According to an old Russian proverb, a real man still has to build a house. And the relevance of self-laying a stone in the basis of a family nest is growing every year. Many couples abandon the hustle and bustle of megacities and strive for the origins. The mechanisms of the process of ruralization are launched, when the number of the rural population increases due to the relocation of urban residents. It is becoming fashionable to live in several places.
So, some families spend their working week in the city, and on weekends they go to the outback. Even 30 years ago, dreams of unity with nature were embodied in the purchase of a dacha, where, at best, there was a wooden shack or an unheated building. At present, the task of most families has become the construction of a durable house with several floors for permanent residence outside the city.
What to build a house from?
Choose the right material for constructionnot so easy. After all, diversity introduces into a stupor even the most confident men. However, the leading positions are forever given to brick. Silicate or ceramic, hollow or solid, white or red - this is just an incomplete list of possible options. To find the best brick for a particular building, you need to know the basic characteristics of the material.
Selection Options
The house should be durable and comfortable for living, and its construction should be logical and rational. Therefore, it is important to understand what qualities the owner expects from the future building. Awareness of the characteristics of the house at the preliminary stage will help determine which brick is better, silicate or ceramic in each case.
From a technical point of view, the following parameters of such a building material are distinguished:
- dimensions;
- composition;
- look;
- mass;
- density;
- strength;
- thermal conductivity;
- frost resistance;
- heat resistance;
- moisture absorption;
- soundproofing;
- vapor permeability.
There are two more indicators that are difficult to attribute to technical ones. They are more likely to be classified as design solutions: color and environmental friendliness of the material.
Sizes
This is the only parameter that is not determined only by the type of product. Depending on the dimensions, silicate or ceramic bricks are divided into:
- single: 250 x 120 x 65mm;
- one and a half: 250 x 120 x 88 mm;
- double: 250 x 120 x 138mm;
- narrow: 250x 60 x 65mm;
- thin: 250 x 22 x 65mm;
- euro: 250 x 85 x 65mm;
- modular: 280 x 130 x 80 mm.
The most common construction in Russia is made of single and one and a half bricks. Masters of the construction industry, when choosing one or another size, start from the design wall thickness. For one-story houses, it is recommended to take a thickness of 250 mm as a basis and choose masonry in one single brick. For buildings with several floors, it is better to increase the thickness by 100-150 mm and use one and a half, laying out the walls in two or two and a half bricks.
From the point of view of financial costs, it is most profitable to purchase a double. A single silicate or ceramic brick will increase the cost of building a house by about 20%.
Composition
Ceramic bricks are based on clay, while silicate bricks are based on sand and lime.
The process of producing a finished product from clay includes 5 stages: extraction of raw materials, preparation for molding, direct molding, drying and firing. In order to improve quality indicators, regulating additives are introduced to the main component in the form of ash, sand, coal, peat and special additives to regulate firing and the desired coloring.
The difference between silicate brick and ceramic brick is observed not only in the component composition, but also in the form of production. The mixture of initial substances, after wetting with water, turns into a plastic mass, from which blanks are formed. Raw brick is processed with hot steam under pressure of 12 atmospheres. Forto improve the quality of the final product, dyes and auxiliary components can also be added to the mass.
Brick variety and mass
There is a classification division of building materials into hollow and solid. Moreover, in both cases, internal voids are allowed. If the percentage of voids is 13 or more, then the brick is classified as hollow, otherwise the building material is called solid.
According to the functional purpose, it is also divided into two types. The silicate or ceramic brick used for cladding is called front, and for the construction of the foundation and walls it is called working or ordinary. The latter type is 20% cheaper than facing. Therefore, the use of such a building material significantly reduces construction costs. However, the appearance of a working brick requires plastering the walls of the building. It is considered economically viable to lay all the walls of the building from working bricks, and lay out one row of front bricks on the outside.
Single ceramic full-bodied working brick weighs from 3.3 to 3.5 kg. The silicate weight of the same discharge can reach 3.7kg.
Brick of excellent appearance with good characteristics, which is most often preferred for cladding, is one-and-a-half face hollow with a mass of up to 4.2 kg.
Single hollow ceramic or silicate brick is also often used for cladding and has a weight of 1.6 to 2.5 kg.
The mass of ceramic one and a half varies from 2.7 to 4.3 kg, depending on the presence or absence of voids. The weight of the silicatedischarge is 4.2 to 5 kg.
Density
This parameter affects not only the mass of the brick, but also its thermal conductivity and characterizes the number of kilograms of finished products per unit volume (kg/m3).
The maximum density of silicate or ceramic brick is:
- corpulent - from 1800 to 2000;
- hollow - from 1100 to 1600.
