One of the most common types of budgetary construction of brick walls is well solid masonry. This is a method of building the outer walls of a building, consisting of three layers. When using this method of masonry, there are rules: bricks must be laid to create a longitudinal row, while they are connected by transverse bridges that form wells. The features of this building technology can significantly reduce the consumption of bricks (savings of at least 15%) compared to the usual type of brickwork. Different options for well masonry differ in terms of stability and solidity, depending on the thickness of the outer walls.

Well masonry - brickwork of two walls connected by vertical partitions.

This is the oldest of all bricklaying technologies.

Varieties of well masonry

Manhole masonry options - top view (in mm):
A - well masonry in two bricks; B - well masonry in 2.5 bricks: C - modified well masonry; 1 - brickwork; 2 - thermal insulation; 3 - foam concrete

According to its modifications, the well masonry is divided into many options. It may be, two and a half, modified, lightweight.

In this type of masonry, the layers are connected using vertical diaphragms. The distance between diaphragms should not exceed 1170 mm.

It should be borne in mind that when choosing well masonry, you should not count on the high strength of the wall. Because of this, it is advisable to place horizontal mortar diaphragms at the lower level of the floor slabs two rows lower than the window openings are located.

Such diaphragms can be mounted from a reinforcing mesh inserted into the outer and inner layers of the masonry at the same time. The mesh must be additionally protected with a layer of cement-sand mortar.

Single-row masonry, depending on the technology, is chain, spoon, cross, gothic, English, Dutch and cross. Multi-row dressing gets its name depending on the number of rows used.

Laying rules

The well masonry must be erected from two different walls located at a distance of up to 34 cm from each other. It is necessary that the walls are connected to each other by means of dressing (the thickness of the dressing is the fourth part of the brick).

Well masonry walls: a - masonry of a deaf section of the wall, b - vertical section along the well; c - the angle of the outer walls: 1 - insulation, 2 - transverse walls 3 - longitudinal walls (versts).

Initially, two rows of bricks are laid out in the transverse direction on the waterproofing layer of the foundation (a feature of this type of masonry is that the materials must be laid out very tightly to each other from the first row, without the slightest gaps).

In order to build a corner, it is necessary to start with bonding miles - external and internal.

To connect the well masonry into a single whole, you can use wire bandages.

Longitudinal walls are laid out. For laying out the second row of inner and outer versts, it is also necessary to use the spoon method, while laying out the transverse walls is done by poking. The longitudinal walls are connected with the transverse ones by ligation through one row. Only after the fourth or fifth row of masonry can the well be filled with insulation.

Corner masonry with three-row diaphragms: 1 - insulation; 2 - mortar screed; 3 - section of continuous masonry; 4 - mortar screed; 5 - diaphragms from three rows of masonry.

To increase the strength of the structure, it is advisable to lay out corners with three-row diaphragms. Such walls differ from ordinary ones by solid masonry in the corners. The construction of the corner should begin with laying a pair of three-fours in the outer verst. So, starting from the 1st to the 3rd row, a continuous well masonry is made, which is a single-row dressing system. At the same level as the fourth day, it is necessary to save the place in which the insulation will be laid. In its upper part, you need to make a mortar screed, and, based on it, continue laying the entire corner with diaphragms.

It should be borne in mind that each layer of insulation must be compacted to a thickness of no more than 15 cm. Every 10-50 cm, the filling material must be watered with a solution. This method of laying will avoid the negative impact environment on the insulating layer. This technique will help to significantly increase the strength of a brick wall.

The location of horizontal diaphragms at the level of the location of a number of window openings and dressings will help increase the strength of the masonry.

In winter and autumn, the level of relative humidity of the brick wall noticeably increases, which reduces the thermal resistance of the material itself. In this case, the construction method of the building does not play any role. So, when constructing a well masonry made of bricks, it is imperative to follow the rules - to provide for the presence of a ventilation gap between and the heat-insulating layer (the thickness of the heat-insulation must exceed 10 mm). Thanks to this gap, in the autumn-winter period, active drying of the building materials from which the walls were built is possible. In the lower and upper rows of brick masonry, it is necessary to build vertical seams, which will later become the basis for organizing the movement of air masses in the ventilation gap.

Thermal insulation boards can be attached to load-bearing walls using expansion plugs and mounting adhesive. In order to increase adhesion, each of the wall surfaces can be treated with a primer before fixing the insulation.

The final step in creating a well brickwork is fixing the roll insulation and aging.

Features of well masonry

One of the features when facing walls with bricks in a well masonry is its long cooling and unhurried warming up, which can be expressed in slight fluctuations in the average daily temperature.

Seam dressing systems are ways of arranging bricks in a masonry, ensuring the integrity of its array.

Upon completion of installation work, the bricks must be applied to each other as tightly as possible. For example, a metal mesh is suitable as a reinforcing coating.

Bandaging seams are used to give the brick wall properties such as strength and solidity. This concept refers to the order and form of laying bricks on top of each other. There are dressings of vertical seams, transverse and longitudinal.

In order to prevent delamination of the wall in the vertical direction, ligation of longitudinal seams is used. They help to rationally distribute the load over the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe wall and brick. The transverse seams in adjacent rows of dressing should be shifted from each other by one quarter of the size of the brick, the longitudinal ones, in turn, should be superimposed on half a brick. So, the bricks of the bottom row will overlap with vertical bricks.

Laying out the last layer of bricks, it is necessary to additionally install the bars, which will perform the supporting function for the lower runs of the roof rafters and floor beams.

For more effective thermal insulation, it is advisable to wrap stone wool in plastic wrap. Mineral wool slabs designed to be best fixed with asbestos-cement fasteners or plastic staples.

Slag, expanded clay, cement mortar, with the addition of reeds, sawdust or chopped straw, or various other materials can act as a heater.

The outer wall of brick at the point of contact with the inner and at the corners in buildings with several floors must be reinforced.

It should be borne in mind that in construction there are restrictions on the number of bandaging of spoon and bond rows in the masonry, depending on how thick the brick is. So, if the wall is built from a single brick, it is necessary to have one row of bonders for six rows of brickwork. One row less is constructed when a thickened brick is used.

Between the brick walls, the middle layer must be filled with insulation. It is desirable that this be a material that is resistant to biological corrosion (for example, it can be sawdust, slag or expanded clay). It is widely used in the construction of well masonry bulk insulation or molding.

Over time, wall insulation can shrink, which will reduce the thermal resistance of a row of well masonry. Thermal insulation can also be reduced by the so-called cold bridges - flexible metal bonds. This suggests that most materials must be selected long before the start of construction.

It is worth noting that many brick manufacturers, in order to reduce the thermal conductivity, can significantly increase the voidness of building materials by producing slotted bricks. So, in brickwork, all voids are closed and the air enclosed in them begins to work as a highly efficient heat insulator. It should be borne in mind that the percentage of voidness of a brick has its own limits. So, with an increase in voidage by more than 50%, the capital value of the structure is significantly reduced.

Advantages and disadvantages

One of the main advantages of brickwork is the ability to comply with the basic norms of SNiP in terms of heat loss, despite the fact that the wall is single-row (chain masonry) and its thickness is 64 cm.

