How to make high-quality brick yourself? Making bricks at home: methods, features of making raw bricks, fired and pressed products

There are a lot of people who want to make homemade clay bricks. After all, these products are in demand, which means there will be sales.

Today we will look at how to make a clay brick yourself. This process is quite labor-intensive, but once you set up production you will not be left without money. Also in the video in this article and photos you will find a lot of additional information that will help set up production.

Production of your own bricks

Now let’s look at how to make bricks from clay point by point. This work requires attention and responsibility. In principle, everything can be done with your own hands.

To begin with, it’s better to just make a raw brick, it’s not a baked brick. And after that, we can begin to produce full-fledged ceramic material.

Preliminary preparation

When thinking about how to make a brick from clay, first of all you need to start from the raw materials and place of manufacture. At the beginning of the process, it is necessary to decide on the location of production, preferably if there are clay deposits nearby.

The place of production must meet a number of requirements:

It should be dry, not subject to floods, and it is desirable that groundwater didn't rise too much.
After determining the location, you should acquire tools, namely shovels, picks, crowbars, garden shears and pitchforks, and most importantly, carts for transporting raw materials. In order to produce one thousand finished products, you will need two and a half cubic meters of raw materials.
Having decided on the mining site, you should clear the area of bushes, small trees and excess soil. Having completed this stage of preparation, routes for the delivery of raw materials to the production site are arranged. Next, shovels are used, a kind of trench is dug, with a convenient access route.
Depending on the condition of the soil, its density or frozen state, the tools for work are determined, these are either shovels or crowbars with picks. The finished raw material is loaded onto a cart, separated from the shovel, if it is too sticky and viscous, using a fork.
For ease of transportation, access roads and the entire route to the raw material dump site are laid out with boards as needed.
Peculiar pyramids are formed from clay, no more than a meter in height and from a meter to one and a half meters at the base. You should not pile one large pile; it is better to form several at some distance from each other.

Clay preparation

Extracted clay in itself is not suitable material, it requires careful sampling and processing, as well as testing for fat content. First, all foreign inclusions, such as stones, pieces of soil and other debris, and especially limestone, are removed.

Attention: Limestone will greatly interfere with the firing of clay in the future, if it is needed, as it creates defects in the structure finished bricks.

So:

Before making bricks, a preliminary test is carried out with a small amount of clay., approximately the size of a half-liter jar in volume. The raw materials are diluted with a small volume of water and the resulting mass is kneaded with your hands without using any tools.
A well-kneaded mass will begin to stick to your hands, which means that the dough has been obtained. A simple lump of 4-5 centimeters and a 10 centimeter pancake is molded from it. After which it is left for several days from 2 to 3.
The appearance of defects on products indicates excessive fat content or, conversely, excessively low fat content of the material, which means that the clay requires additives. The ball must withstand a fall from at least a meter height and not crumble or crack.
In the event that cracks appear or the ball does not pass the test, after adding additives and re-manufacturing the probes, the test is repeated until a satisfactory result is obtained.

Attention: A lump of excessively oily clay will crack if it falls, otherwise it will disintegrate into dust. Correction is carried out either by mixing two types of clay or with sand. Only raw materials that have passed all tests are ideal for production.

Brick shape

To begin with, we will look at how to make raw brick from clay. It will not need to be fired, but the price of the product will not be high.

It's all about firing; if you do it, then the costs will increase. But that will be after you learn how to shape it. Homemade clay bricks begin with giving the desired shape.

A matrix of two to two-and-a-half centimeter boards is formed on a sheet of plywood. The boards are nailed to the plywood with long nails. Matrix cells must meet several qualities. Be the same size and approximately fifteen percent larger than the finished brick in size, due to shrinkage of the material.
In order to better fit mass into cells, protrusions in the form of cones are formed in them to create cavities in the brick. All this is done using the same plywood from which the lid with special protrusions is made.
The walls of the cells are sprayed with water and sprinkled with cement, otherwise you risk simply not being able to remove the finished product from it. The wet mass is carefully distributed throughout the cell, shaking periodically, to distribute it evenly over the entire area.
Excess material is cut off with a tool moistened so that the clay does not stick. Then the matrix is closed and left for a while. After which the floor finished goods air dried.

Removing and unloading bricks

Water evaporation occurs gradually, from the center of the product to its outer part. Natural gradual drying in air strengthens the structure of the brick.

The drying itself is carried out under a canopy, and in order to avoid getting wet, you should always have something to cover them with. The place for the bricks is also prepared by creating a bed of sand.

