How to correctly lay facing bricks under jointing

For any builder or homeowner hoping to create a stunning and long-lasting exterior, knowing how to lay facing bricks under jointing is essential. Whether you’re working on a house facade, a garden wall, or any other project, knowing the right methods will guarantee a polished finish that lasts.

Getting the appropriate supplies and equipment together is the first step in this process. Superior facing bricks, mortar, a spirit level, a trowel, and a jointing tool are required. In order to support the weight of the bricks and stop any future shifting or settling, a strong foundation must be prepared.

Keep your consistency throughout the brick-laying process. Evenly spread the mortar, carefully place each brick, and make sure it’s straight and level by using a spirit level. You’ll avoid future problems if you take your time with each brick. Recall that the mortar should be just thick enough to keep the bricks in place without causing too much seepage.

After laying a few rows, you should concentrate on the jointing. This step gives your wall a clean, polished look in addition to securing the bricks. To achieve a uniform appearance, use a jointing tool to smooth the mortar between the bricks. In addition to extending the wall’s lifespan, proper jointing helps to seal it against moisture and the elements.

Your greatest friends in this project will be perseverance and meticulousness. Your property’s beauty and value can be enhanced with a stunning outcome that you can achieve with meticulous planning and execution. You’ll get the admiration of people who see your work and the satisfaction of a job well done if you can lay facing bricks under jointing.

It takes precise planning and execution to lay facing bricks under jointing for a long-lasting and beautiful finish. Start by making an excellent choice of mortar and bricks. In order to maintain a straight row, start at the corners and make sure they are perfectly aligned and level before filling in the remaining space using a string line. Evenly apply the mortar, making sure that every brick is spaced uniformly apart. To create a clean, polished appearance, use a jointing tool to smooth the joints after the mortar has slightly set. In addition to improving a building’s aesthetic appeal, properly placed facing bricks support the structural integrity of the structure.

BRIEFLY ABOUT THE CHOICE OF MATERIAL

Currently available from manufacturers are four different types of facing bricks (listed in price order):

• silicate – white and colored;
• ceramic;
• hyper-pressed;
• clinker.Note. The last 3 types of material are sold in several colors – traditional red, yellow, brown, black and various shades of gray. Strength and durability do not depend on color.

Bricks used for decorative facades are typically hollow, with a smooth or embossed front surface that mimics broken or unaltered stone. Solid building materials are also available, though they will cost more.

A single brick’s standard dimensions are 25 x 12 x 6.5 cm, but there are alternative sizes available for purchase:

• one and a half 250 x 120 x 88 mm;
• “euro” clinker 240 x 115 x 71 mm;
• bars 125 x 120 x 65 mm.

In order to select the appropriate stone for facade cladding, novice builders ought to consider the subsequent advice:

1. Study the characteristics of the types of brick you like and select the best building material for frost resistance.
2. See how much volume the voids occupy. Try to choose a more solid stone with fewer internal cavities. The front wall – the stretcher – should not be too thin.
3. Inexpensive types of bricks are often made with a slight curvature – wider in the middle of the stretcher than at the edges. It is difficult for a beginner to lay such material.
4. Calculate the amount of building material for laying the front wall around the house and add a reserve of 15-20%.

The table indicates how many bricks are required for a cubic and square meter of masonry.

TOOLS AND DEVICES

If you choose to do the work yourself, where do you begin with the facing bricks? Initially, you must get ready or rent tools and equipment for construction:

• mechanical mortar mixer;
• grinder, circles for concrete and stone;
• drill;
• trough for mortar;
• trowel (trowel);
• plastic buckets;
• hammer;
• mooring line or fishing line with pegs;
• water and building level, plumb line, tape measure, square;
• square rod measuring 8-10 mm (depending on the thickness of the seam);
• thick gloves.Note. A square rod is used to form uniformly sized seams. Homeowners who are taking on brickwork for jointing for the first time are recommended to purchase a special template shown in the photo.