Masonry tools: a - trowel, b - mortar shovel, c - jointing for convex and concave seams, d - pickaxe hammer, d - mop.

Using well masonry technology (another name is English), you can significantly reduce the load on the foundation, respectively, the cost of it is also reduced.

The disadvantages of this type include the likelihood of increased infiltration of air masses through air cavities. In order to prevent this phenomenon, it is necessary to additionally plaster the walls made using the technique of well masonry. Bandages are used to strengthen the structure.

Another disadvantage is the heterogeneous structure of the wall, as a result of which its capitalization also decreases.

List of tools

The most common tools in the construction of brick well masonry are a trowel (another name for a trowel), jointing and a pickaxe hammer. The trowel is a steel spatula with a wooden handle. It is used to level the mortar on the surface of the brick, cut off the excess mortar and distribute it along the vertical seams of the brickwork.

In order to control the quality of masonry, the following tools are used:

• mooring cord;
• plumb;
• level;
• rule (long and smooth rail made of wood);
• ordering.

Control and measuring instruments: a - plumb, b - tape measure, c - folding
meter, g - square, d - building level, e - duralumin rule.

A plumb line is the tool with which you can determine the level of horizontal masonry. The rule controls the level of the front surface of the masonry and dressing. In order to measure the straightness and horizontality of a row of brickwork, a mooring cord is used. Ordering is a pair of wooden or metal slats with serifs applied at regular intervals (77 mm - the dimensions of an ordinary single brick with a seam). Use it to mark rows of brickwork or determine the dimensions of openings. The order can be fixed using special holders made of steel or brackets equipped with a transverse bar.

In the case when it becomes necessary to cut a solid brick, use a pickaxe. For stitching use the same name tools.

Types of bricks used

The most widely used clay brick red. Not inferior to him in properties and silicate white. The only condition is that it cannot be used when laying fireplaces, stoves and foundations. For the purpose of wall cladding, a special yellow facing brick is widely used.

Brick sides: bottom and top bed, spoon, poke.

According to their structure, bricks differ in hollow and full-bodied. Hollow brick has through holes of round or rectangular shape. It is worth noting that this has good thermal performance. To give the material an aesthetic appearance, aging can be performed.

The builder environment has its own terminology for classifying brick surfaces. So, the wide side is called the bed (depending on the location - the lower and upper), the lateral long side is called the spoons (and, accordingly, the row that fits the long side to the wall is called the spoon), the short side is called the poke (the row laid across walls, called tychkovy).

The masonry also has its own specific name. So, the outer rows are called a verst, the inner rows are called zabutka. For inner row you can even use chipped and broken bricks, even its halves. In addition to standard brick, ceramic stone can also be used for building walls - it differs from brick in a slightly larger size.

When performing facial masonry, there are certain rules. When laying the front wall, you can use a brick of two colors. So, if you use bricks of different colors for the bonder and spoon rows, you can get a striped wall.

Brick is the most common material for the construction of load-bearing walls. It is successfully used both in multi-storey industrial construction and in private low-rise buildings. The only drawback of a brick is its low thermal insulation qualities. To solve this problem, additional wall insulation is made. Brickwork with insulation inside makes it possible to build a warm house with minimal time and money.

Cons of masonry without insulation

More recently, the issue of thermal insulation of brick buildings was solved in a simple way - by increasing the thickness of the wall. So, for the middle lane, the thickness of the walls was 3-3.5 bricks, and in the northern regions it could reach 1-1.5 m. This is due to the high coefficient of thermal conductivity of the brick, which causes large heat losses.

Such a thickness was a forced measure in the absence of effective and inexpensive heat-insulating materials. Another factor contributing to the use of "thick wall" technology in the Soviet era was the relative cheapness of bricks. This made it possible to simplify the masonry technology by refusing to use heat-insulating materials.

However, recently this approach has become too wasteful from a financial point of view: in addition to the cost of bricks, the cost of arranging reinforced foundations is increasing.

Another problem that can be encountered when laying brickwork without thermal insulation is the displacement of the dew point inside the premises.

In construction, the dew point is the point inside or outside the street walls of a building where the cooled vapor contained in the air begins to condense. The transformation of steam into dew occurs when warm air comes into contact with cold surfaces.

The most preferred option is to find the dew point outside the building, in which case the condensed moisture will simply evaporate under the influence of wind and sun. It is much worse if the dew point is shifted inside the premises. Dampness, which forms on the inner surfaces of the walls, negatively affects the microclimate in the house, becoming a source of high humidity and the cause of fungus and mold.

Not insulated walls in winter frosts are cooled to their entire thickness, as a result, steam condensation occurs on their internal surfaces.

In areas where sub-zero temperatures are set in the cold season, the brick laying technology with insulation is the only acceptable one.

Three-layer masonry

One type of insulated wall is a three-layer brickwork. Its structure looks like this:

1. Inner wall made of bricks, cinder blocks, aerated concrete, etc. Carries out the bearing function for interfloor overlappings and a roof of the building.
2. . The insulation is placed in the internal cavities-wells between the outer and inner walls. Protects the inner wall from freezing during the cold season.
3. Exterior wall with brick cladding. Performs decorative functions, giving the facade additional aesthetics.

On the image:

No. 1 - interior decoration.

No. 2 - the bearing wall of the building.

No. 3 - insulation between brickwork.

No. 4 - ventilation gap between the internal insulation and the facing wall.

No. 5 - external wall with brick lining.

No. 6 - internal reinforcement connecting the inner and outer wall.

Brickwork with insulation inside, like other building technologies, has its pros and cons. Its positive qualities include:

• Smaller masonry volume, which reduces the estimated cost due to savings on the amount of building material.
• Less weight of the building, which makes it possible to use lighter and more inexpensive foundations.
• High thermal insulation performance, allowing you to keep warm in the winter.
• Improved sound insulation. The thermal insulation layer can significantly reduce the noise level, which is especially important if the building is located on a central street with heavy traffic.
• External walls lined with decorative bricks do not need additional decorative finishing.

Among the disadvantages of multilayer walls, you can specify:

• Greater labor intensity associated with insulation, compared with brickwork in 3 - 3.5 bricks.
• Three-layer walls do not allow periodic replacement of insulation, while its service life is always shorter than the service life of brick walls.

The choice of insulation

As a heat-insulating material, a wide range of heaters can be used that meet the recommendations of SNiP.

Firstly, the thermal conductivity of the material must be such as to ensure the protection of the interior at the maximum negative values ​​typical for this region.

You can get acquainted with the heat-insulating performance of the insulation in the instructions from the manufacturer on its packaging or in the tables of technical characteristics of SNiP. By comparing these figures with the winter minimum temperatures, you can calculate the required thickness of the insulation layer.

Secondly, the insulation must have sufficient vapor permeability. Otherwise, moisture will accumulate inside it, which will lead to the loss of thermal insulation qualities.

And, thirdly, the internal insulation must be fire resistant. Due to its incombustibility, it will not only not support combustion, but will also create a fire-retardant layer inside the masonry.

