Proper laying of bricks in winter: a technology that must be observed

Sometimes, the construction of the house is delayed so much that the cold comes. Or when you need to build a building right now, rather than wait until summer. But cement at zero temperature ceases to freeze, so how is brick laying in winter at sub-zero temperatures?

Why the solution does not freeze

When it's cold outside, it significantly slows down the congealing of the solution. When the temperature drops to zero, the process stops altogether. The whole mixture becomes divided into sand, cement or other binders. And the partition between them is the water that has become ice. This reaction leads to the fact that the cement is not plastic, because of which the horizontal seams are not completely consolidated.

Than Thawing of Cement May Threaten

When the day is thawing, under the influence of sunlight, the walls begin to settle, because the ice turns again into water. The worst thing is that such winter brickwork shrinks unevenly. As a result, designs lose stability and strength.

In such conditions, when the masonry then freezes, it thaws, it should take 28 days for everything to seize. Then the solution becomes only half strong, from the firmness declared by the manufacturer. And this is the case, if there is still the possibility of thawing, and not when the frosts are round the clock. For these reasons, solutions have been invented that can also, in low-temperature conditions, preserve the strength of the masonry claimed by the manufacturer.

Ways of winter laying

In order for the winter brickwork to be strong, there are several ways to achieve this:

• Antifreeze components are added to the solution;
• Electric heating;
• Create a telly.

Professional bricklayers apply masonry bricks in the winter, however, it must be planned initially in the project. Then everything is thoroughly calculated so that the process is controlled and gives the best results. The bricks are laid on the heated solution. And until he had time to freeze, he is gaining strength. After that everything freezes, and thawing, hardens again and so on. These processes calculate and predict the final result.

Types of mixtures that are used in winter

Technological brick laying in winter provides a solution:

• Cement;
• Lime-cement;
• Clay-cement;
• Also apply a solution, where the base is a lime.

Based on weather conditions, the brand of solution is determined. If you do not take into account the climatic temperature, then take a mixture that is two orders of magnitude higher than that calculated for use in the summer.

Temperatures and mix selection

If on the street -3 and a little lower, use a summer mixture. When the temperature is -4 to -20 ° C, in this case the mark is increased by two points. For example, replacing No. 10 with No. 25. If the frost is even stronger, then increase by two more steps.

To brick laying in the winter was successful, bricklayers are delivered a warm solution, using special containers. They are able to maintain the required temperature of the solution.

If the solution is frozen

If the wind outside, then warm the mixture should be five degrees stronger. The mason has 25 minutes until the solution is frozen. If all the ice has appeared in it, you can not add boiling water in any case. This will create pores in which, moreover, the water will freeze, this will significantly worsen the quality of the masonry. It is necessary to send the frozen mixture back to warm-up, and for work to take a warm one. For convenience, the required quantity of the solution is unloaded into the insulated container, and scooping out of it, do the work. Only by observing these rules, it can turn out the correct laying of bricks in the cold season.

Features of winter masonry

The peculiarity of winter laying is that you need to do everything very quickly, putting a solution on the bed, you should immediately cover it with a brick, so continuing throughout the series. The growth rate of the wall upwards is also very important, because for a more solid construction it is necessary that the upper layers press on the lower. Only so tightly compressed seams and frozen in this position, will give the necessary stability to the walls.

Despite the fact that the masonry is in winter, the thickness of the joints should not be wider than the summer. If the solution volume in the joints is exceeded, this can lead to severe shrinkage after thawing. This is very undesirable and can even lead to collapse. Therefore, it is necessary to observe these norms of brick laying in winter. Even during breaks, it is necessary to cover the buildings with tarley, cloth, polyethylene, in general, to keep heat as long as possible. After a solution when hardening, it also releases its own heat, there is not much of it, but it will also help to solidify. Also, you need to make sure that all the seams are filled and there are no voids in them. After all, they can lead to uneven shrinkage, sagging or even crushing the entire structure.

Walls, ceilings and beams

When walls or pillars are erected, it is necessary to make the laying of the entire building, as a boundary, a seam that is sedimentary can protrude. The height of the structure in such conditions should not be more than 4 m. When the masonry is ready, immediately it is necessary to put the slabs on it. All the beams, as well as the runs that rest on the walls, must be connected with metal anchors. Thus, the whole construction can withstand the weight of the plates, pressing from above. Running fastens twisting, or if they are wooden, then with the help of linings. Only the correct brick laying and competent fastening will give a positive end result.

The foundation for the foundation is laid out, protecting everything from freezing, both during and after work. This is necessary in order that the foundation during thawing does not begin to precipitate rapidly, thereby subjecting the masonry to deformations that can lead to collapse. In winter on the socle lay a roofing felt, ruberoid, or polyethylene, directly on the leveled concrete bed. They are placed in three layers and can be more, most importantly, to contain the effect of frost.

Controlled shrinkage

Doing laying in winter, use reinforced concrete lintels, and if the spans are not more than 1.5 m, then you can use ordinary jumpers to the suspended formwork. This is a daily practice. Also, the norms of brick laying provide for the support of the formwork on the posts that are installed on the wedges, and when the thaw comes, they are weakened. Thus, allowing the entire design to evenly settle. All racks and jumpers are installed in the central parts of the walls, you can not allow their displacement. After everything thawed, the formwork was removed only 15 days later.

Winter masonry is also different in that the height of window and door openings, when they are laid out of bricks, should be 5 mm higher than during similar work in the summer. In any case, the solution is mixed only in heated water.

Welding of seams with electricity

There is also a technology for laying bricks with heating. To do this, lay the wire in the horizontal seams. Its thickness can be 0.3-6 mm, and it is necessary to leave long enough ends so that it can be conveniently connected to a power source. They can be a welding machine. When laying the wire, you need to make sure that there is no voids in the solution, because the warm-up in this case will be slower and may become inefficient.

On heating the mixture itself is only 25%, the rest of the energy is spent on heating the brick and the surrounding air. Therefore, it is worth carefully choosing a device that is capable of delivering the required amount of electricity stably. Such a masonry in a brick, the scheme of which is set out here, is the most technologically advanced, and much more modern than the one where it is necessary to build a telly.

Chemical method

There is also a way to prevent the solution from freezing by applying chemicals. They are added to the solution, and they lower the temperature at which the mixture would freeze. Among such substances, the most effective and widely used are: sodium chloride, calcium nitrite, calcium nitrite in combination with urea and potash.

However, in this way of creating a masonry there is a significant disadvantage, many experts say that it is impossible to use it for building residential houses. After all, where people live, it is unreasonable to use chemicals: they can be poisonous and affect the health of tenants in the future.

It is important to remember, resorting to such a method, that it is impossible to interfere too much with these additives, since the solution can grasp much faster than expected. Optimum enough 1-3% of the total mass of the mixture. To learn in more detail, how much it is concrete to add them, it is possible only by an experimental way.

Here we have examined what brickwork is, how to properly implement it in the cold season, and materials that may be needed. As you can see, even in such a seemingly desperate situation, there are several solutions. They, of course, require practice and some experience to accurately understand how the materials behave.