In some countries of the world, it is believed that dirt is a harbinger of trouble, in other countries, dirt is the main building material. An abundance of clay soil and clay formations provide many of the world's inhabitants with secure homes. The main feature of raw bricks is durability. Many buildings made of this material have survived for thousands of years. Let's take a look at the famous sights and fortresses built of mud bricks.
1. Taos-Pueblo
Taos Pueblo is an ancient settlement in New Mexico that has been inhabited by humans for 1000 years. These houses are made of adobe bricks, the production of which consists in clay molding and drying in the sun. After the walls have been erected, they are covered with plaster. This plaster is made from clay soil mixed with straw for extra durability. The roofs of such houses are made of cedar, and the stairs located outside lead to the 2nd floor.
2. Arg-e Bam
Arg-e Bam was originally known as a thriving trade center on the famous Silk Road during the Sassanian period (224-637 AD). In Bam, they were engaged in the production of silk, cotton, clothing. Located in southeastern Iran, Bam was built entirely of mud bricks. Thick walls with 38 watchtowers covered an area of 6 square kilometers. The city was home to about 12,000 people. Unfortunately, in 2003 an earthquake in the city of Bam destroyed more than half of the city's houses and historic brick citadels.
3. Dzhinguereberskaya cathedral mosque
The Djinguereber Cathedral Mosque was built in 1325. The building is made of clay with the addition of wood, straw and other plant fibers. The mosque has 3 large rooms, 25 rows of posts lined up from east to west, and a prayer hall for 2,000 people.
4. Walls of Khiva
A clay wall, which has a height of about 10 meters, surrounds and protects the city of Khiva, Ichan-Kala, located in the Kyzylkum desert, Uzbekistan. The wall was made of mud bricks. The walls of Ichan-Kala date back to the 5th century. Clay for the construction of the walls was taken two kilometers from the city, on the territory called Govuk-Kul. To this day, local clay is used by potters.
5. Chan-Chan
Chan Chan is located in the Moche Valley, Peru. This place is a fascinating complex of clay buildings intended for kings. The wall, 8 meters high, contains citadels and pyramids. Most of the structures are well preserved to this day. During its heyday, Chan-Chan was a city that was inhabited by metallurgists, potters and carpenters. Lower class people lived outside the city walls.
6. Bobo-Dioulasso
The Bobo Dioulasso Mosque in Burkina Faso is composed of mud bricks and protruding timber, reminiscent of the Jinguereber Mosque. The mosque is located on the edge of the city. Currently, the reconstruction of the mosque is being carried out, in which not modern materials are used, but those from which the mosque was built.
7. Oasis Siwa
Situated on an old trade route in the Egyptian desert, Siwa was a vital oasis for the trade route. With natural sources of shade and water, this place has saved many travelers. With the collapse of the Roman Empire, the prosperity of Siwa began to decline significantly. Today this place is one of the main attractions of Egypt.
8. Jenne Great Mosque
The largest clay building in the world, the Sudanese-style Jenne Mosque, is located in Mali. The first mosque on this site was built in the 13th century, but the current mosque is only 100 years old.
9. Ait Ben Haddou
One of the top tourist attractions in Morocco, Ait Ben Haddou is an incredible place, a great example of traditional Moroccan adobe architecture. This place has not only an architectural value, it has also become a real boon for cinematography. These walls became the setting for such films as: "Gladiator", "Alexander", "Prince of Persia", "Pearl of the Nile", "The Last Temptation of Christ", and many others.
10. Shibam
This unusual place has earned a well-deserved nickname: "Manhattan of the Desert". Shibam- a city in Yemen with unique high-rise buildings of the 16th century, up to 40 meters high. The houses are made of mud bricks to protect citizens from Bedouin raids.
Clay mortar for oven masonry is made from natural materials.
Clay has the same coefficient of linear expansion as bricks made from this raw material.
The cured clay mixture is a strong and durable material, it does not collapse decades.
The composition of the clay mortar for masonry ovens, proportions
The solution is used for laying the furnace itself, but mixtures based on lime and concrete... They are less susceptible to cracking from furnace gases and hot fumes.
Photo 1. Clay mortar is applied to the bricks, thus the blocks are connected.
The clay solution contains 2 main ingredients - clay and sand. For strength, the mixture is sometimes added table salt(whose consumption from 80 to 250 grams on a bucket of mortar), cement (0.75-1 kg per bucket) and heat resistant glue(according to the instructions on the package).
A hundred bricks are spent 30-36 dm 3 clay-sand paste (three buckets). The thickness of the seams in the masonry is 3-4 mm, but not more 5 mm.
They sell in hardware stores ready packaged mixtures for masonry. They are composed of high quality clay mixed with fine sand.
To make a mortar for masonry with your own hands, you have to take sand and clay on the ground. Stove-makers sometimes use several types of raw materials from different sites. In order not to make mistakes and not bring in the wrong material, it is useful to consult with local craftsmen.
Which clay to choose and how to determine its quality
Clay is a finely dispersed rock with a particle size of thousandths of a millimeter... The chemical formula of the bulk of the rock is Al 2 O 3... This material is very plastic, pliable to mechanical stress, clay paste will withstand the most delicate modeling. The volume of raw materials swollen from water increases up to two times.
The composition of clays includes oxides of iron and other metals, plant residues, hydrocarbons, carbonates, chalk particles, iron sulfide. Impurities lend to this rock different colors.
Finely dispersed fatty clays, they highly plastic... When dried, the raw material cracks strongly, although the dried pieces are highly durable. Such breeds contain from 3 to 15% sand.
Skinny (sand-enriched) clays, on the other hand, have low plasticity... When dried, they become fragile, collapse due to the high content of granular material and are close to sandy loam in composition. In them - more than 80% sand.