Mineral wool

A large family of heaters based on mineral fibers have excellent heat-saving characteristics. They are made by whipping molten minerals in a centrifuge: glass, basalt, slag, etc. The low level of heat transfer in this case is achieved due to the high porosity of the material - air gaps do not allow cold to penetrate through the mineral wool.

Absolutely not combustible, but very afraid of dampness. When wet, it almost completely loses its heat-saving properties, therefore, when laying it, it is necessary to take care of an effective waterproofing device.

Styrofoam

Foamed - another heat-insulating material often used in three-layer masonry.

It is produced by saturating liquid polystyrene with air, which, after solidification, takes the form of porous round granules. To fill wells in the wall, it can be used in the form of sheets or as bulk material. It is much less afraid of damp than mineral wool, but unlike it, it is combustible, so walls insulated with polystyrene foam should be protected from open fire. Even if the fire does not damage the brickwork, it will burn out and melt the Styrofoam inside it. To replace the insulation, you will have to carry out time-consuming and expensive work to dismantle the facing part of the wall.

Bulk insulation

In private construction, sometimes three-layer masonry is made with backfilling of internal wells with various mineral fillers: slag, expanded clay, etc. This technique is somewhat cheaper and easier than laying a mini-slab or expanded polystyrene sheets, but its effectiveness is much lower. This is due to the lower thermal protection of slag and expanded clay.

The slag is very hygroscopic - it tends to absorb and retain moisture, which can cause an increase in its thermal conductivity and premature destruction of the adjacent layers of brick.

Masonry of three-layer walls

Wall laying with insulation is carried out in several stages.

1. Interior wall masonry. It is produced using the same technologies as the laying of a conventional load-bearing wall made of solid bricks or building blocks. Depending on the minimum winter temperatures, it can be 1 or 1.5 bricks thick.
2. Exterior wall masonry with cladding. It is carried out in such a way that between it and the inner wall there is a gap necessary for laying or filling the insulation - a well. Between themselves, 2 walls can be connected either by ties of anchor bolts and reinforcement, or by brick dressing, carried out at certain intervals.
3. is needed to protect the insulation from moisture, since it is impossible to completely prevent the flow of moisture through the brick.
4. Filling the wells with filling insulation is carried out when the walls reach a height of 0.8 - 1 m. Sheet and roll insulation is attached to the inner wall using dowels-mushrooms with a wide plastic cap, after which it is closed with external facing masonry.

For the construction of a waterproofing layer, it is not recommended to use "deaf" materials, such as roofing material. This will exclude the possibility of free gas exchange between the external environment and the interior of the house. Ventilation products should be left in the outer wall every 0.5 - 1 m - vertical seams between the bricks not filled with mortar.

Three-layer brickwork allows you to solve many problems that arise during the operation of housing in the winter. The process of building such walls is shown in the video below..

Thermal insulation materials in Russia have been used not so long ago, therefore, even a few can boast of a 10-20-year practice of successful wall insulation. At the same time, expanded polystyrenes, mineral wools and polyurethane foams became the most popular on the market. But their popularity is caused, rather, not by the quality of these materials, but by huge marketing budgets. An ordinary consumer does not even think about such problems as:

• wetting of mineral wool, leading to a significant drop in efficiency,


• blocking moisture with extruded polystyrene foam, leading to the appearance of fungi and mold.

But even if we discard these shortcomings, questions of environmental friendliness, durability and fire safety remain.

Unfortunately, environmentally friendly heaters are also not without drawbacks. For example, foam glass or ecowool in manhole masonry can lead to the same problems with the facade as polystyrene. The thing is that the facade material in the layered wall is torn off from the inner warm wall with a heater (heat-insulating material). As a result, in cold weather, the facade material gets wet in the rain and does not have time to dry. And it is the cycles of freezing and thawing that greatly affect the durability, for which the amount of moisture in the material is of great importance. After all, moisture expands when frozen and leads to deformation.

And since the facade material is torn off from the warm wall, then, unlike a homogeneous wall, thermal inertia and heat transmission by the wall no longer help the outer layer not to freeze through. As a result, the facade layer goes through more freeze/thaw cycles, collapsing much faster. Moreover, the number of transitions through 0 degrees can increase by 10 or even more times.

The professionals say this:

S.A. Galunov:
"... Further, what I would like to say is that the Russian climate is very different from the European one. Accordingly, the brick, which is used as a cladding in these structures, is intensively moistened not only due to steam transfer, but also mainly due to external atmospheric influences. And since this brick is not heated by internal heat, it has a number of freeze-thaw cycles, which is actually very difficult to calculate.If we focus on the fact that structures begin to collapse in the 3rd or 5th year, then during the year they pass somewhere on the order of 15-20 freeze-thaw cycles, and quite serious ...

V.G. Gagarin:
“…However, in recent years, at objects built using the technology of layered masonry, collapses of brick cladding fragments of various areas began to occur. According to statistics, over the past five years in Moscow and the Moscow region, more than 420 failures of facade systems of this kind were recorded. In some cases, accidents were caused by errors made at the design stage. Basically, the reasons for the development of destructive processes in the outer part of the masonry were gross violations of the installation technology.
According to the results of a survey conducted as part of the implementation of the city's program for the repair of facades of frame-monolithic residential buildings built using this technology, 36 objects are currently in disrepair. And, apparently, this is not the limit. Experts believe that in the next 5-6 years the number of "problem" houses may increase dramatically. During 2008 alone, 4 cases of brick falling out of the face layer were recorded in the capital.
The increasing practice of failures of wall systems in the form of well masonry cast doubt on the possibility of their further use in mass construction .... "
(http://old.stroi.mos.ru/nauka/d26dr10866m8.html
Articles from scientific publications
Journal "Construction Technologies" №1, 2009 06/22/2009
Layered masonry in frame-monolithic housing construction)

Of course, after reading such opinions, I want to recall the old brick fences and unheated utility rooms in half a brick. Another thing is whether you can still find such a brick.

But the question of whether to use well masonry remains open. But of course this applies only to such walls, in which the thermal resistance of the walls leads to the fact that the temperature on the outer surface drops below zero. Or the surface layer materials must withstand hundreds of freeze/thaw cycles to last long enough.

Of course, you can make the wall homogeneous. And here again we face a dilemma. If it is a solid brick, then sound insulation and thermal inertia will be at a good level. But in order to ensure high-level thermal conductivity, a wall that is too thick and a foundation that is too massive will be required. You can make a wall of foam concrete, aerated concrete, gas silicate thinner, but each of these materials has its own drawbacks.

What material would you like to build a house from?

If you live in a private house or country house, there is a need to obtain water for cooking and other needs. The easiest way is brick wells. Their construction will ensure the constant availability of clean water, for which you do not have to pay.

Concrete rings or bricks

• More simple and profitable way well construction is the construction of walls of reinforced concrete rings. If desired, you can even do all the work yourself, despite their heavy weight, using levers.
• Another advantage in favor of reinforced concrete rings is the high speed of construction, there is no need to wait for the solution to solidify.
• Brick wells are well suited for areas with a high level of groundwater, up to 4 meters deep. Its price will be higher than concrete rings, but the brick will be easier to deliver and lay alone, without hired workers.