The litter will prevent both sticking and damage to the workpieces, but its main role is to ensure that the workpiece dries as evenly as possible. On average, it will take 8 to 10 days for a brick to dry properly. Most of the water will leave the semi-finished product during this period of time, but in order to achieve complete evaporation of moisture, firing will be required.
The dried brick is removed and you can start laying, but raw brick is used only for interior work. This brick is very weak to moisture. When working with it, you should be very careful about protecting it from moisture. To do this, the seams of the masonry are tied.
Openings for windows and doors are located at least one and a half meters from the corners of the room, and the roof should hang down by at least 60 centimeters, protecting the wall from precipitation.
A completely dried wall made of such bricks must be lined with siding or baked brick.
For production facing bricks, you will need a floor-standing oven for periodic or temporary operation. The firing itself does not take place in one stage, but in several steps.

Batch Type Floor Furnace

The place for the furnace is prepared in accordance with the same conditions as the production site, that is, it should not be subject to precipitation and floods, and so that the groundwater does not rise too much. Some high ground in the area is ideal for this.

Attention: When starting to build a furnace, you should decide on the scale of your production. For one and a half thousand products you will need a furnace one and a half meters wide, about two meters long, and at the top of the masonry from one and a half to eighty meters. The thickness of one brick is quite enough for such an adobe stove.

The ceiling is being installed on metal base so that each row of vault brick rests either on steel strips or on a metal frame.
The arch above the masonry in the center should rise no less than 30-35 centimeters, and the oven chamber should be a through passage half a meter wide and 0.4 meters high. Along the entire passage, on both sides, ledges are made at a height of a quarter of a meter, for future grates when burning coal. If you are going to use only firewood, grates are not required.
The fireplace is provided with a small square door approximately 40 by 40 centimeters, and the stove roof must be equipped with chimneys for smoke exit with a cross-section of 25 by 28 centimeters.
If you know for sure that you will only heat with peat or brown coal, then the holes can be made somewhat smaller, about 25 by 15 centimeters, and equipped with lids for supplying fuel. The height of the pipe should be up to 5 meters, and its cross-section should be 40 by 40 centimeters.
The pipe is placed behind the stove itself, and is connected to it by a chimney in back wall. Temporary holes are left exactly in the middle for viewing; later they are removed by covering them with clay. Optimal choice During laying there will be a clay-sand mortar; only a small part of the wall in front is laid without mortar, because it will be periodically disassembled to cut the cage.

Burning

Now let's look at how to make baked clay bricks. At the end of the masonry, the wall is thoroughly coated with clay. Very well dried semi-finished products are placed in the oven chamber.

So:

The laying is not carried out evenly, but with a gradual increase in the clearance between the rows, as it moves away from the firebox. The distance between the first rows, therefore, should be approximately one and a half centimeters, and between subsequent rows should be around two and a half centimeters.
Laying methods can vary, so bricks can be laid first in a lattice, and then in a herringbone pattern and vice versa.

Attention: The main thing is that all products are completely fumigated during the combustion process and even the edges should not be left without smoke. The gap between the bricks in the cage and the walls of the furnace surface should be no more than two and a half centimeters.

After you have completed laying the semi-finished bricks, you should begin the firing process itself. Fuel for firing is preferable in the form of brushwood or wood.
The firing process should begin very slowly and gradually adding fuel with a not very high combustion temperature.
At first, the brick is not fired, but dried, and all remaining water is evaporated from it. You can get an idea of the evaporation process by looking at the water droplets on the topmost rows; on average, drying the raw material takes 10-12 hours.
Having finished this, they begin to heat up the furnace, add fuel with a higher combustion temperature to the firebox, or heat it much more intensely. As the brick warms up, it will gradually change its color to a darker shade of red. Warming up lasts no more than 9 hours.
At the end of warming up, it is necessary to increase the amount of fuel and heat it in such a way that the fire comes out. At the moment when flames begin to flicker at the top of the stove, the rows below will become yellow, located at the top are not too bright red tones. That's it - now the stove is left to cool.
The oven chamber is hermetically sealed with brick and coated with clay, and the top is carefully sprinkled with a thick layer of 10-15 centimeters, always with dry earth or simple brick dust. After about 6 hours, the stove is opened and left to cool completely naturally.
Now the oven has cooled down and the final stage of obtaining the finished brick begins. The wall in front of the stove is carefully disassembled and the cage is cut from above. The finished brick is sorted with a selection of the highest quality product, and it is placed in separate stacks.

Attention: Lesser quality products, not fully fired, are used only where the load on the structure is least large.

You already know how to make a brick from clay. There is nothing particularly complicated.

The main points will be the work space and the clay. If it is far away, then the cost of raw materials will increase. Therefore, it is better to do it not far from the quarry. The instructions will help you not to make mistakes and do everything correctly.

Construction Materials

Brick firing at home - we do it quality material

From the author: Hello, dear readers! When thinking about firing bricks at home, you immediately imagine images of huge production premises, hot ovens, hard work of workers, but not everything is so scary! You will be surprised, but it is possible to organize the production of clay bricks at home.

To begin with, you can make a batch for your needs, get your teeth in, so to speak - work out the technology, improve quality and optimize processes. If things go well, then nothing will stop you from opening your own business, since brick is always an excellent building material, and there will always be demand for it.