For brick cutting, you will need a grinder; you will need practice before you can properly chop stone with a pick. Get ready to attach the cladding to the building’s load-bearing wall with drive-in anchors and metal perforated strips (used for installing gypsum boards). Scaffolding will also be required, as laying the upper rows from a stepladder will be extremely time-consuming.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COVERING MASONRY

Facing masonry comes in a variety of styles, including bonded, Gothic, "American," and more. It is advised that novices begin with the easiest option, which is the spoon method with dressing for an 8–10 mm joint. The thickness of the wall and the distance the stones are moved in neighboring rows—one-half brick.

In contrast to rough masonry for finishing, the facing wall is subject to more restrictions:

• each brick turns with a beautiful edge outward, the spoon with a defect turns inward of the wall;
• high-quality masonry should not contain halves, only solid bricks;
• the front faces must not be stained with the solution or quickly cleaned;
• the connection with the supporting structure is made at intervals of 4-5 rows;
• the opening between the old wall and the cladding is not covered with mortar – an air gap remains or insulation is laid.Advice. Beginner builders should not take on complex things – laying bay windows, arched vaults over windows or protruding corners of a building made of semicircular stones. If such a need arises, entrust the construction of these elements to an experienced master mason.

PREPARATION OF SOLUTION

Using a concrete mixer, a basic 1:4 cement-sand mortar is prepared before the external brick cladding is installed. Remember to add a plasticizer, or detergent (liquid soap) in severe situations.

How to mix the solution in order:

1. Pour 0.5-0.7 buckets of water into the mortar mixer bowl and turn on the unit. The task is to wet the walls and avoid sticking of the mixture.
2. Add 50-70 grams of plasticizer (follow the instructions on the package) and turn on the mixer.
3. Pour 2 buckets of sifted sand into the “pear”. When it is mixed with water, add 1 bucket of M400 cement.
4. Stir until the solution begins to fall off the sides of the stirrer. Pour in 2 buckets of sand and add water little by little until you get a thick, plastic mixture. Recommendation. Do not use hard water from a well or borehole for mixing. After drying, efflorescence will appear on the front wall – it is quite difficult to remove them.

Once the solution has been emptied into the container, use a trowel to wipe out the interior of the bowl and then quickly add fresh water and plasticizer. To prevent the finished solution from setting, it needs to be mixed in a trough if the masonry process slows down. To learn how to make a superior masonry mixture, view this master mason’s video:

STARTING WORK – LAYING OUT THE FIRST ROW

Beside the main foundation, on the outer portion, is constructed the facing wall. Cleaning the base’s surface, applying a roofing material waterproofing layer, and using measuring tools to confirm the horizontality are all necessary. Masonry mortar will have to be used to adjust for the different corner heights.

First, the bricks are laid out on a dry basis over the whole base, paying attention to the thickness of the vertical joints. Installing a mooring line, counting the stones, and laying out a row of solid stones are the tasks at hand.

When the final brick in a row does not fit perfectly, what should be done?

1. If the remaining opening is small (half a brick or less), spread the width of the gap by the total number of seams in the row. Suppose you initially planned the thickness of the vertical jointing to be 8 mm, after recalculation it will be 8.5 mm.
2. Try joining the corner bricks differently by pushing the stone of the next wall forward.
3. If the width of the remaining gap is more than 10 cm, it will not be possible to distribute it along the seams – the difference between vertical and horizontal jointing will become noticeable. You need to subtract the size of the opening from the length of the brick (25 cm), and divide the excess by 5. Then shorten the first five stones in the row by the resulting value.Example. After laying out there was a gap of 18 cm. To fit a solid brick, you need to trim the last five stones by (25 – 18) / 5 = 1.4 cm. Such a difference will not be noticeable when looking at the wall.