Note! When erecting brickwork, it is necessary to protect the area around the well from the effects of precipitation. Long rains can provoke a collapse of the soil in an unfinished pit.

Preparatory work

If you decide to dig a well with your own hands, then before that you need to reconnoiter the soil in order to determine the presence and depth of groundwater. The video in this article shows how water is searched for at the site using drilling.

Depending on the depth of the water, different types wells. If the depth is significant, then a more correct solution would be to use a tubular well, since its design is more reliable and is mounted faster than usual, but it will not work out on your own. To do this, you need to drill a well and install a pump with a water filter.

If the depth is not very large, then you can dig a hydraulic mine well. To obtain water without a pump, a special frame is installed. It holds the soil, and does not pollute the water, and also removes the influx of water from the upper layers of the soil, which is not suitable for drinking.

Selection and calculation of materials

As a material for walls, you can use not only building bricks, but also stone, but it will be more difficult due to the different sizes of cobblestones. For these works, only clay and cement mortar is used. No other materials, such as double silicate brick M 150, are suitable for a well for two reasons: they quickly collapse at constant humidity.

In order for the well brickwork to be durable, it is necessary to select bricks without cracks and chips. To calculate the number of bricks for construction, use the formula to determine the area: 2Pi*R*h, where Pi = 3.14, R- radius, h- the depth of the pit. For example, the calculation of the area for a well 3 m deep with a radius of 0.5 m will look like this:

2* 3.14 * 0.5 * 3 = 9.42 m2

General construction technology

Brick wells are of two types: round and rectangular (square). Before laying, you need to make markings along the radius or extreme points. The width of the pit should be a few centimeters wider than the masonry.

Before laying, you need to make a foundation of concrete, its height depends on the depth and the presence of groundwater.

Round walls are laid out with bonded masonry so that small edges form a round surface inside. At the bottom there should be a working chamber, with a larger radius than the mouth of a brick well. For its formation, you need to shift each new row 1.5-3 centimeters. Thus, the expansion of the well below will be due to the overlap on the walls. For square wells, you need to make laps only on three sides, and the fourth side will be flat for mounting the stairs.

The ladder is made from U-shaped metal pipes (brackets), which are installed during laying in the wall.

For masonry reliability, you need to shift adjacent rows by ¼. In addition, it is reinforced and plastered. Do not spare the mortar at the seams, especially outside. For additional protection of the brick from moisture and greater durability, it can be treated with penetrating waterproofing.

Note! When digging deep holes, you need to pay special attention to strengthening the walls. The deeper you dig, the greater the chance of the ground collapsing. To avoid this, it is recommended to strengthen the soil every 1 meter with temporary wooden rings.

Even the smallest brick well masonry requires at least one helper. One person works with masonry - the second delivers bricks, makes mortar.

Masonry from below

If the well is more than 5 meters deep, then laying is usually done from below.

• To do this, markings are made at the bottom of the pit with pegs and the wall thickness is determined. Usually it is 1 or 1.5 bricks. Too thin walls can collapse due to ground movement, and the masonry will collapse.

• For safe work you need to make 3 round frames: 1 main reinforced concrete and 2 additional ones made of wood. The thickness of the main frame should be 5-10 centimeters more than the masonry, and the additional ones should be with the same diameter relative to the masonry. Holes for fittings are made in the main frame along the entire diameter. Metal rods are inserted into them, which will strengthen the walls. Additional frames are put on top of the reinforcement and screwed with nuts (see photo above). As the walls are laid, they will rise, and eventually completely removed.

• Water is pumped out from the bottom and laying begins along the reinforcing cage. The most important thing here is to maintain the evenness of the walls, this is especially difficult to do in high structures. To do this, you can make a round template for verification before starting work.
• In this case, one must not forget to shift each new row relative to the previous one so that the seams do not intersect. The seams are sealed with cement-crushed stone mortar. At the end, the walls are plastered from the inside.

Masonry from above

Masonry from above is more difficult for beginners, and here you can not do without the help of an experienced bricklayer. This method is used for both small and deep wells, when built using monolithic technology.

• The principle of the technology is to lower the masonry on a pre-prepared reinforced concrete base. It has a metal frame (the so-called reinforcing knife).
• Unlike masonry from below, reinforcement is immediately cemented into the concrete base, and not installed in drilled holes.
• When the foundation is ready, laying is done using the technology of a monolithic well. At the same time, plastering from the outside occurs immediately. Gradually, the walls go down, by removing the soil under them.

Today, such a method as brickwork with insulation is known. However, the history of brick has more than one millennium. The ruins of brick buildings of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia still amaze the imagination with their grandeur, grandeur, and mastery of execution.

It can be assumed with a high degree of certainty that fired brick appeared when a person learned how to make fired dishes.

Until the middle of the 19th century, the production remained artisanal, completely manual, without any mechanisms and devices. When brick factories appeared, brick became one of the main building materials.

Well brickwork and some features

Brick houses have been built for centuries. Until recently, masonry walls were made in 3-3.5 bricks. In some areas with a particularly harsh climate, the thickness of the walls was brought up to a meter, and bricklaying turned into a very laborious and expensive process. A brickwork house with walls 750 mm thick (3 bricks) on a strong foundation, and even requiring exterior finishing, is a very expensive pleasure, not everyone can afford it.

Masonry with insulation is an innovative technology that has significantly reduced the consumption of bricks, cement, and reduced the load on the foundation, that is, here the costs have decreased.

Now the brick walls serve as a frame that provides the necessary strength to the structure. There is no need to make reinforced brickwork - insulation will provide thermal insulation.

The well masonry of brick walls is two parallel walls, rigidly connected to each other and based on one foundation. In this case, the inner wall is load-bearing, and the outer wall is finishing. Therefore, for the load-bearing wall, as a rule, red hollow brick is used, and for the outer wall, facing ceramic or clinker bricks are used. The laying begins in the same way, the usual solid brick from the outer corners.

On the inner sides of the well masonry, longitudinal walls at a distance of 15-50 cm from one another and transverse walls at a distance of 60-120 cm. The minimum possible well is 15x60 cm.

Main points and nuances

Well masonry has many options. Lightweight option - the transverse walls are laid in 1-3 rows. The wall thickness in this case is made in half a brick. The following options - the thickness of the inner walls increases and the transverse walls (dressings) are arranged more often. The fastening of the walls of the well masonry is carried out using flexible reinforcing joints made of durable steel or plastics. And the toughest option - the dressing is made of lightweight concrete, and on the inside of the frame walls, a part of the brick is released with a console in a checkerboard pattern in 2-3 rows.

Insulation is placed in each well at the end of its distillation. The fastening of the insulation for each type is selected in accordance with the project.

The main advantages of well luggage are:

1. Significantly lower overall wall thickness and, accordingly, weight.
2. Additional decorative cladding is not required, since the facing brick of the outer wall is already quite decorative.
3. Wall laying can be done regardless of the time of year.
4. Absolute fire resistance design.
5. Inhomogeneous thermal conductivity of materials.