The density value dramatically affects the strength, water absorption and thermal conductivity. So, from full-bodied representatives, it is recommended to build load-bearing walls of high-rise buildings, columns and furnaces. For the slotted option, the construction of low-rise buildings is acceptable, including the laying of load-bearing structures with a low load.
Strength
When building a one-story house, there is no need to find out the strength of silicate and ceramic bricks. Which one is better in this case does not matter. Both of them will withstand the mass of the truss system and the roof.
However, any finished brick has a brand that characterizes its strength. The brand depends on the original components and the manufacturing method and indicates the permissible load per 1 square centimeter of area. If a ceramic brick is characterized by a grade from M-50 to M-300, then for silicate bricks the limits are from M-75 to M-250.
For load-bearing structures of low-rise and private construction, it is enough that the building material has a strength of M-100 or M-150. In the laying of partitions and householdbuildings it is permissible to use the M-50. For the basement and foundation of high-rise buildings, it is better to choose M-300, and for the walls of high-rise buildings, the M-200 brand is preferable.
Thermal conductivity
To understand which building material is suitable for a particular building, you need to compare silicate and ceramic bricks in terms of their ability to conduct heat energy. This indicator is called thermal conductivity. For silicate hollow bricks, the calculated coefficient of thermal conductivity can reach 0.4 W / mdeg. For ceramic hollow, this figure is slightly lower and amounts to 0.34 W / mhail. The thermal conductivity parameter of a solid material of any kind is doubled compared to a hollow brick of the same type.
In order not to freeze in winter and keep cool in the hot period, it is necessary to choose the building material taking into account the coefficient of thermal conductivity. Its permissible value depends on climatic conditions and is calculated for each region separately.
Frost resistance
Another indicator, the optimal value of which is determined by the climate. The frost resistance of a material means its resistance to low temperatures. It is known that there are no strict frost resistance requirements for working bricks, since load-bearing walls are usually inaccessible to freezing.
For cladding, it is advisable to choose building materials with F-35 and above. If temperature fluctuations do not exceed 40 degrees, it is possible to purchase bricks with F-30. It must be taken into account that the cost of a brick will beincrease in proportion to the indicators of frost resistance and thermal conductivity. Therefore, it is economically profitable to purchase products with indicators at the lower limit, and during construction, additionally insulate the building and carry out waterproofing.
Heat resistance
Since brick belongs to the category of fireproof materials, its heat resistance is not of fundamental importance when building a house of any number of storeys. Which is better, ceramic or silicate brick, becomes decisive when laying stove heating.
And an important role here is played not so much by the composition of the building material as by the percentage of voids. For laying the furnace, experts recommend a full-bodied ceramic single, less often one and a half. Silicate brick is only possible for lining chimneys.
Moisture absorption
This indicator is decisive for facing and laying the foundation. The difference between silicate and ceramic bricks is huge. So, for silicate products, the water absorption parameter is about 15%, while the average ceramics is characterized by an indicator of 10%. The face brick has the lowest percentage of moisture absorption. Since it actively interacts with the external environment, the highest requirements are imposed on it. The permissible parameter of moisture absorption of the facing should be 6-8%. Otherwise, the appearance of the building in a few years will slightly resemble ruins, and crumbling brick will spoil the adjacent territory.
Sound proofing
Silicate brick slightlyleading in terms of soundproofing. Exceeding the indicator ranges from 5-7 dB. However, internal partitions of half sand-lime brick will save money, time and provide better sound insulation than ceramic masonry. In places where moisture accumulates, namely in the shower and bathroom, silicate is not recommended due to the high moisture absorption coefficient. In this case, the savings are not only not justified, but also very doubtful.
Vapor permeability
Newbies building a family nest with their own hands have been looking for the right brick for quite some time. They look for the right copy with particular zeal, studying the technical characteristics of the material. Important for the competent start of construction is the opinion of experts, often reflecting how silicate brick differs from ceramic.
Special picky people have to delve into the essence, reaching the study of such an indicator as vapor permeability. In ceramic brick, the parameter that allows the material to breathe is 3 times higher than the silicate counterpart. If the owner still prefers silicate building material, then there is a need to create additional air gaps in the masonry.
Design solution
The main advantage of ceramic bricks over silicate bricks can be safely called the color scheme. There are many pigments that can change the color of building materials when interacting with clay, which cannot be said about lime. Also, the surface of the ceramic product can beribbed or wavy. Silicate brick is produced only with a smooth surface.
The selling price of ceramics is higher than silicate, since its production is associated with higher energy and labor costs. Ceramic brick boasts a wide range, and silicate brick has good sound insulation.
The disadvantages of ceramics include the appearance of s alts on the surface, which slightly spoils the appearance of the structure, and the minus of silicate is its high thermal conductivity.
Experienced builders recommend choosing a brick depending on climatic conditions and the number of storeys of the building. It should be remembered that total savings can lead to negative consequences and even to the destruction of the structure.