Clays normal (average) composition does not crack after drying, does not crumble under mechanical stress.
The quality of raw materials is determined empirically. Exists several ways to determine the fat content of clays:
Method 1. From the clay that has been soaked a day ago, roll sausages-bundles up to one and a half millimeters thick and up to 20-22 cm... They wrap a cylindrical object with a circumference about 50 cm.
Oily, viscous clay stretches smoothly and easily without tearing. When the raw material has a normal composition, small cracks will appear on the flagellum from stretching. The rope of skinny clay mass will break when stretched.
Method 2. The dry material is poured with water and softened to a state batter... Mix the soaked mass with a wooden spatula and lift it up. Oily, viscous clay forms a layer on the blade that adheres strongly to the wood. Normal clay falls off the mixer in pieces. Skinny - everything falls off, only moisture remains on the mixer.
Method 3. On a freshly rolled clay sphere press the tablet... If the material is oily, the sphere will crack when it is flattened to half its diameter. On raw materials of normal composition, cracks will appear when flattened by a third of the diameter, on lean clays - with slight flattening.
Method 4. The clay is soaked and kneaded. The amount of water should be small, as for dumplings, elastic dough. A sphere with a diameter of 40-50 mm and make the cake thick 25-30 mm... The samples are dried for a couple of days.
- Cracks will appear on oily, plastic clay after drying.
- If the raw material is of normal composition, there will be no cracks.
- There will be no cracks on a skinny clay saturated with coarse impurities, but the ball will be fragile and will crumble under mechanical stress.
If the ball is dropped from meter height The greasy (and normal) clay will not shatter. A ball made of skinny clay saturated with a coarse fraction will break into many pieces and grains of sand.
What sand to cook
Only fine sand with a diameter of grains of sand is added to the clay solution up to 1.5 millimeters... Sand of a mixed composition (quartz, feldspars, pieces of other minerals, mica) or pure quartz sand is suitable for masonry.
Removing impurities
Almost all quarry clays and sands contain impurities and require cleaning. Residues are removed from raw materials in different ways plants, roots, grains of sand, pebbles, pieces of rubble.
How to remove impurities from clay
Impurities greatly impair the quality of the masonry. Cleaning of raw materials is carried out in three steps:
- manual sampling the remains of plants, roots, rubble, pebbles;
- sifting through a metal sieve with hole size 1.5 mm;
- clay soaking;
- rubbing through a metal fine mesh sieve.
Photo 2. The process of sifting clay through a metal sieve. It is necessary to press on it with the palm of your hand so that all particles pass through the mesh evenly.
In practice, for cleaning clay for a solution, craftsmen do without the laborious process of soaking the raw materials.
How to remove impurities from sand
The sand is considered prepared when the water passing through it, will become clean... To prepare the material, you need to perform the following actions:
- From sand manually select plant remains, roots, large stones.
- After rough sampling, the material sieved through a metal sieve with cell size 1.5 mm.
- Sand placed in a bag (or net) from burlap and washed with running water... A hose is used for flushing, water is supplied under pressure.
Soak
Store dry prepackaged clay should be soaked. For work you need wide capacity(trough), tank or other vessel:
- The container is filled clay by 80%.
- Capacity up to sides fill with clean water so that it completely covers the material.
- After a day, the solution is stirred... If there is not enough water, it is added again and the clay is left to get wet for another day.
- Soaked material transferred to another container.
Clay quarried independently is soaked in the same way. If the material is wet, it is also soaked, as it usually does not contain enough water.
There are several ways to mix the masonry mortar. It is prepared in trough, tub, in metal tanks, pallets... If the amount of work is small, the ingredients are mixed in a regular bucket. Less often - in a special shallow hole and on boards.
Preparation of clay-sand mortar
The stove-maker measures the required amount of the components of the mixture - clay, sand, additives (cement, glue, salt) and pours them into separate vessels. The amount of each ingredient is calculated in advance and determined during the experiments. Further work is carried out in the following order:
- Clay is poured into the container and fill it with water for a day... Some stove-makers advise soaking this raw material in 2-3 days.
- Clay stir with a wooden stirrer, then - construction mixer.
- In a tub add sand.
- The solution is stirred(first with a spatula, then with a construction mixer), if necessary, add a little water.
- If it was planned, into a sand-clay mixture add additives reinforcing the strength of the masonry.
How exactly clay is diluted, the ratio with water
Clay is poured into a trough, fill the container with water to the brim... The next day, the material is mixed and rubbed through a metal sieve. On 75% of dry raw materials take 25% of water... The rubbed clay paste is immediately used for masonry.
Quality control methods
The stoves check the quality of the mortar as follows: they take freshly prepared clay paste on a metal construction shovel (trowel) and turn it over... A solution of normal composition is kept on the scapula without falling. If there is a lot of clay in the paste (fatty composition), then it sticks tightly to the trowel with a layer thick 3-4 mm... If there is a lot of sand, the grout will immediately fall off the inverted paddle completely.
To check the quality of the ready-to-work material, you can use the same methods as for determining the fat content of raw clay(sculpting and drying balls, flattening the ball with a board, checking for strength by falling from a meter height, pulling out the harnesses).
What to do if the mixture is dry
To prevent the clay paste from drying out, it is stored by covering the container. wet rag... If no glue and cement were added during mixing, the material can be returned to working condition. For this dried mass hammer to pieces and fill it with water. In a day, it will soften. If necessary, the pieces are crushed using a wooden rammer. After softening all the pieces, the solution is mixed with a mixer.
Photo 3. Dried clay in a deep container. It can be mixed again if no glue or cement has been added to the solution.
What to do if the mixture is too thick or thin
The consistency of thick clay can be changed by adding water to it and stirring the mass with a mixer, then with a mixer. If there is an excess of water in the solution, then you can get rid of it two ways:
- Give solution stand and isolate excess water on the surface, and then scoop out her.