The disadvantages include the complexity of installation work and a large amount of covert operations. The main thing is that it is impossible to control the condition of the insulation and, as a result, to repair it.

Sometimes, instead of heaters, air gaps are left in the well masonry of the walls. The width of such a gap should not exceed 6-7 cm. The effectiveness of this method of insulation is much lower, but in some cases it is advisable.

Wall insulation: characteristics

It is necessary to select a heater taking into account, firstly, its thermal conductivity: the higher the thermal conductivity, the better the insulation. Secondly, vapor permeability. With a temperature difference, steam penetrates through the load-bearing wall, insulation and facing wall into the street.

Each subsequent stage must have a higher vapor permeability than the previous one, otherwise the steam will linger in the insulation and condensate will form inside the structure, which will reduce the thermal insulation properties of the insulation by an order of magnitude, which cannot be repaired. Glass wool, mineral or basalt wool insulation has a higher vapor permeability than brick, and they are ideal for their functions. Styrofoam insulation is much higher and cannot be used to insulate brick walls.

Thirdly, the insulation must be moisture resistant, because it is impossible to completely eliminate the ingress of moisture. Therefore, when laying walls, it is necessary to provide outlet pipes.

Built into the walls in such a way as not to create cold bridges, they will quite cope with the removal of steam from the system.

And lastly, the insulation must be non-combustible. Insulation made of glass wool and all mineral wool fully meets this requirement - they not only do not burn, but are also able to protect adjacent elements of the entire structure from fire.

In addition to sheet insulation, there are ready-to-use insulating materials on sale.

These are various brands of heat-insulating slabs made of stone wool of basalt rocks. These plates are produced specifically for the insulation of brick walls and have certain specified parameters and dimensions. Heaters of the Beton Element Butts brand - rigid heat-insulating plates, Caviti Butts - light heat-insulating plates have proven themselves.

In addition to ready-made plate and rolled heat-insulating materials, bulk materials can be used as heaters. It can be lightweight concrete based on sawdust, slag, expanded clay, mineral wool granules. Backfilling of heaters is carried out in stages into each well and carefully compacted. And in order to completely eliminate the shrinkage of the material in the wells, horizontal diaphragms are arranged. They are made from reinforced cement-sand mortars or they simply release bricks inside the walls, in every 2-3 rows.

ostroymaterialah.ru

General information

It has been proven that such masonry (another name is English) allows you to save brick consumption by an average of 15-20%. In addition, the use of well, or well, brick laying in the construction of residential buildings can significantly reduce the thermal conductivity of the walls.

The essence of this design, or rather, construction manipulation, lies in the fact that only the inner and outer parts of the wall are built of bricks to a specific thickness, and the builders lay heat-insulating material in the recess (well) thus formed between them. The filler in this design can be various types of lightweight concrete, expanded clay, sawdust or slag, insulated polystyrene foam boards or mineral wool.

In order to achieve the required strength of the masonry, builders connect parallel partitions, as a rule, with transverse bridges or diaphragms. Make them half a brick wide at a distance of up to 4 bricks from each other. Moreover, every 5-6 rows, the masonry of the vertical lintel is reinforced. At the lowest floor level under the window diaphragms (for 2 rows), it is necessary to arrange horizontal stiffeners from the same reinforcing mesh, wound into the outer and inner surfaces of the walls, and protect all this with a layer of cement concrete mortar.

Sometimes transverse jumpers are made of reinforcement rods with a diameter of 5-10 mm with bent ends. This manipulation allows you to prevent the appearance of cold bridges inside the well masonry, which, in turn, can significantly reduce the thermal insulation efficiency.

Pros and cons of well masonry

Like any building structure, well brickwork has its pros and cons. Therefore, when choosing a method for installing a brick structure, you should carefully weigh everything and choose your own building technique for a particular case.

The positive aspects of well masonry include:

1. Reducing the load on the foundation of housing, i.e. when erecting such masonry, the total mass of the building is significantly reduced.
2. A noticeable reduction in the total cost of construction and savings in building materials (including bricks).
3. Increasing the speed of installation of a brick structure.
4. The possibility of installing a building with an acceptable size of the main walls with their full compliance with SNiP, that is, it is possible to build brick walls of a smaller thickness while maintaining thermal conductivity or even reducing them. Permissible heat loss parameters are provided with a wall thickness of not more than 65 cm.
5. Possibility not to insulate partitions.

The negative sides of the well masonry include:

1. Heterogeneity of the structure, due to which its capital value decreases, that is, the strength of the building.
2. The probability of increasing the infiltration of air masses through air cavities. In other words, an extremely vulnerable installation in terms of the formation of condensate on the walls of the building, especially during the cold season.
3. Instability to temperature extremes, which can lead to a rapid breakdown of the insulation.
4. Difficulty in diagnosing the state of the insulation during operation.

You can eliminate or reduce the shortcomings of such masonry by observing the following rules:

1. Competently calculate and arrange both horizontal and vertical apertures.
2. Arrange a vapor barrier inside the "well", because. the insulation laid in it can absorb condensate, and also leave a filter-ventilation gap of at least 10 mm, or use a heater that will not be afraid of condensate.
3. As a heater, use a material with a high degree of heat resistance.

Technology of installation or arrangement of well masonry

General information on the method of arranging well masonry is as follows:

1. On the waterproofing layer of the base of the building in the transverse direction, it is necessary to lay 2 rows of bricks of the well masonry without gaps tightly to each other.
2. Form 2 separately located walls of the well masonry made of bricks, separated by a distance of 130-140 mm. In this case, the cavity should be exactly the same as needed to fill it with insulation.
3. Every 60-120 cm in the partitions of the building it is necessary to arrange transverse jumpers, preferably with their best location directly under the supports of the floor beams.
4. Apply wire ties to connect the brickwork of adjacent walls into one system.
5. When installing jumpers, the distance between the bricks of the well masonry, which is approximately 25 mm, is recommended to be filled later with bulk insulation. An exception in this case are window and door openings, where the installation of bricks should be carried out "solid".


6. Upon completion of the installation of lightweight masonry in 3 layers, the bricks must be laid again tightly to each other. For the best adhesion of the structure, a reinforcing coating of a metal mesh is made.
7. Bars are mounted on the last layer of brickwork, which will have to perform the functions of supporting the lower runs of the roof rafters and floor beams.
8. The installation of rolled waterproofing finishes the installation on the well masonry.

Backfilling of the walls of the building, as a rule, is carried out after the installation of 5-6 tiers of bricks. This height is sufficient to make the subsequent pouring of the mortar bridge. At the same time, if the well masonry is filled with bulk materials, in order to avoid subsidence, it should be tightly compacted and filled with mortar through each layer of 300-500 mm.

kamedom.ru

Good afternoon.

