The article will describe in as much detail as possible the schemes of a brick fireplace, available for repetition by novice masters. After all, it is no secret to anyone that the services of experienced stove-makers cost a lot - at least you will pay 18,000-25,000 rubles for all turnkey work. It seems that making a fireplace on your own is a simple matter that everyone can do. But is it? Can a novice master do everything? This is what we will try to figure out.
Classic fireplace design
If you look closely, then open-type hearths are not suitable for heating a private house, since the efficiency of burning wood (fuel) is extremely low. And the efficiency of such fireplaces rarely exceeds 30%. Of course, while the flame is burning in the firebox, all the heat disperses around the room. But as soon as it fades, the brickwork cools down. And it will become cold after 3 hours.
Pay attention! Even a small wood-burning stove cannot be built in a multi-storey building, as there are a lot of difficulties. One of them is the impossibility of removing the chimney. The second difficulty is that the floors will not withstand the weight of the structure, since the smallest one has a very large weight - about 700 kg. Moreover, this mass is distributed over only half a square meter.
Basic elements of fireplaces
But despite the low rate of heat transfer, fireplaces are very attractive to ordinary homeowners. They are able to create a cozy atmosphere in the house. Schemes and drawings of fireplaces are given in our material, the classic hearth includes the following elements:
- The foundation is the part of the structure located underground.
- Fireplace base and first 2-3 rows of brickwork.
- Front and protruding pre-furnace platform.
- The portal is a frame of a brick firebox.
- Smoke collector is a channel that narrows upwards, has the shape of an umbrella. Located directly above the combustion chamber.
- At the very beginning of the smoke box there is a fireplace tooth, which allows you to select hot gases with the highest quality.
- Chimney - part of the pipe that goes to the roof.
- Valves - devices that regulate traction force.
In the event that you have enough funds for construction, you can tile the outside. But practice shows that it is not at all necessary to do this - if the brickwork is done with high quality and beautifully, thenit looks really good.
Fire size
First you need to familiarize yourself with the schemes. It is not very difficult to make a fireplace with your own hands on them. Of course, everything needs practice, it is likely that the first time you will not be able to beautifully and accurately lay out a brick. Therefore, it is recommended to practice on some less significant object. For example, try making a simple barbecue outside.
Now let's talk about the dimensions of the structure. The following proportions should be followed:
- At the chimney pipe, the cross-sectional area should be approximately 9 times less than the corresponding size of the portal.
- The firebox should have a depth 2 times less than the height of the portal opening.
- The total area of the open part of the opening should be approximately 50 times smaller than the square of the room in which the fireplace is placed.
In the event that you put a large fireplace in a small room, the draft will not have enough air. In this case, the fireplace will begin to release smoke into the room or draw air from adjacent rooms. But you can put a small fireplace in a large room. The only negative that you get is insufficient heating of the room. But then the fireplace will stand as a decoration.
Location of fireplaces
Carefully study the schemes of fireplaces available for making with your own hands. The photo shows a variety of designs. In fact, all of them can be divided into two types of fireplaces - corner and wall. The latter are the simplest, they are available forrepetitions even for beginners in the matter of kiln masonry. Once you decide what size the fireplace will be, you can start looking for the most suitable place for it in the room.
- You can put it in the center of the partition between the rooms. In the event that a private house has not yet been completed, or it is being renovated, redevelopment, then the back wall can be moved to an adjacent room. To do this, it is enough to make an opening in the partition.
- It's not very practical to put the fireplace against the outer walls, because most of the heat will go outside.
- Think about whether the location of the fireplace will be convenient. It is not recommended to put it in close proximity to interior doors.
- Check ceilings and truss system design. It is necessary that the chimney pipe does not rest against the supporting elements. It is recommended to maintain a distance of at least 10 cm from the walls of the chimney to the rafters.
In addition, do not forget that you will need to equip the foundation. To do this, you will need to remove the floor covering, and then completely dismantle the existing screed. After that, you definitely need to dig a pit (the foundation of the house itself does not need to be touched). The problem may be cases if communications are laid under the house at the construction site of the fireplace or there is a basement.
Main stages of construction
When making a fireplace stove according to the schemes given in the article, you will need to follow approximately the following sequence:
- Choose building materials andbuy them in the required quantity.
- Prepare the necessary set of tools.
- Equip the foundation for the fireplace.
- May the laying of the furnace and chimney directly.
- Dry the masonry and fire up the oven.
Now let's take a closer look at all these steps to dispel all the ambiguities.
What tools do you need?
Of course, you are unlikely to have a set of tools used by experienced stove-makers, so you need to purchase all of them separately. More specifically, you will need:
- A pickaxe and a rubber mallet.
- Building level and tape measure.
- Cord, square, plumb line.