Once the first row of stones on all walls have been adjusted, mark the corner brick positions on the base with a marker before moving on to the next steps:

1. Stretch a mooring cord around the perimeter of the building, tying it to stakes driven into the ground.
2. To maintain a 90° angle between the cords, hammer in 2 pegs at each corner and pass the fishing line along them in the form of a triangle, as done in the photo. Achieve a triangle aspect ratio of 3: 4: 5 (two legs and a hypotenuse) and get a right angle at the base.
3. Prepare a small batch of solution.
4. Install the first bricks at the corners of the building (on mortar).
5. Using a level, make sure they match horizontally and vertically.
6. Lay out the corners, raising them 4-5 rows. Carefully control the vertical plumb line.

The initial row of facing masonry can be used to join finished corners. Watch the following video to learn how to set and prepare the mooring line correctly:

MASONRY TECHNOLOGY

Proceed to the main process once the preparatory work is finished and the wall corners are positioned. Laying face bricks beneath internal jointing:

1. Install a square rod 1-1.5 m long on the edge of the base. Based on its height, lay a layer of mortar on the bed, smoothing it with a trowel.
2. Removing excess mixture from the side of the air opening, apply it to the poke of the laid brick. Place a short iron rod at the edge to maintain the thickness of the seam and not spread too much.
3. To avoid staining the brick you are laying, scrape off the mortar from both rods with a trowel. Also wipe down the mooring line.
4. Place the stone, pressing it against the previous brick. Seat by tapping with a hammer, guided by the mooring. If the cord clings to the masonry and gets knocked down, pull it 3-4 cm and release it.
5. Repeat the operation, moving the long rod until you complete the row between the corners. Keep the outer edge of the facing stone clean – if the spoon is dirty with mortar, immediately clean or rinse the brick and leave to dry. Get a new one instead.
6. Install perforated stripes on the fifth row. Attach them to the load-bearing wall with anchors in increments of 2 bricks. When installing connections on aerated concrete, use appropriate fasteners designed for porous materials.
7. Check the vertical position with a plumb line every 2-3 rows.
8. Note. Unlike stove masonry, facing stone does not require soaking in a bucket of water. It is important to maintain the evenness of the rows and the cleanliness of the surface. The masonry process is described in detail in the video: Connections to door and window openings are made using neatly cut halves or solid bricks turned at an angle of 90° (if the width of the air gap allows). The opening is covered from above with a steel corner 10 x 10 cm, pre-coated with primer. The width of the supporting part is 12-15 cm on each side, at the back the shelf of the corner is placed flush with the masonry, as shown in the photo.

The width of the seam and the mass of the steel element determine how thick the mortar layer is at the corner. There should be no distortion and the stone row on the wall and corner should be level. Bricks placed on a metal lintel will require their rear edges to be cut off. It is best to secure this row to an already-existing wall.

Use a round-ended rod for internal jointing after the solution has first set, and then use a brush to remove any excess that has been squeezed out. The rod’s diameter can be chosen easily: seam width minus 1-1.5 mm.

Any building project benefits from the stunning and long-lasting finish that facing bricks provide, but their proper installation is essential to their long-lasting beauty. The way your work looks in the end can be greatly affected by how precisely and meticulously you lay these bricks. It is imperative to adhere to proper jointing techniques in order to attain a neat and polished appearance.

Make sure the surface is level and clear of debris before beginning. This gives your bricks a strong foundation. To keep your brick spacing uniform and your rows straight, use a string line. It is possible to avoid gaps and guarantee that the bricks are firmly in place by applying mortar uniformly and in the prescribed quantity.

Using a pointing trowel or other jointing tool, make sure the mortar is pressed firmly into the joints during jointing. By lowering the possibility of water infiltration, this not only strengthens the structure but also enhances the appearance of the brickwork. To ensure a consistent appearance, smooth out the joints and get rid of any extra mortar before it hardens.

As you advance, make sure your work is consistently aligned. Uneven joints and misaligned bricks are common problems that can be avoided by taking your time and being meticulous. Using a brush or sponge to clean the brick surface after the mortar has set can help get rid of any leftover residue and give your project a polished look.

It is possible to lay facing bricks under jointing by paying attention to detail and by following these steps. This method contributes to the overall longevity and durability of the structure in addition to improving its visual appeal. You’ll be able to consistently produce results that are professional with patience and practice.

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