Consider what are the options for insulating your multi-layer wall. You correctly name the possible types of insulation: polystyrene foam, extruded polystyrene foam (EPS), cotton wool (mineral and fiberglass). All of these heaters can be used. Let me explain what the fundamental difference is. Cotton wool insulation is a vapor-permeable material, while polystyrene and eps are vapor-tight. If there is at least one vapor-permeable layer in the wall, then the vapor permeability of the entire wall is practically zero. Such a layer can be: vapor barrier films, or vapor-tight insulation (EPS, polystyrene), vapor-tight plasters, vapor-tight wallpaper. Therefore, it turns out that when insulating with epps and polystyrene foam, we end up with a vapor-permeable wall (not breathing), and when insulating with cotton insulation, we get a vapor-permeable wall (breathing). How to relate to this "breathing" / "not breathing", what is good and what is bad. Look, if the wall is conceived and executed as "non-breathing", then high-quality forced ventilation is needed in the room. That's the whole difference :-). With "breathing" walls, the room is ventilated naturally, and with "non-breathing" walls, it is forcibly ventilated. With properly selected and installed insulation, it is warm both in "breathing" walls and in "non-breathing" ones. They build it this way and that. Comfortable (if everything is done correctly) in both options.

As to your fears that "cotton wool absorbs moisture". Indeed, a multi-layer wall with cotton wool insulation at different times of the year and even at different times of the day, has time to get wet and dry. The fact is that it is moisture (water) that condenses in the insulation not so much (a few grams), and the wall has time to dry completely. Such a multilayer wall insulated with cotton wool resembles (according to the principle of operation) an ordinary single-layer wall (made of brick, for example). The outer section of the wall gets wet and dries in the same way, even within one day. So it is also possible to insulate a multilayer wall with cotton wool.

Now I will give the required thicknesses of heaters:

• eps- thickness 60mm (30mm+30mm)
• polyfoam - thickness 60mm (30mm+30mm)
• mineral wool - 100mm, density 45-60kgm3, slab positions.

I hope we have answered your question.

Onisko Valeria, editor

www.builderclub.com

What is a well masonry?

This technology assumes that the brickwork of the outer walls is made in a “lightweight” version with the formation of internal “wells” filled with insulation. Thanks to this method, the thermal insulation characteristics of walls, a brick pediment, and internal partitions are significantly increased. A variety of materials are used as heaters - loose (sawdust, slag), slab (polystyrene, mineral wool), "light" varieties of concrete (polystyrene concrete, expanded clay concrete and others). To ensure the required level of strength, parallel walls are fastened together by horizontal and vertical jumpers in brick walls.

The cost-effectiveness of this method has led to its popularity. But, following well technology, it is necessary to take into account some nuances. For example, performing this kind of brickwork in winter conditions, in conditions of high humidity, you may encounter a decrease in the level of thermal insulation of the wall. Therefore, a ventilation gap of at least 10 mm thick must be provided between the thermal insulation layer and the brickwork.

Advantages and disadvantages

The device of masonry walls using the well method has its advantages, including the following:

• a decrease in thermal conductivity during the construction of less thick brick walls;
• no need for additional wall insulation;
• less load on the foundation of the building while reducing the total mass of partitions;
• more economical use of materials, cheaper construction costs;
• reduction of construction time.

However, this technology also has its drawbacks, including:

• a decrease in the degree of structural strength due to the heterogeneity of the wall;
• the risk of condensation inside the insulation material in winter due to the temperature difference outside and inside the room.

To eliminate these risks, it will be necessary to calculate and mount horizontal and vertical diaphragms, as well as cover the internal surfaces of the “wells” with a vapor barrier material.

Varieties of well-type masonry

Existing well types of brickwork differ in the following indicators:

• total wall thickness;
• thickness of external partitions;
• the dimensions of the "wells" (the distance between the walls);
• type of insulation material;
• material and method of mounting diaphragms.

In construction practice, the following standards are known:

• total wall thickness - 33-62 cm (depending on the design, dimensions of the "well" and the thickness of both walls);
• wall thickness options - a quarter of a brick, half a brick (only for spoon rows), a full 1 brick (when combining bonder rows with spoon rows);
• options for the width of the "wells" - half a brick, three quarters of a brick, a whole 1 brick, one and a half bricks.

It should be noted here that most often both the outer and inner walls are laid out in half a brick. Sometimes exceptions to this rule are allowed: for example, the outer wall is built in half a brick, and the inner wall is built in a whole brick.

Execution Technology

The specified installation technology is more complex than the standard version of brickwork. However, it is not so difficult that anyone can master it. The main thing that needs to be ensured in this case is an accurate calculation of the volume of the brick and the selection of jumpers.

1. Well installation begins with the arrangement of the base of the wall. It, in particular, includes 2 solid brick rows. The stones are laid with dressing for horizontal waterproofing of the foundation.
2. After the base is built, two parallel walls begin to be laid out from it, as well as vertical diaphragms (partitions that connect parallel walls). In some cases, instead of diaphragms, special pins made of metal fittings (6-8 mm in diameter) are mounted. At the same time, the corners can be laid out in various configurations - parallel walls of the same thickness, with a thickened outer wall, with continuous laying.
3. After laying 5-6 rows of bricks, the “wells” created in this way are filled with insulating material. If plate insulation (mineral wool, expanded polystyrene) is used, it is fixed with mounting glue (foam), if loose material is used, it must be well tamped.
4. Next comes the turn of horizontal brick diaphragms. Apertures are 1-3 horizontal rows of bricks thick. With a diaphragm one brick thick, a greater degree of thermal insulation is provided, with a thickness of three bricks, the thermal insulation is less, but the degree of strength is higher. To reinforce the brickwork, sometimes a reinforcing metal mesh is laid at the bottom of the horizontal diaphragms. In some cases, vertically arranged brick diaphragms cover the space of the "well" not completely, but only half. At the same time, the strengthening of brick walls suffers somewhat, but the coefficient of thermal insulation increases.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that the brickwork near the openings is continuous. Under the windows, horizontal diaphragms are made at least two bricks thick.

Instead of a conclusion

The technology of brickwork in the form of a well requires the performer to accurately count building materials and scrupulously follow the installation rules. If all the requirements for such masonry are met, the walls of the building will not only be warm, but will also be much cheaper.

tvoygarazh.ru

Well masonry - the disadvantages and advantages of its use in the construction of modern residential buildings

well masonry- This is a three-layer structure in which the wall is laid out from a pair of separate walls with a thickness of no more than half a brick.

These walls are connected to each other by vertical and horizontal brick bridges that form closed wells.

The inner layer is most often made of bricks or blocks, and the outer layer is made of ceramic stone, various types of bricks, silicate, as well as blocks of concrete and expanded clay concrete.

Well masonry: Pros and Cons

Advantages of well masonry:

• Decreased consumption of bricks by about 18% in relation to its continuous laying;
• Relatively small thickness and weight of the floor, which leads both to savings on wall materials and to softening the requirements for the bearing capacity of the foundation;
• Correct calculations eliminate the risk of moisture condensation inside the wall parts;
• It is not important to use "warm" masonry mortars;
• As a constituent material that is used for the front layer of walls, economic ceramic and clinker bricks of the American format are acceptable;
• fire resistance;
• Aesthetic, not requiring separate work and costs, the finished facade of the building.