Criteria for selecting quality clay

You need to start by determining the place of “mining” or purchasing the main material for brick production - clay. The most important thing is to find exactly the “right” material! It’s great if you own land or a quarry and there are deposits of valuable material on them, but what if not? We go to the construction base and carefully study the characteristics of the clay, its fat content, because the quality of the resulting brick depends on this.

It’s quite easy to check for yourself whether the clay you find is the right fat content. It is best to take samples of material from several sites or places of sale; approximately half a kilogram will be enough.

Why do we need a small amount? Add a little water to each sample and mix thoroughly. The clay should absorb water and begin to stick to your hands - at this point you can complete the process. From the prepared mass, make balls with a diameter of about 50 mm and cakes with a diameter of 100 mm. We leave them in a well-ventilated area or outside under a canopy and dry them for 2-3 days. It is clear that such actions must be performed with each clay sample.

Now we can start evaluating our samples:

if cracks appear on the balls and cakes, you will have to add sand during the brick production process; your clay has increased fat content;
if there are no cracks, the ball must be thrown effortlessly from a height of 1 m. If it does not collapse, it means the clay is of optimal fat content;
When the ball scatters, we can conclude that lean clay was used for the sample; in this case, you will have to add fatty clay.

Additional components (sand or fatty clay), depending on the characteristics of your material, should be added in portions, constantly checking the quality of the finished mass. In general, the greater the plasticity of the clay, the easier it is.

Advice: sampling and testing must be continued until you find optimal composition masses.

To achieve good plasticity, dry material is poured into containers with water and left in this state for some time, periodically adding new portions of material and mixing the composition. Freezing clay during the cold winter months also helps to increase plasticity.

After soaking, the solution must sit for about three days.

Important: in the process you cannot use clays with admixtures of stones, pebbles, soil and carbonates (white components larger than 1 mm in size).

Raw brick production

There are two methods for producing bricks from clay:

unfired (so-called raw brick);
burned.

Made using technology and from good clay, unfired building material can compete almost equally with fired construction material. It is successfully used in the construction of small buildings on the site: one-story buildings, ancillary buildings - sheds, saunas, etc. Let's look at the method of producing raw bricks.

Making molds (manual and mechanical)

The first option is to make it using improvised means. We will need those that need to be made, usually these are the dimensions of an ordinary brick 250x120x62 mm. The material for them can be boards with a thickness of about 25 mm; it will also be necessary to use additional sheets of plywood.

The inner surface of the mold is smooth. To form voids in the brick, the lids must be made with protrusions. The protrusions are made with a slope to facilitate the process of removing the finished product.

The components of the mold are nailed together with nails 50–60 mm long, ensuring free removal of the top cover. We recommend making several identical molds - this will intensify your small production.

The second option is if you are planning a large-scale construction project, then it is better to rent a machine for fast and efficient brick production.

We wet the inner parts of the molds with water before loading the mixture, and then sprinkle them with fine dust or cement - this will make it much easier to remove the products. Fill the molds, shaking occasionally so that the mixture fills the entire volume. The protruding excess is cut off with any convenient metal device.

Closing the mold with the top lid, let it sit for some time. We remove the lid, turn the mold over and, carefully lifting it up, remove the contents to the platform for drying.

Drying

Drying workpieces is a rather complex and important process. They should be dried on racks that have a canopy to protect the blocks from solar radiation and precipitation.

If drying is carried out in a utility room, for example, in a barn, then the material must be kept indoors for three days, and then ventilation must be organized.

If you plan to dry outside, then first prepare the area for placing the brick - you need to make wood flooring or backfill the site with dry sand. As the liquid evaporates, the workpieces shrink, resulting in a loss of up to 15% of the original volume.

Important: the outside air temperature when drying outside must be at least 10 o C.

Drying time can be influenced by many atmospheric factors: temperature, humidity and speed of movement of air masses. The process is long and can last from 6 to 15 days. The unfired brick is ready, you can begin construction work.

Important: the resistance of bricks obtained in this way to water is very low. This must be taken into account when constructing buildings.

Is it possible to secure such a brick? There are a number of standard methods that help protect the material from moisture:

the roof overhang must be at least 0.6 m long;
door and window openings must be located at a distance of at least 1.5 m from the corners of buildings;
the seams of the masonry must be well tied;
finished walls must be plastered; they can also be lined with other modern building materials.

Burnt brick manufacturing technology

The time has come to tell you how to get fired ordinary brick from raw brick. This technology is much more difficult, and at home a more serious approach and preparation is required. However, it is quite possible to produce small batches, for example, for completing construction or cladding a house. Actually, the firing of blanks occurs in 3 steps:

warming up (warming up);
burning;
cooling is under control.

The quality of the manufactured brick depends on many factors: heating time and rate of temperature rise, final firing temperature, duration of exposure to this temperature and cooling rate.

Now we will get acquainted in detail with the technology of firing blanks, describing each process step by step.