- Separate the water on an inclined tray... Portions of clay are placed on an inclined surface. Excess water will drain from it. The pressed material is put into another tank (trough). In practice, with an excess of water, more dry clay is added to the trough and left to swell for a day.
How long does it take to dry heating structures
Masonry with clay hardens for a very long time, the brick draws in moisture and practically does not give it away. Therefore drying the stove takes place in 2 stages.
Natural drying takes at least five to seven days... At this time, the damper, door and blower should be open in the oven.
Forced drying is carried out for 9-10 days in summer and 3.5-4 weeks in winter.
Drying time depends on the design of the furnace, its size and season... In the oven daily (2 times a day) several thin logs are burned.
Drying is complete if after 3-4 hours after the firebox, there is no condensation on the inner surface of the door and on the latch.
Useful video
Watch a video that shows the whole process of making clay mortar for laying a stove.
ogon.guru
Mortar for bricklaying oven bricks
Mortar for laying brick ovens (GOST 5802-78) is a mixture of binder and aggregate (sand) with water. This mixture has the main property of hardening after laying. With the help of a solution, individual bricks, blocks, stones, etc. are bound together. The strength of such a bond depends on the quality of the solution used. It should be noted that for each material it is necessary to use a certain type of solution.
The quality of mortar for masonry ovens varies depending on the content of its components, which is measured as a percentage. Components are binders (clay, cement) and aggregates (sand, slag). The density of the solution may vary depending on the amount of water added to it during mixing.
To choose which solution to put the oven with, you need to have an idea of its composition. The composition of the mortar for a brick oven is indicated by the numerical ratio of binders (clay, lime, cement) and aggregate (sand, crushed stone, etc.). The amount of water used to create a mixture of binder and aggregate is not indicated in the ratio, since water is added to the solution depending on its required density.
What is the solution for laying a stove
According to the use of binders, all solutions for the oven in the bath can be divided into four types: cement, lime, gypsum and mixed, which include two binders.
It should be borne in mind that synthetic binders, as well as organic ones, are not able to withstand prolonged exposure to high temperatures, therefore, only mineral binders (clay, cement, lime or gypsum) are used for laying stoves.
The mortar on which the ovens are placed can be heavy and light. The density of heavy mortars in a dry state is more than 1500 kg / m3. The density of light solutions does not exceed 1500 kg / m3.
By appointment, solutions are divided into masonry (intended directly for laying bricks, stone and stove blocks), finishing (for finishing stoves) and special.
Mortars, unlike concretes, can be laid in thinner layers and without the use of a special mechanical compactor. Most often they are applied on porous substrates (bricks, suitable natural stone materials) that are capable of absorbing water.
Simple and complex oven mortar
Simple mortars consist of an aggregate and one type of binder. Complex or mixed solutions include several types of binders (cement and clay, cement and lime) and aggregates. So, for example, a complex cement-lime mortar, having a ratio of 1: 3: 15, consists of one part of cement, three parts of lime filler and fifteen parts of sand.
In complex solutions, the volume of the main binder is conventionally taken as a unit. The rest of the substances are designated by numbers, which indicate how many parts by volume are needed for one part of the main binder. The main astringent component has more pronounced astringent properties in comparison with the rest of the substances included in this solution. Therefore, the name of the solutions is given according to the name of the main binder. So, for example, in the composition of a lime-clay solution there are two binders - lime and clay.
Lime has more pronounced astringent properties, therefore, all other components are equated to its volume.
It is not always possible to prepare a high-quality suitable solution, guided only by the quantitative ratio of binders and filler, since in addition to such a ratio, it is also necessary to take into account the basic properties of materials, i.e. fat content, grade, amount of impurities, etc.
What mortar are the stoves put on: clay mortar for laying the stove
Clay mortar is used for laying stoves and chimney parts located under the roof of a building. The strength and durability of brickwork largely depends on the quality of its preparation.
The main disadvantage of such a solution is the lack of moisture resistance. Therefore, it is recommended to use the clay solution for the kiln only when erecting the main kiln array. It is not suitable for a chimney or foundation.
The thickness of the seam of the clay mortar for masonry of stoves should not be more than 5 mm, otherwise, under the influence of high temperatures, it can crack, and air will penetrate into the formed voids, impairing the operation of the stove. Such a solution should be prepared from high-quality clay and fine sifted sand. The diameter of the grains of sand should be no more than 1 mm. The solution should be mixed thoroughly.
Kiln clay solutions can be divided into oily, normal, and skinny.
Fatty solutions are characterized by good plasticity, but when dry they can crack noticeably.
Skinny solutions are mostly non-plastic, they often crumble and are rather fragile.
If the combination of the binder and the aggregate is selected correctly, then normal solutions are plastic, practically do not crack upon drying and give minimal shrinkage, that is, the volume of such solutions remains practically unchanged. It is normal solutions that are recommended for the construction of furnaces.
Preparation of clay mortar for laying stoves
Another important factor for clay mortar is its consistency. With the correct preparation of the mortar for laying furnaces, it always looks homogeneous, without pronounced areas consisting of a single aggregate or clay. The consistency of the solution should resemble sour cream. This is easy to check when laying a wet brick, when the excess mortar will be easily squeezed out by the weight of the brick itself, as well as with light pressure on it with your hand.
It is necessary to prepare several solutions containing different amounts of clay and sand. To do this, you need to measure out five identical portions of clay, leave the first of them pure, add 10% sand to the second portion, 25% to the third portion, 75% to the fourth, and add the same amount of sand to the fifth portion as clay. If the clay is oily, then for the second portion the amount of sand should be 50%, for the third portion you need to take 100% of the sand, for the fourth - 150%, and for the fifth - in double the amount of clay.
