plane, and the correctness of the masonry is checked relatively simply - it is enough just to observe the even laying of the bricks around the perimeter.
The laying of the second row is carried out in the following sequence:
Action #1 Application of the solution
Application of mortar for the second row
The solution is applied to the corner area with a trowel. There is nothing complicated here: the solution is laid in a thin layer; however, it should cover the vertical seam closest to the corner.
Action No. 2 Installation of a corner (clockwork) brick
Corner brick installation
Next, the first brick of the second row is installed on the mortar. It is called clockwork because the second row will align (wind) along it.
The laying check is first carried out in a horizontal plane
After installation, the brick should be leveled with a vertical level.
After that, the brick is checked in a vertical plane
And align with level horizontally.
In case of inaccuracies in the orientation of the brick, it is leveled in each of the checked planes by tapping on it with a trowel
Action #3 Installation of wall bricks
Wrong method of installing wall bricks
After the clockwork brick is installed, the wall bricks should be installed, aligning them with it. The wall brick is placed on the mortar at the end of the corner, and it is at this stage that the first common mistake occurs. It consists in the fact that a solution is applied to the end of the first wall brick.
The error at first glance seems insignificant. Indeed, this method of laying seems logical and correct, since it significantly speeds up the laying process. But it is in this solution, applied to the end of the wall brick, that the main problem lies.
Striking with a trowel on the end of a wall brick displaces the corner brick
It consists in the fact that when leveling the wall brick, due to its mechanical contact with the corner brick through the mortar, the corner brick is shifted beyond the line of the first row.
Similar actions on the other side also move the corner brick, but in a perpendicular direction
All this leads to that the corner brick is displaced beyond the line of the first row in two directions, and this becomes noticeable already even on the first row.
Checking the level shows the "falling out" of the corner out
Aligning the corner brick back is very difficult, and in most cases impossible, since the mortar in the seams and at the bottom of the brick has already hardened and its movement will be difficult. And with each successive row, the situation will only worsen: the vertical seams near the corner brick will become larger and larger from row to row, and the whole structure will “fall” outward more strongly.
Installation of wall bricks without applying mortar to the end
It would be more correct to do otherwise: by installing a corner brick, put the first wall without smearing the end with a solution.
Applying the mortar to the opposite end of the wall brick
In this case, the remaining wall bricks (not having contact with the corner) may have a solution at the end. This can be done absolutely safely, because when leveling the wall bricks, they will not shift the corner.
The other wall is installed in the same way - the brick closest to the corner is installed without end mortar, the rest with end mortar
Action number 4 Sealing empty seams
Filling joints with mortar
When all the bricks of the second row are set, vertical seams near the corner brick are driven with mortar.
Driving is carried out using a trowel deployed perpendicularly. In this case, the mortar will not displace the corner brick in any way, that is, the masonry angle will remain even.
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Aligning a row to one side of a level
Ideal building levels does not exist. Even expensive levels have small errors, reaching 2-3 mm per 3 m of length. With a high wall height, irregularities will be quite clearly visible. To avoid this, a very simple but effective technique is used - they use not one side of the level to level the brick, but both sides in turn.
Indeed, since at the factory production of the level, its opposite sides are almost parallel, then turning the level in some plane by 180° will change the level error to the opposite.
That is, if the level gave an error of 1 mm per 1 m, say, to the outer side of the masonry, then the level, inverted by 180 °, will already give an error of the same 1 mm per 1 m, but to the inner side of the masonry.
Aligning the next row on an inverted level
If, at the same time, 3 rows are laid, aligning them with one side of the level, and the next 3 rows with the other side, then the total error, although it will not disappear completely, will decrease by half. The ideal option is to change the side of the level after each row.
VIDEO: Masonry brick corner. Mistakes and their solutions
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