Burning

First you need to prepare a metal container into which the unfired workpieces will be loaded. Alternatively, you can take iron barrel large volume (200–250 l). The bottom needs to be removed.

The barrel is placed on a stove without a top (hotplate) or on a fire. If you decide to heat it over a fire, it is better to light the fire in a pit at a depth of about 0.5 m, and place the container on legs 0.2 m long. This helps to distribute the temperature evenly and warm up the products, and it will be easier to control the fire.

The blanks are placed in the barrel in layers, but leaving a small gap between the layers. After filling the barrel, you should cover it with an iron plate, which will not allow cold air to penetrate into the heated volume. Light the fire and heat the container for twenty hours.

Physics of the process

What happens inside the workpiece during firing? Our task is to obtain a sintered ceramic mass. This can happen at a temperature: for low-melting clays - about 900 o C, and for refractory clays - 1200 o C.

In this case, liquid evaporates from the workpiece - physically (hygroscopic) and chemically bound (hydrate). Also, all organic components burn out, carbonates partially decompose, clay minerals are destroyed, and the clay acquires amorphous state and heats up evenly throughout the entire volume.

Cooling

This is the most important stage. A heated brick cannot tolerate rapid temperature changes and cold air, so it must cool gradually, without depressurization. To do this, the temperature is regulated by reducing the fire in the firebox.

If you violate this recommendation, the entire batch may be damaged - the brick will become covered with cracks and collapse. Such material is definitely not suitable for construction. Gradually bring the temperature to approximately 650 o C, only after this the process can be accelerated a little, but the container should be opened after complete cooling, after about five hours.

The brick is ready, and at the end we definitely check the quality of the resulting material. When the material has completely cooled, tap the sample with a hammer - the sound should be clear. Then break it into pieces: the brick made using the technology will be identical in color and structure when broken. Next, these parts should be placed in a container of water for several hours. During this time they should not collapse or change color.

A brick obtained at home, of course, will not be able to fully correspond to the factory one. But, if you need a small batch of material, or there are not enough elements to complete the construction, then this will be good decision Problems.

When building a house, barn, extension, cellar, country house or gazebos you will definitely need a brick. This is a convenient building material, it does not wash out, does not burn, does not break, and has a long service life. Often, brickwork is used to insulate the outside of houses and sheds. However, such material is quite expensive. And here there is one option - making bricks at home. This is not difficult, but for a high-quality result you need to know the proportions and exact time all necessary operations. To make red brick you need to perform the following operations:

preparation of raw materials;
raw material formation;
drying future bricks;
firing of bricks with the manufacture of a furnace.

Since the brick is red, therefore, clay is needed to make it.

Preliminary preparation of raw materials

To make bricks you need clay of medium fat content. The percentage is determined in this way: a kilogram of raw material is soaked in water and brought to such a consistency that it stops sticking to your hands. A small ball and circle are made. They dry in the shade for several days and then check. If there are cracks on the surface of the figures different sizes, which means that the raw materials need to be degreased. And if the figures are not cracked, then you need to throw the ball at a height of about 100 cm. If it remains intact, then everything is in order with the fat content of the clay. And if not, then the fat percentage is too low.

Bricks are usually made from pure clay. But very often particles are added that will burn out if fired. This can be very fine straw, sunflower husks, peat, and sawdust. But you need to ensure that all pieces of additives are no larger than 2-5 mm. Do not allow soil, small pebbles, any debris or carbonate to get into the brick mortar. It must be remembered that sand in the mixture should not be more than 4-5%, and additives in the form of sawdust and peat should not be more than 19-21%.

Already crushed clay mixed with additives is poured into a large, wide and shallow container. Gradually add water until the mixture is completely filled with water. After this, it is covered with a film or a piece of cloth moistened with water.

After 3-4 days, the solution must be checked for quality aging. For this procedure, take a piece of clay and roll it into a sausage with an approximate thickness of thumb. This sausage needs to be screwed onto glass bottle. If it does not stick or crack to your hands and the bottle, then the mixture is ready.

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Molding: process features

For the next operation you need to make a mold. It can be metal or wood. With and without bottom. Boards for the form need 20 mm. And here metal sheets- 3 mm.

As clay dries, it decreases in size. This means that to obtain a standard brick, the dimensions of the mold must exceed this:

Height: standard - 70 mm, shape - 80 mm.

Width: standard - 130 mm, shape - 140 mm.

Length: standard - 270 mm, shape - 290 mm.

For convenience, it is worth making a handle shape.

Hammer onto wood, rivet or weld onto metal. Convenient shape without bottom. They put her on wooden base, sprinkled with a small layer of sand. Clay is placed inside, gradually compacting.

It is possible to produce bricks with piercing holes, the so-called slotted or hollow ones. To do this, you will additionally need a grid with holes of the same diameter as the core, and the core itself. A grid is placed in a mold with compacted clay and a core with six pistons is inserted. After this, the core is removed. The mold is raised, and only after that the grate is removed. If the form has a bottom, then sand is poured down and the solution is laid. The form is compacted and removed.