- Wide tassel.
- Trowel.
- Pliers.
- Scribe and ruler.
It is also desirable to have a dense fabric and a bucket, an iron scoop and a simple broom.
Choice of stove bricks
When making a fireplace-barbecue according to the scheme, you need to choose the right brick at the first stage. Use these guidelines:
- For the main masonry, a red solid brick with a size of 250 x 120 x 65 mm is ideal. Hollow stamps are not recommended.
- At the firebox, all walls must be laid out of fireclay bricks (refractory grades).
- Instead of refractory grades, solid clay bricks can be used, but be sure to select them for quality - there should be no chips, cracks, or other defects on the surface.
- The body of the fireplace can be laid out fromused bricks. But only on condition that it has not lost strength and has not cracked.
- If possible (financial), buy bricks with rounded edges.
These are all recommendations that must be followed when choosing a brick.
Masonry Mortar
The easiest way to make a quality masonry mortar is to purchase a ready-made mixture of clay and sand. It is enough to add water to it, mix thoroughly, after which you can start laying.
But if you decide to save money, you can make a solution yourself. For this you will need:
- Remove all impurities from the clay - soil, stones, glass, plant remains, etc.
- Pour the material into a container (the more the better) and fill it with water. Soaking should be carried out for about 2 days.
- Bring the composition to a consistency like cream. To do this, add water to it. Then, to remove foreign objects from the composition, you need to pass it through a sieve.
- Add dry sand, also passed through a sieve. It is recommended to use a sieve with a mesh size of 1.5 mm.
- Achieve the optimal fat content by constantly mixing the composition.
Make a "sausage" from the resulting solution. If it does not crumble and does not crack when wound on a wooden stick (the diameter should be 4-5 cm), then the solution is just perfect.
Laying the foundation
According to the brick fireplace scheme, it is clear that thismassive construction, and it needs a quality foundation. Let's figure out what the main stages of building the foundation can be distinguished:
- First you need to dig a pit. Its dimensions should be approximately 10 cm larger than that of the hearth. As for the depth, it should not be less than half a meter.
- Fill up the rubble stone, strengthen it with lime mortar or liquid clay.
- Lay two layers of roofing material.
- Set up the formwork and pour the concrete slab. Don't forget reinforcement.
- It should freeze for at least a month. After this time, you need to soak the felt in liquid clay and lay it on the base. Above you need to build two continuous rows of ceramic bricks.
Note that the base of the fireplace has no connection to the foundation of the house. It is recommended to maintain a distance of 5-10 cm between them. All accessible side surfaces must be treated with waterproofing material.
Bookmark the first row
The highest quality brick should be allocated for the construction of the firebox. If you are using a used brick, then it must be cleaned of dirt, soot, old mortar. The laying technology of the first row looks like this:
- Step back from the edge of the foundation 5 cm and lay the first row dry. Place the outer bricks first (the prettiest), then fill in the middle.
- Using a wooden plank and ruler, carefully align all the bricks in one line, keep a right angle.
- Using a tape measure, measurediagonals - they must be equal or differ by no more than 5 mm.
- Controlling horizontality, you need to lay all the bricks on the mortar.
Lay out the next rows using a similar technology. First put the bricks dry, then adjust and cut them if necessary. You control the vertical and horizontal position with the help of a plumb line and a level.
Rules for the construction of fireplace walls
There are a few simple rules that will help you build a fireplace as quickly and efficiently as possible:
- Before laying, immerse the red brick in water for a couple of minutes to release air from it. Refractory bricks do not need to be soaked, it is enough to rinse them with water to remove dust.
- Keep the seam thickness no more than 5 mm.
- Make the walls of the gas channels as smooth as possible. The even edge of the bricks should be turned inside the chimney.
- Ceramic and fireclay masonry with different expansion coefficients. Therefore, they cannot be linked to each other. It is necessary to lay bas alt cardboard.
- Before installation, doors must be treated with asbestos cord in those places where they come into contact with the masonry. All elements must be fixed with a tie wire.
- The valve is installed on a solution of clay. To do this, the shutter opens and the solution is applied to the frame.
That's all the rules, after completion of work, you need to let the solution dry for two weeks. Carefully observe the masonry all this time. If small cracks appear, they need to be repaired.solution.
After two weeks, you need to make kindling. To do this, open the valve and kindle a small pile of wood chips and brushwood. Next, you need to gradually add small firewood. As a result, the solution should dry completely. Watch the masonry, if no cracks appear within the first 4 hours, firewood can be added. There is no need to rush, make sure that all the walls of the hearth warm up evenly. As you can see, the fireplace masonry scheme is not difficult. It is enough to follow all the recommendations, and you will be able to make a high-quality and reliable design that will delight you for many years.