Each portion of the solution should be thoroughly mixed until a homogeneous mass is obtained. After that, adding water in portions, it is necessary to bring the mass to the consistency of a thick dough, which should not stick to your hands.
From each portion of the solution, you need to mold several balls with a diameter of 4-5 cm and the same number of plates with a thickness of 2-3 cm. The balls and plates should be marked and left to dry for 10-12 days in a draft-free room, with a constant room temperature.
When the balls and plates are dry, you need to check if they are cracked. If outwardly everything is in order with them and when they fall from a height of 1 m to the floor they do not crumble, then the solution is considered suitable for construction. Plates from a lean solution will be brittle, and balls from such a solution can immediately crumble when dropped.
Plates and balls made from a greasy solution crack when dried.
For the most accurate determination of the quality of the solution, raw balls can be placed between two plates and squeezed until cracks appear on the balls. On balls made from a solution of low plasticity, large cracks are formed already upon compression by about a quarter of their diameter.
On balls made from a solution of medium plasticity, small cracks appear when compressed to a third of their diameter. Small cracks in balls made from highly plastic mortar can form when compressed to half their diameter.
There is another option for checking the quality of the solution. Instead of balls, you can make flagella a little more than 1 cm thick and 15-20 cm long. When you try to stretch the flagellum from a low-plastic solution, it practically does not stretch and immediately forms an uneven rupture. A flagellum made from a solution of medium plasticity will stretch smoothly, and will break off only when its thickness at the point of rupture is about one-sixth of its original thickness. The flagellum of a plastic and highly plastic solution stretches smoothly, gradually becoming thinner, and it breaks at a thickness equal to about a tenth of its diameter.
You can also check the plasticity of the clay solution by rolling the flagellum from the solution into a ring around a wooden stick with a diameter of 5 cm.If the flagellum consists of a solution with low plasticity, then with such bending it will crack and tears will be visible. With medium plasticity, small cracks will appear in the places of bending, but the flagellum itself will not break. If the solution has high plasticity, then neither cracks nor ruptures will appear.
After several such tests, you can choose the required ratio of clay and sand, and then proceed directly to mixing the solution in the amount required for work.
As for the process of mixing the solution itself, you first need to sift the sand through a fine sieve with cells of 1-1.5 mm. Then you need to prepare the clay. To do this, it must be soaked in any container of a suitable size, then add water to the clay until the consistency of fat milk and strain through a sieve. The remaining clay must be diluted in water and filtered again. Next, you should measure the required amount of sand and diluted clay and mix thoroughly until a homogeneous mixture is obtained. It is necessary to ensure that no clots form in the finished solution, and that there is no impurity of large particles.
The shelf life of properly prepared clay solutions is not limited. If over time they dry out, then they should simply be diluted with water.
Before proceeding directly to the laying, the brick must be soaked in water for 24 hours. Stove masonry based on soaked brick and properly prepared clay mortar will last for decades.
If it is required to erect a furnace structure of fireclay or refractory bricks, then the solution is recommended to be prepared from refractory clay and fireclay in a 1: 1 ratio.
Cement mortar for masonry brick oven
Cement mortars are the most durable, they are able to harden both in air and at high humidity and even in water. The onset of setting of the kiln grout begins in about 30 minutes, and the final hardening occurs after 10-12 hours.
Due to their high strength and moisture resistance, they are used for arranging chimneys and laying foundations, since it is these elements of the furnace that are most often located in conditions of high humidity or in the zone of its strong drops.
If during the construction of the furnace there are changes in its design, for example, when it does not fit into a given gap, then you have to make several building blocks yourself. In such cases, it is recommended to use a refractory mixture. To create it, you will need 1 part of 400-600 grade cement, 2 parts of crushed stone, 2 parts of ordinary sand and 0.3 parts of chamotte sand.
When the cement mortar for masonry is ready, it must be poured into a special form - formwork, which is a wooden box of a given shape with collapsible walls and without a lid.
Blocks should be kept in the formwork for a month. At the same time, it is necessary to constantly maintain high humidity by covering the blocks with plastic wrap and moistening with water daily for the first week.
The composition of the cement mortar and the proportion for masonry
Sand is mainly used as an aggregate in cement mortars. In this case, the proportion of the ratio of cement to sand can vary from 1: 1 to 1: 6. In order for the cement mortar to retain its strength and moisture resistance, it is best to use it within an hour after mixing.
When laying foundations on damp ground and erecting pipe parts that go beyond the roof level, it is recommended to use mixed cement mortars. They usually consist of two binders and an aggregate. An example of such a solution would be a mixture of cement, lime paste and sand. When solidified, such a solution has high strength and moisture resistance. The composition of the mortar contains 1 part of cement, 2 parts of lime paste and 6 to 12 parts of sand.
Often, when erecting furnaces, stronger solutions are required. So, to create monolithic open fires, it is advisable to use heat-resistant concrete mixtures. The proportion of cement mortar for masonry in this case will be as follows: 1 part of cement grade 400-600, 2 parts of red brick crushed stone, 2 parts of quartz sand and 0.3 parts of chamotte sand.
The composition of the lime mortar for laying the stove
Like cement mortars, lime mortars for masonry are characterized by high strength and good moisture resistance. They are mainly used for the construction of foundations and chimneys located above the roof level. The composition of the lime mortar for masonry in different proportions includes lime paste, sand and water.
The quality of the lime mortar depends to a large extent on how correctly the slaking of lime has been carried out. Lump lime should be filled with water in a special box. It is necessary to withstand it until it is completely extinguished, periodically adding water. After the end of the boiling lime, it must be poured into another container.