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The workpieces must dry at a temperature not lower than ten degrees Celsius. This process takes up to two weeks. The choice of drying location must be approached very responsibly. This should be a level area. Preferably ventilated, but with protection from external irritants.

Stacks of bricks must be protected from direct sunlight and rain. It is best to place the stacks in plastic bags, sprinkling each row with dry river sand or sawdust. Top bricks dry faster.

At the end of drying, the middle brick is removed and broken in half. Dry brick inside is the same color. If there are dark spots, it means that the raw materials still need to dry.

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Firing: highlights

Quality of the future building material depends on proper firing, and good firing depends on a properly built kiln. Basically, there are different types of stoves: gas, electric and coal. Of course, you can’t create a gas stove at home that easily, and it’s dangerous. But electric or coal is possible. Electric ovens- the fruit of the master’s imagination. For this you will need:

iron box with a metal thickness of about 2-3 mm;
pipes to fit the box, with a diameter of 15 mm;
basalt wool;
sheet metal 1-2 mm thick;
fibrous refractory or fireclay brick;
fire-resistant masonry mixture;
cement;
chrome wire or finished spiral;
ceramic plate;
switch with 5 contacts;
thick cable;
reinforced socket.

An old one can also serve as a box for the stove. washing machine or just an iron box in the form of a parallelepiped for firing. It needs to be placed on the narrow side so that one of the long sides serves as a door. The door is cut out. For elasticity to the bottom with outside pipes and legs are welded. WITH inside You also need to weld pipes to the bottom, two at the edges and one in the middle.

Cotton wool is placed inside the box between the pipes and covered sheet metal. Fireclay bricks need to be lightweight. There is also a heavy one, but it doesn’t fit here. It needs to be cut and adjusted to each other. Mix the refractory mixture with cement in a ratio of 2:1 and make a solution with water. A row of bricks is placed on the bottom sheet of iron with a gap of no more than 0.5 cm. A layer of cotton wool and sheet iron are laid on the side walls.

Brick walls are raised and the ceiling is exposed. Hinges are welded on the wall where the door is supposed to be. Pipes or corners are welded onto a sheet of iron that has been removed along the edges of the furnace side. Basalt wool, iron sheet and fireclay bricks are laid. The door is adjusted to the oven. Holes for air access are drilled on the top and side walls.

Now you need to cut grooves approximately 1 cm deep inside the oven. The spirals are placed in them. All of them are connected to one node on a ceramic tile screwed to the wall. And there should already be a switch on this tile. The connection must be made in accordance with all electrical rules. You can call a specialist.

Do-it-yourself bricks are mainly made in small quantities for own needs. Ordinary clay or fireproof is used in the construction of small projects. To make it, mix the solution, put it in molds and dry it. To give the necessary strength, they are fired in a special oven.

Much more often, material is required for interior decoration. They use decorative, facing, created using simple technology from plaster, cement, as well as its imitation using plasterboard and paper.

Types of brick and its features

All products have standard sizes 65×120×250 mm, 88×120×250 mm or smaller, but multiples in all respects. Building bricks are made from fusible clay; in the finished state, they have slight porosity to reduce thermal conductivity and adhesion to the mortar.

It is well fired in a kiln at 900–1100°. When under-dried, it has a scarlet color and poor characteristics: insufficient strength, low water resistance, and does not withstand frost well. Burnt (iron ore) usually with curved shapes and high thermal conductivity. In construction, high-quality bricks are used for laying walls, chimneys, stoves, except for the firebox area.

They use fireproof material that can withstand high temperature. It is made by firing clay with fireclay, but it is impossible to make at home - it requires 1500°. If the brick is overexposed, it becomes covered with a shell similar to glass. Its quality is easily recognized by appearance– sandy yellow color, granular. Upon impact, it shatters into large pieces, and the unburnt one crumbles into small pieces. It cannot be used for laying fireboxes or chimneys - it does not retain heat and may collapse.

The apartment is finished with decorative brick and has an original design. Products have different parameters and surface structure, rectangular shape and slightly rounded edges, a wide variety of colors. The wizard will help you choose the most suitable options for interior. The types differ in production technology and material:

The advantages of decorative products include long term service, light weight, resistance to abrasion, water and fire. Has some imperfections in coloring if used low quality materials. Due to the convex surface, the volume of the room is visually reduced.

The main advantage of facing brick is its beauty. At the same time, it is durable, resistant to atmospheric agents, and is successfully used for internal and external works. The variety of shades is amazing - you can choose the color to your taste. The sizes vary, allowing you to realize any idea. The wall acquires a unique design.

The industry produces several types that differ in their front surface and quality:

glazed – has a special layer that adds volume;
ceramic - it is used to create patterns;
clinker - less aesthetically pleasing, but with increased wear resistance and strength;
hyper-pressed - consists only of limestone and cement, does not contain clay.