Cons of well masonry:

• Helps to reduce the strength of the building, violates uniformity.
• Contributes to the formation of condensation on the walls of the dwelling, especially in winter.
• It is extremely unstable to temperature changes and can lead to the rapid destruction of insulation.

As you can see, there are no unambiguous arguments in favor of choosing or not using this material, so you will have to make your own decision, but you already know what to expect from covering with well masonry.

Well masonry - disadvantages that cannot be ignored

Of course, well masonry has a number of advantages, the main of which is efficiency.

But when erecting a large-scale project for a serious customer, before deciding to insulate the building with this particular masonry, you must take into account all the possible risks of its use.

Therefore, we will list the main disadvantages of well masonry so that you understand what you may encounter during construction:

Lightweight well masonry

Lightweight well masonry is made from a pair of walls half a brick wide, between which insulation raw materials are located.

With a frequency of 2-5 rows of masonry, the walls are connected with bonded rows. The thickness of the internal load-bearing walls reaches 25 cm. Partitions are placed in half a brick or a quarter. If the partition has a length of more than 1.5 m, then it is necessary to reinforce the masonry, for example, with steel wire.

The voids formed between the masonry are filled with concrete, thus creating a solid structure that does not contain insulation.

This is ideal for non-residential premises that do not require thermal insulation. Backfilling between the blocks is standard and is carried out in stages as the solution is filled and solidified.

With the help of universal waterproofing, you can achieve the desired concentration of heat inside the structure. This will maximize the insulation of the walls without increasing the mass of the plate. Lightweight masonry can be used in high-rise buildings, it is safe and fairly easy to implement.

Well masonry with insulation

Special attention deserves the issue of the use of heaters in well masonry.

The very idea of ​​using an insulating layer in the middle wall structure originated in the middle of the twentieth century - as a means of warming between brick walls at that time they used different sawdust, moss and peat.

Currently, well masonry with insulation allows the use of almost any type of heat-insulating materials, however, when choosing it, it is necessary to take into account the impossibility of repair and restoration work.

Therefore, the main requirements for insulating materials are called resistance to deformation and humidity. These requirements are fully met, and, as a rule, materials such as glass wool, mineral wool and polystyrene foam are often used.

It is also possible to use expanded clay and sawdust.

Whether to use well masonry in construction

We have voiced all the main characteristics of the use of well masonry in the construction of various buildings, and after studying the disadvantages and advantages, a conclusion is brewing - this material is certainly convenient to use and affordable in price, but the risks are too high and often unforeseen expenses, after detecting inaccuracies in work, outweigh the expected benefits.

dachnoe-delo.ru

Insulation of a stone house: well masonry

Considering modern requirements for thermal insulation of buildings, brick, block and monolithic cottages would have become archaic long ago if there were no normal ways to increase their energy efficiency. Among several options for warming a house created from stone massifs, it is worth highlighting the technology of well masonry, which we will discuss below.

Why a brick house needs thermal insulation

If you pay attention to the publicly available tables of thermal conductivity of building materials, it becomes clear that massive stone walls in terms of resistance to heat transfer are significantly inferior, for example, to wooden ones. Even the use of hollow and cellular blocks does not provide guaranteed protection against loss of precious heat. This is not to mention monoliths or solid bricks, especially in countries with harsh climatic conditions.

In an article devoted to the calculation of the optimal thickness of the insulating layer, we came to the disappointing conclusion that if you build a house of solid brick that would meet the strict modern requirements for saving thermal energy, then the thickness of the walls should reach one and a half to two meters. In general, this was how they acted before, therefore, in the post-Soviet space, old buildings with outer walls about a meter thick and no less monstrous foundations can be seen all the time. There is, of course, another way: not to spend money on thermal insulation and drown in the winter with all the urine, as was customary during the Soviet Union. Now such options can hardly be called reasonable, because in both cases the price of comfort will be simply cosmic.

In fact, the problem is easily solved. All building technologies are now in the "basic configuration" sharpened to save energy. Now the consumer is offered time-tested integrated systems with integrated insulating materials, which, by eliminating heat losses, make it possible to reduce the thickness of enclosing structures, while reducing the load on foundations and on the customer's wallet.

What does "well masonry" mean?

Mineral wool and foamed polymers are usually mounted outside the stone house; sometimes, during reconstruction, heat insulators can be located on the side of the premises. Note that internal insulation is a very risky method to reduce heat losses (due to the critical movement of the “dew point” into the interior of the rooms), it should be resorted to only in the most extreme cases. External wall insulation is more efficient and certainly much more efficient. However, hinged facades or the wet method of “bonded thermal insulation” radically change the appearance of the cottage, so this is not suitable for those who want to see their house dressed in respectable facing bricks. This is where technologies come to the rescue, in which the insulation layer is located in the middle of the wall, behind the brick cladding.

Important! Well, well or hollow, masonry is also called "layered". The main idea of ​​this solution is to create cavities (wells) inside the outer wall, where it will be possible to place heat-insulating material.

If we consider such structures, we can see that they have three functional layers:

1. Main,

2. Warming,

3. Facing.

In fact, this is a stationary analogue of a hinged ventilated facade, only the exterior decoration is made of bricks and rests on the foundation.

The structure and components of the well masonry

Bearing wall

The main layer is usually a wall made of ordinary solid clay bricks. Its thickness is 25, 38 or 51 centimeters, which corresponds to laying one, one and a half or two bricks. This element is part of the supporting frame of the building, since it is on it that the roof and beams / floor slabs rest, it is in it that the concrete lintels of the openings are located.

It is interesting that the basis in the well structure can be not only brickwork. A similar three-layer insulation system is also successfully implemented if the walls are built from other materials, for example, from dense foam concrete, cinder blocks, ceramic hollow blocks, "shell rock" and even monolithic concrete. In principle, nothing prevents warming wooden house from a bar or a log according to the technology of well masonry, that is, to veneer an old log house with bricks and, in addition, to insulate it.

External cladding

This element is made of facing brick, ceramic or silicate. For this, laying is made in half-brick (120 mm thick), which is based on an expanded foundation, so it is, in fact, self-supporting.

Important! The outer brick layer performs a protective and decorative function. Its main applied value is to prevent the insulation from direct contact with the environment.

A house with such a cladding looks like it is completely built of brick, regardless of what materials the load-bearing walls are made of. However, if necessary, the outside of the house can also be plastered, from which the technical characteristics of the structure as a whole will not change.

Heaters

The well wall system has been used in our country for quite a long time, especially in the private sector. Previously, when high-quality insulators were not available to homeowners for a variety of reasons, they used what was at hand. Mostly bulk materials were used, which, after being laid in wells, formed local voids. These were: sawdust, shavings, expanded vermiculite, expanded clay, peat, crushed straw, etc. Even just an empty air gap between the two walls gave a positive result (although it was necessary to be limited to a gap of 5-7 cm). It is clear that it is impossible to realize the full potential of well masonry with such heaters.