The most suitable place to store lime is in a special earthen pit lined with boards. After placing in such a hole, lime should be covered with a half-meter layer of earth. In this state, it can retain its properties for several years. The longer it is stored, the better, since after slaking the lime to improve its qualities, it is recommended to stand for at least a month.
How to prepare a solution for laying a stove in a bath
Before preparing the lime mortar for laying the oven, the lime dough must be filtered through a sieve, mixed with sand previously sifted through a fine mesh, then add a little water, without ceasing to stir the mixture. Thus, the solution should be brought to the required consistency.
For 1 part of lime dough, 2-3 parts of sand are needed. Freshly prepared lime mortars, in contrast to cement mortars, retain their properties for several days. For greater strength, it is recommended to add cement to the mortar, and to reduce the setting time (for example, when plastering), it is best to add gypsum.
Lime mortar is also distinguished by the degree of fat content. To correctly determine it, the ready-made solution must be mixed with a wooden spatula for several minutes, then look at the degree of its adhesion. A thin solution does not stick to the scapula, a greasy solution covers its surface with a thick layer, and a normal solution lays down in a thin layer or remains on it in places.
Lime mortar of normal fat content is ideal for masonry. In order to change the fat content of the solution, it is recommended to add the missing components to it. So, for example, to increase the fat content of a lean solution, it is necessary to add lime dough, and to reduce the fat content, sand is used as an additive.
www.stroy-dom.net
Personally, I really like working with clay - plastering, laying bricks. There are many positive aspects to clay mortar. So, clay-sand mortar is very plastic. Much more plastic than cement-sand. It does not "shrink" as much during operation as a cement one. And this allows you to reduce the time spent on systematic mixing of the solution during operation.
Of course, modern additives and plasticizers now make it possible to make the cement slurry also very plastic. And yet about clay.
I told earlier how to prepare a clay-sand mortar for laying bricks, so I will not repeat myself, but I will only talk about some aspects of brickwork on clay.
Clay-sand mortar can only be used for the construction of internal walls and partitions in dry and moderately damp rooms. Such a solution can also be used for masonry of external walls, but only on the condition that subsequently the wall will be protected from adverse factors. Thermal insulation of the house with polystyrene, siding, etc. can serve as such protection.
The plasticity of the clay-sand mortar makes it possible to apply a working solution during masonry not for a single brick, as is usually done when working with cement, but for 3-5 pieces at once. In this case, the solution is laid out as usual, without leveling, with a small surplus.
When sliding, the brick evens out the clay mortar under it and, if the amount of the applied mortar is optimal, then the brick is practically in its "place". It remains to correct, as expected, with light blows of the trowel on the brick from above and from the side of the dry end.
The second, the third fits in the same way ... With a little skill, it turns out very quickly.
I draw your attention: the thickness of the clay-sand mortar during bricklaying should not exceed 5 mm. Such recommendations are given in the literature, and this is repeated by many experts.
However, sometimes this rule has to be violated, especially when working with used red bricks of the old model. I have come across various options: some bricks are slightly thinner than others, some are slightly curved, others are slightly beveled. And in order for the masonry to turn out even, it is necessary to make a seam slightly thicker than 5 mm in some places.
But these are separate moments. In general, the thickness of the seam on a clay-sand mortar should be from three to five mm.
In my opinion, 5 mm is the optimal thickness of a clay mortar joint. If the mortar is prepared and applied to the work surface correctly, then when laying bricks and lightly tapping, it automatically sits in place, leaving a layer of mortar about 5 mm under it.
This moment (the thickness of the seam) must be taken into account when calculating the number of bricks for laying the wall. The fact is that when calculating this amount for masonry for cement and clay, a significant difference is obtained. Let's take a look at this with an example.
The thickness of the cement joint is usually 1 cm. The clay joint is 0.5 cm. When laying 10 rows of bricks on cement and clay mortar, the difference in height will be 5 cm. For every 10 rows, there is a 5 cm difference between clay and cement.
This means that a red brick masonry (the height of a red brick is 8 cm), 16 bricks high, made on cement, will be 8 cm higher than the same masonry made on clay. In order to level the height, in this case we will have to lay out another row of bricks in the case of using clay-sand mortar.
Roughly speaking, when laying a wall with a height of 2.5 m of red brick on clay mortar, you will have to put an additional two rows of bricks in comparison with the laying on cement mortar.
This is a purely economic aspect that must be taken into account when choosing a mortar for masonry. We saved on cement, and incurred the cost of additional bricks (if you have to buy a brick). Compromise.
I talked about some of the features of laying bricks on clay mortar. Otherwise, the work and organization of the workplace are no different from those when working with cement mortar when laying bricks.
In conclusion. Basically, clay-sand mortar is used for laying red brick walls. Can such a solution be used for laying walls made of white silicate bricks? In principle, you can. But only, again, only walls protected from moisture.
Since sand-lime brick is heavier than red, some nuances arise. So, if the mortar has the same consistency as for laying red brick, then under its own weight of the white brick, the solution will be more strongly displaced from under it. Therefore, the thickness of the seam will be less than 5 mm.
To work with silicate bricks, it is necessary to experimentally determine the density of the clay mortar at which the working solution will not be unnecessarily displaced by the brick's own weight.
In the photo, I showed the laying of a white brick wall on clay mortar in my barn. As you can see in the photo, I made the seam thickness standard for white brick - about 10 mm. Since the brick is second-hand, it has a different thickness, chips. Therefore, the thickness of the seam during the laying process was different. But, as practice has shown, the strength of the wall is acceptable.
postrojka.pp.ua
What will it be?