The production of the latter is carried out without firing, but under high pressure. Does not retain heat well and is used indoors.

Making at home

The technology for producing building materials from clay has been known for centuries. You don’t need machinery or equipment or the skills of a highly qualified specialist. Proven methods and new technical techniques are used, which allows us to obtain high-quality products at minimal cost.

To give the brick strength, it is fired in a kiln. If a lot is required, a permanent structure is built; for small volumes, even metal barrel. Modern additives improve quality characteristics: thermal insulation properties, resistance to frost, moisture, cracking.

Preparation of raw materials

Not all clay is suitable for making bricks. Only high-quality material is used, which does not contain stones, pebbles, earth, or white inclusions. Strength, durability, resistance to low temperatures and water depend on this. It is first checked for fat content. A small amount is soaked, and when the material becomes homogeneous, roll into a ball with an approximate diameter of 5 cm.

It is left in the shade to dry thoroughly, then testing begins. If it bursts, the clay is oily, you should add 5 parts of fine river sand to it. But this is an approximate dosage; you will have to experiment to achieve a high-quality composition.

Cracks may not form. Then they take the ball and release it into free fall from a meter height onto a hard surface. If it survives the impact, the strength is high, suitable for brick. When it breaks, the mixture is diluted with a fatty compound. It or sand is poured in small portions, checked each time until it is possible to achieve the required composition.

Greater ductility facilitates manufacturing. To achieve this state, the crushed raw materials are placed in a wide box, water is added in several steps, mixing everything thoroughly. Leave in this form for at least three days until the composition becomes homogeneous. Cover the container with a moistened cloth or film.

Product molding

The finished solution is placed in wooden or metal boxes. They are calculated for one brick or more. The inside must have a smooth surface. Before filling, lubricate with oil or use whitewash (water and chalk). The forms can be collapsible or solid, as shown in the pictures.

When filling containers with clay, take into account that when it dries, and then when fired, it decreases in size. Therefore, each side is increased by 10 mm. For ease of use, the box is made without a bottom and with removable sides. It can be made to form one solid piece, which is then cut into pieces with a string or a metal plate soaked in water.

Fine sifted water is poured onto the moistened sides and bottom. river sand or some sawdust. Lay the prepared mass and compact it. During the shrinking process, clay is added until it is even with the edges. The excess is cut off with a metal or wood strip or a large spatula. The surface is smoothed and the box is removed. The product is left to dry for 1–2 hours. Readiness is determined by pressing with your fingers - there should be no traces left. Rejected copies are allowed for processing.

To make bricks with your own hands in large quantities, you should take care of the equipment. Makes homemade work easier screw press, where a jack is used for drive. Speeds up initial drying hot water to prepare the solution.

How to dry it properly

Quality largely depends on how moisture is removed. The more uniformly and longer the process lasts, the stronger the material becomes. If the temperature is not constant, overheating is allowed, then cooling, cracks and deformation appear. Usually the formed blanks are placed under a canopy.

In open areas, the top and sides are covered with fabric to protect from sunlight at midday, and in case of rain - with film. Don't forget to shoot when the weather is moderate and there is no precipitation. They make sure that the base is not wet - even on dry ground they spread a film or lay boards, and then put raw material on top.

The material laid out in one layer dries faster, but requires a lot of space. Therefore, they make vertical bags of 6–8 rows, each sprinkled with sawdust or sand. Lay them loosely, leaving a small space for air to pass through. When the bricks dry out from below, they build them up with freshly made bricks. Taking into account the fact that the process occurs faster from above, all products will be ready at approximately the same time. The outside air temperature must be at least 10°.

If clay brick is simply dried without firing, it will turn out raw. It has a faded brown color. By performance qualities almost no different from red, but more susceptible to deformation and less durable. If you use high-quality raw materials and dry them well, the characteristics are almost comparable.

The duration of the process depends on the weather. At normal temperatures without excessive humidity, bricks of small standard sizes dry in 10–15 days. Readiness is determined by testing. Take one raw material from the middle and break it in half. If there is no dark spot, which indicates moisture, the required quality has been achieved.

Firing technology

If a person is manufacturing for the first time building bricks, then he doesn’t have a special oven. If something like this is not planned in the future, there is no point in building it. Used metal container 200 liters, holes are made in the bottom.

Choose an area where there are no underground communications. Dig a hole of a slightly smaller diameter, 0.5 m deep. Place stones 20 cm high on the sides, with a barrel on top of them. Raw material is placed inside - 35–40 pieces included. They are laid with gaps and closed at the top.

A fire is lit under the container. The firing process is long and tedious, lasting 20 hours. They start early in the morning, constantly maintaining a high temperature by adding fuel. When the required time has passed, leave it to burn out. It is impossible to simmer so that the barrel cools slowly, otherwise the baked clay will crack.