With the help of modern heat insulators, it is possible to adequately minimize the heat losses inherent in stone walls. Insulation inside brick layered walls is solved in four main ways:

The thickness of the insulating layer is selected depending on the calculated heat loss through the building envelope, which is determined by the thermal conductivity of the walls and the climatic conditions in which it is operated.

We are talking about different ways to insulate a layered stone wall, since the use of different types of insulating materials has its own nuances here. Let's say that any plates are installed as both walls are erected, backfilling is also carried out in stages, since it should be rammed in layers, and you can blow out the "well" with liquid insulation at the very end through the top or through technological holes. Cotton wool is hygroscopic and requires ventilation and additional protection. While expanded polystyrenes do not let moisture through, they are not filled with it - therefore, they are self-sufficient in all respects, however, they completely destroy the ability of walls to remove water vapor, which necessarily leads to an increase in humidity inside the premises (forced ventilation systems have to be used).

Important! To insulate layered masonry, it is necessary to use “wall” wool in the form of plates, which is not subject to shrinkage and will not slip. A good option is hydrophobized products with a combined density.

ventilation gap

Let's start with the fact that it is not always needed. For example, foam and XPS are attached to the load-bearing wall with glue and mechanical fixation, and the outer cladding is adjacent to them closely. This is done because the steam from the premises does not enter their closed cells, while inside the wall they are not irradiated with ultraviolet radiation, they are not destroyed in any other way. The injected foam insulation after solidification does not leave zones free for air circulation, and this is not necessary for them.

The value of mineral wool lies in its ability to "breathe", in other words, it is permeable to water vapor moving out of the room, which helps to create good humidity conditions in the home and increase the durability of building structures. But in order for fibrous mats to work this way, it is necessary to ensure the possibility of removing these vapors into the atmosphere, because if the insulation remains wet, then its thermal conductivity will immediately increase, and the walls will begin to freeze.

So, if mineral wool is used as an insulating layer, then between it and the outer protective and decorative masonry it is necessary to create a ventilation gap in which air will constantly move. In terms of the size of this gap, the well masonry is similar to hinged ventilated systems - it ranges from 20 to 40 mm, therefore, a margin of distance is laid between the bearing wall and the cladding. For example, if calculations show that it is necessary to use wool 100 mm thick to insulate a house, then the walls of the “well” are bred by 12-14 centimeters.

Important! If for some reason it is not possible to fulfill the ventilation gap (suppose, due to the insufficient width of the foundation), then it is better to abandon the use of mineral wool and not arrange film vapor barrier for fibrous materials, but give preference to expanded polystyrene.

Products

This structural element of the well masonry is necessary for the operation of the ventilation gap. Obviously, if you make a gap, but close it on all sides with a continuous facing masonry, then there can be no question of any ventilation of the wool. In fact, an additional air layer will be obtained, and the fibrous material will gradually be moistened.

Often, homeowners have a question about how to organize the access of street air to the construction of a brick multi-layer wall. First of all, you need to make sure that the air masses can not only enter the wall, but also exit it. A constant convective movement of flows “from bottom to top” must be organized - therefore, technological holes / openings are arranged both near the foundations and near the roof. To remove the air, it is not necessary to manipulate the wall, it is enough to cover the ventilation gap with a roof overhang, and make a perforation in its filing. It’s more difficult at the bottom - you have to make openings in the brick and close them with hull gratings. For air to enter, mortar is sometimes removed from the vertical joints between the bricks of several lower rows. Alternatively, hollow bricks can be installed on the edge.

Important! As for any ventilated facade, the minimum area of ​​​​vents in the well masonry is regulated. It should be from 70 to 100 square centimeters per 20 square meters of facade area. The total size of the inlet and outlet openings must be identical, and the ventilation gap inside the wall must not be blocked by any structural elements.

Insulating films

Sometimes in layered brick walls it is recommended to use a vapor barrier to protect the mineral wool from moisture from the side of the room. But in this way, the useful quality of fibrous thermal insulation is leveled - to remove moisture from the premises. It is better then to make a working ventilation gap, or use completely moisture resistant extruded polystyrene foam or foam. In both cases, a vapor barrier and a hydro-barrier will be superfluous here.

However, in order to protect mineral wool from weathering of the binder and fibers, it makes sense to fix a diffusion membrane on the cold side of the insulation, which will not lock moisture in the insulator plates. We have already talked about how to shave and apply building membranes in one of our articles.

Connections and diaphragms

Obviously, protective and decorative facing masonry although it is self-supporting, but without measures for additional stabilization, it is prone to cracking. After all, its thickness is only 12 cm. There are even horror stories about its complete destruction, when, it seems, bricks fall out of it on passers-by. To prevent this from happening, so-called diaphragms and flexible connections are provided.

The diaphragm is an element of reinforcing the well brickwork. It is implemented by installing some bricks perpendicular to the main line of the walls. They are raised by a pillar from the bottom to the top of the walls, thus obtaining a kind of stiffening ribs that prevent the lining from deviating from the vertical position. From the side of the main load-bearing wall and the outer wall, these protrusions are either spaced apart or opposite each other (then a gap of 2-3 centimeters is left between them). Previously, diaphragms were made with full bandaging, which significantly increased the spatial rigidity of the entire structure, but created powerful cold bridges across the entire wall.

The function of reinforcing a multilayer wall is performed by flexible connections. Usually these are thin embedded elements that fall into the mortar between the bricks when the walls are being built. On one side they go into the load-bearing wall, and on the other - into the facade brick cladding. If steel reinforcement, long nails or welded mesh are used for such purposes, then again we get direct cold bridges.

There is a more efficient and no less reliable way to tie a half-brick cladding to the main wall, these are flexible composite ties. They are fiberglass or "basalt-reinforced plastic" rods that have minimal thermal conductivity and sufficient strength for their modest diameters. Moreover, plastic bonds are not afraid of alkalis from solutions and are not destroyed by corrosion. To improve the adhesion of smooth polymers in solution, their ends have an outer rough layer on both sides (spraying sand over a powerful adhesive coating).

Important! Snap-on flat clamps are installed on the rods of flexible connections, which can be used to securely press the insulation plates to the base and form the calculated ventilation gap (they work on the principle of dish-shaped dowels).

Flexible connections are inserted into the solution of the bearing and facing wall to a depth of 90 mm. If a building in operation is being reconstructed by creating well insulation, then the connecting pins are hammered into pre-drilled expansion dowels made of polyamide. In any case, at least 4 connecting pins will be required for each square of the facade. It is interesting that when using mineral wool, the step in all directions should not exceed 500 mm, and when using expanded polystyrenes, they can be placed horizontally at intervals of a meter, and vertically at 25 cm. Additional connections are needed on openings, in the corners of the house and near roofs. Often the seams in the main wall and the facing do not coincide horizontally, then the pins can be anchored in the vertical seams of the brickwork.

You can talk a lot about the advantages and disadvantages of well masonry as a way to build a warm house with brick walls. This method has its fans and opponents. But if you choose a heater without errors, and assemble the entire structure “according to technology”, then there will be no problems with reliability. And the unique energy efficiency of high-quality layered masonry is not questioned by anyone.

utepliteli-77.ru