In the process of laying furnaces, approximately three buckets of mortar are required for every hundred bricks. In the majority of cases, the mortar for laying a brick oven has a homogeneous composition, and at the same time it must withstand a temperature of more than 1000 ° C without deforming. Professional specialists who have been working in this field for a long time can easily determine the quality of the clay for the prepared mortar by touch, and the masonry is carried out with a seam thickness of about 4 mm. If you make thicker joints, the mortar for laying a brick oven will not be able to withstand high temperatures and will crumble, which will lead to the formation of cracks that impair traction and increase fuel consumption. Among other things, it must be said that such problems ultimately lead to the danger of carbon monoxide escaping into the dwelling, which can provoke extremely unpleasant consequences.
What should be considered?
One of the most important rules of the stove-maker is the following: the less clay is used in the masonry process, the higher its quality will be. At the same time, it should be noted that clay itself is a noble building material, since even those people who do not do such things professionally and, in principle, do not have any relevant skills, can work with it. In the event that the laying is carried out on a cement mortar, then in this case it will be impossible to disassemble it without serious losses, since it is still not difficult for an unprofessional person to prepare a mortar for laying bricks, but it is much more difficult to build everything correctly. The clay solution allows, if necessary, to easily disassemble the furnace without any waste. In the process of carrying out repair work, both brick and other building material, for the laying of which clay mortar is used, are always preserved.
Are Supplements Needed?
There is an opinion that it is possible to increase the strength of the solution used if you use specialized additives, but in fact you should not forget that literally 100 years ago no such additives were used, but at the same time, furnaces that were based on clay solution served faithfully people for a hundred or more years, since preparing a mortar for laying bricks from clay is far from such a difficult task, even if you need to do everything as correctly and efficiently as possible. In the event that you were able to properly prepare all the components, you will not need any additives to make the clay mortar, and the various recommendations in this case are a simple safety net.
What should it be?
To build really reliable brick ovens, you need to use an extremely plastic, but at the same time moderately "greasy" solution. In the event that you seriously overdo it with the "fat content" of this solution, after the final drying, it will significantly decrease in volume or even crack. At the same time, the "lean" solution will not allow achieving the required strength, as a result of which the structure itself will be unreliable.
Clays for the manufacture of this solution differ from each other in plasticity and fat content, while it is worth noting the fact that there are such deposits of clay, from which a solution of normal fat content is made, even in the complete absence of sand. It is often necessary to mix two or even three types of clay at the same time, which are taken from different places, but in this case, a fairly strict dosage is observed.
How does mixing take place?
Initially, mixing of mortar for laying a brick oven is carried out dry, but then the resulting mixture is mixed with water. In the event that the clay turns out to be more oily than planned, sand is additionally added to the solution in an amount of half to five parts, depending on the volume. The most common ratio of sand to clay in a prepared mortar is 1: 1 or 2: 1. Water is added about a quarter of the total clay.
You should remember that for processing oily clay you need to use more sand, and it itself should be fine-grained, in the complete absence of any foreign impurities. Initially, the sand is sifted carefully through a fine sieve, and all excess sand must be removed from the very skinny clay.
How to check the quality?
There are many ways to check the quality of clay. As mentioned above, in the vast majority of cases, professional specialists are able to determine the quality simply by touching the clay mortar for masonry after preparation.
For people who do not specialize in this field, the easiest way is to sculpt a ball from the prepared solution and throw it on the floor. In the event that the ball is completely crumbled, this indicates that there is too much sand in the prepared solution, which is also evidenced by the formation of a large number of cracks. With normal or high fat content of the resulting solution, no cracks should remain in the ball.
There are also three other ways to determine the quality of a masonry mortar.
First
Approximately 0.5 liters of clay is taken, after which a small amount of water is added to it and thoroughly kneaded with your hands until all the water is completely entered into it, and it itself does not stick to your hands. After preparing the tough dough, a ball is rolled, the diameter of which is from 40 to 50 mm, and the same ball is then used to make a cake, the diameter of which is 100 mm. Under normal conditions, this product will dry for two to three days.
Further, if any cracks have formed on the cake during this period of time, this indicates that the clay is too oily, and sand will need to be added to it. Again, if the cracks are completely absent, and even after falling from a height of one meter, the ball does not crumble, the clay is suitable for making a really high-quality mortar from clay and sand.
Skinny clay will also not crack, but at the same time you should understand that it is fragile, as a result of which you will need to add a sufficiently large amount of oily clay to it, and as a result, a large consumption of mortar per 1 m3 of masonry may result. The clay itself or sand is added in several passes, after each of which the quality of the prepared solution is checked again.
Second
The clay is placed in a bowl and filled with water, after which the resulting consistency is kneaded into lumps and mixed with a jelly. In the event that the clay strongly enough adheres to the jelly or even completely envelops it, then this indicates an excessive fat content of the resulting solution, as a result of which a certain amount of sand will need to be added to it. If, after mixing, only single clots remain on the paddle, then the clay is normal, and an oven mortar for masonry can be prepared from it, even in the absence of sand. A thin clay is determined by a layer that is too thin, and in this case, in order to ensure the normal characteristics and consumption of the solution for the masonry, it will be necessary to add a certain amount of oily clay to it.
Third
This method is the most accurate and allows you to determine the optimal quality of clay required for the manufacture of bricks. Approximately 0.5 l of clay is kneaded until a stiff dough is thickened, after which it is thoroughly kneaded by hands in the same way as in the first method. Then a ball is rolled from this dough, which is placed between two planed boards, and the upper one is gently pressed, gradually squeezing the resulting ball. The compression is repeated until cracks appear on the ball. The degree of fat content in this case is determined depending on how much the ball is flattened, and also what character the cracks will have.
If the ball was made of rather skinny clay, then even with the initial pressure on it, it will completely disintegrate into pieces. A ball of thicker clay will crack at about a quarter or a fifth when compressed. If the ball shrinks by a third of its diameter, and only then gives a crack, this indicates that the clay is normal and does not require any additives. Greasy clay can flatten to half its original thickness.