Better firing is obtained if you use a homemade oven, the design of which is shown in the figure below.

The properties of brick are determined by many process factors:

time of temperature rise and its final indicators;
holding at the achieved parameters;
cooling rate.

The construction of the furnace begins with a foundation 0.5 m deep and 0.6 m wide. Then they lay out vertical walls half a meter thick. After reaching ⅔ of the height, they are gradually narrowed, forming a chimney, on which a pipe is placed to improve draft. Burnt brick or raw brick is used. To make the structure easy to disassemble when no longer needed, the masonry is done using thin mortar. A 10-centimeter layer of crumbs or small crushed stone is poured under the stove.

An opening is provided for loading, which then serves as a firebox. A well-fitted lid or door is installed on it. All external walls are coated with a thick layer of clay. After laying the raw material, the fuel is ignited. At first, only 150° is required; you should not increase it sharply - a lot of steam accumulates, which threatens destruction. Low-grade firewood is used.

After 48 hours, the temperature is gradually raised to 1000° and maintained for up to four days. The flame should be light orange. When they stop heating, seal the cracks that appear on the walls and leave until completely cooled. The quality of the bricks is checked by breaking one of them. Well fired has a uniform color and structure. If you fill it with water for several hours, the original appearance should not change.

How to make decorative brick

The very popular material has noticeably displaced traditional wallpaper. Many are stopped by its cost, but you can make it yourself using available raw materials. You will need gypsum or Portland cement; options from plasterboard or even paper are known.

You need forms that are commercially available, but they are expensive. At home, they can be made from thick cardboard. Glue the box together standard sizes 250x65 mm, height 0.5–3 cm. To prevent the walls from spreading, wrap them with wire mesh. Something embossed is placed on the bottom, otherwise the front surface will come out flat. A good matrix is obtained from liquid polyurethane, with its help you can set up production in large volumes.

Three options - gypsum, cement with foam, papier-mâché

Quality is almost 100% dependent on raw materials. Best result obtained using G-16 grade gypsum. You can use G-5 or G-10, but plasticizers and fiber fiber should be added to it.

The mold is sprayed with soapy water and allowed to dry so that the products fly out of it. In the meantime, prepare a solution: add 600 ml of water to 750 ml of gypsum and mix thoroughly. If you don’t have a mixer, use your hand in rubber gloves to knead all the lumps. This is done quickly so that the composition does not set. Next, it is poured into the matrices and smoothed with a spatula.

After half an hour, take it out and fold it up. Natural drying takes a long time, especially if the temperature is low and the humidity is high. An ordinary oven, set at 50°, will help out. After a few hours, the surface will turn white, which indicates that the product is completely ready.

The second original and simple way:

Styrofoam balls are poured into the container;
mix in another bowl white cement and fine sand in a ratio of 3:1;
add water little by little to make the mixture creamy;
It is poured into balls, mixed, and poured into molds.

If they have a flat bottom, do not wait for them to dry completely, but take them out and process them with wood carving tools. It should be completed in one day. With this method, each product acquires original look, because it’s almost impossible to get the same ones when finishing by hand.

Simple instructions will help you make decorative paper bricks:

1. Tear the cardboard and pour boiling water over it, adding it periodically, as the water is strongly absorbed. The cooled mass is crushed with a mixer, excess moisture pressed through the mesh. Sort out the lumps, removing too small ones, otherwise you will get a smooth surface.

2. A paste is made from starch and poured into paper pebbles. Take a little just to moisten it. Add boostilate, mix everything and get dough for bricks.

3. Send the mass into molds pre-lined with polyethylene to make it convenient to remove after drying. The recommended thickness is about one centimeter.

All that remains is to give it the desired color. For this, acrylic dyes are used, heavily diluted with water. They cover the front surface 2-3 times. Finally, after complete drying, a colorless varnish is applied.

Imitation brickwork

Sometimes there is no desire to tinker with solutions and forms, but you really want to give the room original design. It will help to make a false wall, for which plasterboard is used. Cells are applied to the sheet the right size, cut along the lines, then individual parts are processed.

GCR does not have the necessary texture. To give it the appearance decorative brick, use any plaster that has good adhesion, for example isogypsum. The mixture is diluted with water to the desired consistency until it becomes plastic. Then they apply it to the workpieces with a spatula and give the desired relief. Dry for a day or two, then process the edges. They paint it and after a few hours stick it on the wall.

If the finishing is done to imitate facing bricks, the second layer is not applied. Instead they use acrylic paints, which are carefully applied with a spray several times. Care is required to ensure that the paper does not peel off - it is recommended to use waterproof material. Finally, apply a clear varnish to add shine.

Cardboard for imitation - very economical option. They take the boxes, disassemble them and cut them into rectangles. The wall is marked, a blank is glued to each cell. When it dries, begin applying the relief. Use paper napkins and knead them well with your hands. Then they are combined with fake bricks using heavy wallpaper glue. Immediately apply the same composition on top, form many folds and leave to dry.

