The correct clay mortar for masonry Russian stove and fireplace

Cement is not suitable: it loses strength when exposed to high temperatures. Penetrating into the premises through the cracks of the carbon monoxide gas is deadly. But the clay solution may not meet all the requirements, if the number of components selected "by eye". Knowing all the features of preparation of masonry mortar, you can build your own country house in good Russian stove or fireplace.





Material for masonry must be thick and viscous. Potters call this plasticity, which depends on the fat content of clay.

Skinny solution — the weak, the required viscosity is not. Oily plastic, but dries crack. Need to find a middle ground -normal solution (medium plasticity). It provides reliable masonry joint.

How much need sand and water to prepare the solution depends on the fat content of clay. You can buy it in the store. The fit and extracted himself in a ravine or on the river Bank.

The quality of the clay determines the old-fashioned way. A piece of clay is placed in a bucket and fill with water. After mixing you should get a mixture the consistency of thick cream suitable.

Dipped in the bucket of a wooden spoon or a smooth thin plate, remove and determine the thickness of the adhered layer. Less than one millimetre — low-plasticity mixture, requires the Supplement of fat clay. More than 2 mm — excess fat clay, add sand. Norma — two millimeters.

Experienced potters claim that the quality of the clay can be defined visually: fat clay there are almost no stones in the jejunum, a lot of them. In any case, before the batch is mixed with water the clay is sifted through a sieve with cells not more than 3 x 3 mm, removing all the excess.Sand take a small (1 mm), and also dry sieved, sieve with selecting the appropriate size cells.

To determine the optimum composition of the solution, five portions of clay of the same size placed in a separate container and four samples adding different amount of sand: half, one, half and a quarter of clay. One of the pent-up material leave without supplements.

While mixing, add water to obtain a mass which is easily kneaded and does not stick to the fingers.

From each mixture rolled into balls and pellets with a diameter of, respectively, five and three centimeters. The molded samples are laid out on a sheet of plywood dividing the surface into five rectangles. Each area with the test material sign, indicating the composition of the solution and left to dry. Indoors should be no drafts, temperature — room.

After 10 days the balls drop from meter height on a hard surface. The best mixture is one that has not crumbled from the impact. Pellet from one with balls of mortar should not crumble when breaking.

The following method of determining a suitable composition for masonry quick. Prepared by analogy with the previous method balls (from the samples with different composition) is compressed between two smooth plates. The ball crumbled at once? A little clay. If crack, when the grip reached the half of the diameter — a lot of clay. Solution it is normal if cracks appear on the ball, compressed by one third of the diameter.

To determine the parts used both methods of research to ensure the objectivity of the results.

Selecting high-quality samples, proceed to the preparation of the solution. Experienced by some volumes diluted with water clay and sand are combined and thoroughly mixed.





The optimum 3-mm thickness of the finished seam. To avoid mistakes and get the hang of it, before work is to experiment. Combining a few bricks, make sure that the solution quality and the seam is the desired thickness.

The criteria are as follows: the normal solution, imposed continuous without gaps layer, almost never shrinks. Brick pressure quite a bit in favour of the level of masonry drains in the vertical seams. The dried solution, pry the trowel must not sleep. While trying to disassemble the clutch, after 20 minutes it is necessary to apply considerable effort.

The solution with a properly selected ratio between sand and clay does not require additional supplements. You can prepare all at once the necessary quantity of the mixture. The stock is stored in a container with a tight-fitting lid. On average, a hundred bricks, you need about four buckets of solution.





The clay solution is unstable to moisture. This is a major gap that does not allow to apply the mixture for laying the Foundation of the furnace and brick chimneys. However, for the erection of walls, Russian stove and fireplace mortar with a binder of clay and sand as filler — that's it. Withstands temperatures up to 1000 degrees. Many years has maintained the strength of masonry, not rastreskivalas. Besides, 100 percent natural.

P. S. And remember, only by changing their consumption — together we change the world! ©

Source: estp-blog.ru/rubrics/rid-26661/