Alternative option
From the same dough as the ball, flagella can be rolled out by hand, the thickness of which is 10-15 mm, and the length is up to 200 mm. The flagella bend in a ring around the rolling pin or stretch.
In the event that the flagellum is pulled out smoothly, the clay is oily, and sand will need to be added to the composition of the masonry solution. When using normal clay, the flagellum will also stretch smoothly and break only when its thickness directly at the point of rupture is approximately 15-20% less than the initial flagellum thickness, and small cracks appear when bent. From skinny clay, the flagellum practically does not stretch, gives a rather uneven rupture, and when bent, a large number of tears and cracks appear.
What should be considered?
Carrying out the ball crush test several times allows you to determine the normal clay, which will be ideal for the production of raw bricks, as well as for mortar for laying ovens.
Quite often, several types of clay will need to be mixed simultaneously during testing to create the ideal mortar for masonry, the proportions of which will meet the requested requirements. You will also need to add or remove sand if necessary. This is the only way you can choose the most optimal ratio of materials and make a really high-quality solution.
Are deviations acceptable?
Even if there is an error, it is best to err on the side of fat content, since this is practically invisible for the operation of the oven. In the event that there is too much sand in the mortar, this can significantly affect the overall strength of the masonry. If the mortar is too greasy, the plaster can give serious cracks, but you can repair them by using a grout with a lot of sand and whitewashing in several passes.
After the final choice, it remains just to prepare the desired solution.
How to prepare the solution?
Initially, the clay is soaked in a large box or trough, after which it is trampled in rubber boots until all the clay lumps are crushed. It is worth noting that you can break them using a special rammer. After these procedures, you will need to carefully probe the solution with your hands in order to completely crush the pieces of clay. In the event that the solution was mixed correctly, and at the same time the clay and sand are in the most optimal proportion, it will slide well from a trowel or steel shovel, that is, it will not adhere reliably to them.
If you apply an even layer of such a solution to a brick, then put a second layer on it and tap it, and then after five minutes raise the upper one, then with the optimal quality of the solution, the lower one should not come off. Also, when a stick is lowered into a normal solution (for example, it can be a shovel handle), a slight trace should remain on it.
fb.ru
Clay mortar is the most suitable composition for laying a stove
In the construction of brick heating units, a clay mortar is usually used. By its composition, it is ideally suited for reliable fixation of each brick of the structure being erected. But for laying the foundation of the furnace and its chimney, it is advisable to use a cement or lime mixture. They do not crack from condensation that collects in the specified elements of the heating device.
The main indicator of the clay mixture for laying a brick oven is fat content. It is on this characteristic that the strength of the masonry composition, its resistance to high temperatures, plasticity, and shrinkage depend. All clay-based solutions are usually divided into three types:
- Skinny. They are considered fragile and low plastic. In addition, the lean mixture begins to crack after drying.
- Fatty. These compositions have excellent plastic characteristics. But when dry, they are prone to destruction (crumbling).
- Normal. Ideal mixes for masonry work. At 100-degree temperatures, they do not collapse, practically do not shrink, and have a good level of plasticity. A normal oven grout is easy to use. With its help, masonry can be done without any problems by any more or less experienced home craftsman.
To prepare the correct clay composition for the oven, therefore, its plasticity should be correctly selected. Too greasy or too skinny mixture will crack and crumble, which is unacceptable. This means that we need to decide on the plasticity of the clay that we plan to use. This is done as follows. Pour 10 liters of water into a bucket, add clay to the container. Stir this composition (the procedure is performed with a wooden board) until a creamy consistency is obtained (add clay as needed). It's simple now. Take out the board and carefully examine it. If a thick clay layer is stuck to the wooden surface, you have an overly plastic mixture.
This problem is solved by adding building sand to the composition. For 10 liters of the mixture, 1 liter of this material is used. Add sand (first 1 liter), mix thoroughly. Add more sand if necessary. And so on until the prepared composition remains on the wood plank with a layer of about 2 mm. Such a solution is considered optimal for masonry. If the mixture sticks with a thinner layer, everything will have to be redone - you got a non-plastic composition. It is not suitable for laying the stove.
Do-it-yourself mixture preparation - all options
Having figured out the principle of determining the plasticity of a masonry mortar, you can start mixing it. With your own hands, this operation can be performed using different methods. A very simple technique, which we, in fact, have already covered. You need to soak the clay in a small amount of water 24 hours before the scheduled stove laying procedure. Then (in a day) add liquid to the soaked material and stir the composition with a shovel until a creamy state. After that, you need to strain the resulting mixture and add sand to it (remember the proportions indicated above).
If there are no liquid puddles on the surface of the mud, you did everything right. If the clay appears in liquid form on the surface of the masonry mixture, it is necessary to add more sand to it.
In cases where impeccably clean clay is used (without foreign inclusions and small stones), the mixture for the stoves can be prepared by hand using the second method. Its essence is as follows. Add fine sifted sand to clean clay and fill the resulting composition with water (a quarter of the total volume of the mixture). Stir the composition thoroughly until creamy. At the exit, it should slide off the shovel without difficulty, but in no case should it spread. The next step is to add cement and salt to the resulting composition. These components will increase the strength characteristics of the clay kiln mortar. Cement for 10 liters of the mixture is taken 750 mg, salt - about 200 g.
The third method involves the use of refractory clay and chamotte sand. These components should be mixed with each other in the same ratio. Then add water to the mixture. Its amount is 25% of the clay volume. Mix the composition. That's all. This is perhaps the most elementary way to prepare mortar for laying ovens. There is another method of making the mixture of interest to us with our own hands. It is made from loam. You will have to mix 10 small portions of different solutions. The first mixture has proportions - part of cement + part of sand + 10 parts of loam, the second - 2 hours of sand + 1 hour of cement + 9 hours of clay, and so on. The latter composition, therefore, will contain 1 hour of cement, 10 hours of sand and 1 hour of loam.