Acrylic paints are used for finishing. The first layer is undiluted, then tinted with heavily diluted water. Secured with matte varnish.

These are not all brick making technologies. Other materials can be used, for example plastic panels. Various ways it is permissible to combine, choosing at each stage the most suitable one.

Business idea: making bricks at home, how to open a mini workshop?
Where we do business from: a private house, workshop, rented premises
Main costs: purchase of production equipment, purchase of materials, electricity
Necessary equipment: machine for making bricks, molds
Consumables: sand, cement, water, dyes
Starting capital: from 200,000 rubles. up to 1,500,000 rub.
Payback period: from 6 to 18 months
Possible profit: from 35,000 rubles. up to 200,000 rub.

Brick is a unique material that combines high strength and good warmth and noise insulation characteristics. Moreover, it is also easy to operate and operate, environmentally friendly, fire-resistant, earthquake-resistant, durable, and non-shrinking. All buildings that are made of brick do not need any special maintenance or control.

Payback of a mini brick production plant

Practice has shown that a mini brick production plant can pay for itself in a few years. Accordingly, this business is very highly profitable and promising. Since this option for doing business does not require the installation of treatment facilities, it will be possible to organize production in any industrial premises. The purchase of equipment is accompanied by the provision of design estimates, service and commissioning works, personnel training is also carried out.

Equipment for independent brick production.

Brick production equipment

Using a universal, mobile, automatic semi-dry pressing press, you can produce brick products from any type of clay, as well as from screenings, flour, broken shell shells, and waste from brick factories.

The press includes an automatic rotating table, divided into 3 sections: 1. loading 2. forming 3. outlet.

The device is very efficient in operation. This equipment can be used in field conditions. With its help, silicate, facing, colored bricks are produced, which are later given the texture of torn stone. Our market offers a huge selection of equipment for brick production at varying prices. Inexpensive option is a mechanical machine that allows you to produce bricks in three sizes. The principle of its operation is based on compressing the working mixture (clay, screenings, cement) in a special matrix-mold using a manual clamp. The machine contains a dosing device and a hopper that allows loading. It is worth noting that the machine is easy to operate; it can work without electricity, which is very important.

One more popular view equipment is a "hyperpress". The hyperpress is equipped with a standard matrix designed for the production of more than 30 positions of bricks and facing tiles. It is important that the production of hyper-pressed bricks is more economical and cost-effective.

Mini brick production line. Machine for brick production.

The set of equipment also includes molds for brick production.

Brick production technology.

Before organizing a business, you need to choose and study production technology. It must be taken into account that the use traditional technologies, which involve the production of bricks by plastic molding can only be profitable if it covers about 30 million pieces per year. After all, it is necessary to invest at least 1 billion rubles in such a project.

One more, more accessible technology brick production is hyperpressing. The material that is produced in accordance with this technology is very common and used, and also has good quality characteristics. In addition, the degree of its frost resistance and strength is several times higher than that of its “traditional counterparts”.

Brick production is carried out using waste from industries such as mining, asbestos, cement, and metallurgy.

The next stage is drying the brick. This process is very responsible and difficult. If you use a mini brick factory for this purpose, then the cost of finished high-quality bricks will not be too high, since the number of defective products will be small. During the process of evaporation of moisture, the particles in the workpiece will move closer together as surface tension increases, which will reduce the volume of the brick. Shrinkage continues until 15% is reached. After which a reduction in volume is observed, although the physically bound liquid still does not completely evaporate. To make the drying process better, you need to use an equipped rack with a canopy. Moreover, it is necessary to ensure that the bricks are well ventilated and that they are not exposed to direct Sun rays. The duration of the drying process is affected by temperature, humidity, and the mobility of outside air. As a rule, this process takes from 6 to 15 days. It is worth noting that such raw brick has rather low water resistance, so the walls of a building constructed from such brick must be protected from moisture.

Financial plan.

Profitability of brick production.

Staff

To operate the machines, you will need three people, whose responsibilities will include monitoring the operation of the machines, filling the mixer with raw materials, and receiving finished bricks. It is worth noting that modern mini-brick factories are very safe and practically harmless. To fully staff the plant, do not forget about warehouse worker, who will be responsible for maintaining records of raw materials and finished products.

You may also need a truck driver.

To hire an accountant for permanent job no, thanks to changes in legislation, representatives of small businesses must submit reports once every three months, so it will be enough for you to use the services of such a professional once every three months.

You will also need a cleaner and a caretaker.

Sales issues

The most important thing in this matter is sales. Please note that if the brick production line is idle you will lose a large amount money. Therefore, you must take care of the uninterrupted sale of bricks. The main consumers of bricks, as a rule, are construction sites, but most of them already have concluded contracts with factories, so concluding a contract with them can be very troublesome. Another active brick consumer is private sector. It is this area that should help your company at the first stage. If you make high-quality products, you will very soon gain high popularity.

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