All mixed solutions should be placed in small boxes and left to dry completely in the fresh air (6-7 days). After a week, start examining the resulting mixtures. For masonry, choose the composition in which there is the maximum amount of clay and at the same time the phenomenon of cracking is completely absent. Believe me, it will be ideal - it will be able to withstand furnace heating temperatures up to 500-600 ° C without deformation and crumbling. Choose your own version of the preparation of clay mortar!
Cement and lime - features of mixtures
For the bases and chimneys of furnaces, as noted, other solutions should be used - quickly solidifying and high strength. Such mixtures can be prepared from cement and sand or lime-based. Cement mixtures are prepared as follows:
- Sift well-dried sand. It should be crumbly and as clean as possible.
- Mix sand and cement (3-4 to 1).
- Mix the ingredients actively. There should be no lumps of cement in the finished composition.
Add water to the mixture just before the start of the masonry work. The volume of the liquid is taken so that the solution is sufficiently mobile, but at the same time it does not slide off the shovel. An important point! The cement masonry composition must be applied within 60 minutes after preparation. In an hour, she will simply grab (and tightly), and it will be impossible to use it.
The lime mixture is made on the basis of the so-called dough. It is made from one part of lime (take quicklime) and 3 parts of water. Mixing these components is dangerous. There is a risk of damage to the respiratory tract of a person and his skin. Therefore, the operation must be carried out in protective clothing and a respirator. It is even easier to purchase a ready-made lime mortar at a hardware store. It is relatively inexpensive. The operation of mixing the components of the lime composition for the masonry of the kiln is as follows:
- Rub the lime dough through a sieve.
- Sift the sand thoroughly.
- Add part of the dough to three parts of sand, stir, add water, stir the solution again. Add more liquids as needed. As a result, you should get a plastic composition.
Some experts advise using a cement-lime masonry mixture. It is prepared from 10 hours of sand, 2 hours of dough and 1 hour of cement. Here you should adhere to a certain order of actions. You must first mix the cement and sand. Then add water to the lime dough (the solution should be viscous). And only after that you mix the dough with water and a composition of cement with sand. It is allowed to slightly dilute the mixture with a small amount of liquid.
We are confident that our advice will help you prepare a quality masonry mortar. Take this operation really responsibly. It is on the quality of the masonry mixture that the efficiency of the furnace operation depends. May it always be warm in your home!
remoskop.ru
Bricklaying for a stove in a bathhouse or in a garage
At the moment, it is quite difficult to find a brick oven in a particular room. After all, it is much more convenient now to use natural gas or, in extreme cases, electric heating devices, rather than first folding the stove, and then taking several hours each time to melt it and heat the whole house. But even such an aggregate is still found in some localities. And it concerns not only some remote outbacks, small villages and villages. Even a few tens of kilometers from the capital of our state, you can see a house in which natural gas as a means of heating is no longer even dreamed of. This is due, in most cases, to the fact that during the construction of certain structures, the routes of the gas pipeline to the settlement were blocked. As a result, in order to carry out heating with the help of gas, it is necessary not only to do it in the district, through some other settlements, but also to check the soil every time.
Considering the fact that in some localities a small number of people permanently reside, we can say that this is unprofitable. Moreover, it is not profitable to use electric fireplaces or heat guns as heating devices. Despite the fact that a lot of such devices will be required at home. It is these facts that influence the fact that a fairly large number of homeowners are forced to build stoves in their homes. In addition, brick ovens are still widespread in baths, as well as in garages.
The main stages of bricklaying a brick oven
In order for the stove to serve you in good condition for a long time, it is necessary to correctly carry out all the necessary measures at the initial stage. It includes, first of all, the selection of materials, determination of their quantity and preparation of the working area for further work. If you are building a stove from scratch, then you do not have to worry too much about preparing the place that you have chosen for the location of the stove.
The most important thing you will need to do at this stage is how you should consider and measure the distance between the roof beams and the cuts.
You need to place the stove exactly where the chimney cannot touch them. Otherwise, you will still have to perform a fairly large amount of work related to the redevelopment of the load-bearing part of the roof. And this, with the wrong approach, can lead to damage to the integrity of the roof. Therefore, do not forget that the first thing you will need to calculate is not what dimensions the finished stove will have in the room, but where the chimney will pass.
Next, you need to correctly plan how the oven will be located in the room. To do this, pay attention to where the window and the front door are located. This is necessary in order to build a firebox and underfloor heating on the right side of the stove. If this moment is missed, it is possible to blow out a flame in the oven due to active air flows in the room. At the same time, when the oven was already built earlier, but you decided to rebuild it, you will first need to determine the exact state of the masonry and, depending on this, it will be possible to proceed with the partial or major dismantling of the oven. The preparation of materials refers mainly to two components - brick and mortar. As for the first ingredient, the brickwork of the stove in the bath is made of red fireclay bricks. It is a hardened brick, which, thanks to firing, acquires the characteristics that are inherent in natural stone. This applies not only to strength and fire resistance, but also to moisture resistance. But it is in them that the conditions of service of the stove, erected in the bath, are contained.
Recipe for making clay mortar for brickwork
So, having decided on what kind of brick you need to use in order to fold the brick oven in the bath, you can proceed to the next stage - kneading the clay mortar. But not everything is as simple as it might seem at first glance, although the set of components of this solution is not impressive. It consists only of:
- clay;
- water;
- sand;
- binding element.
Choosing clay for mortar
The difficulties in preparing this solution relate to just the most important element - clay. It is her choice that causes difficulties even for recognized masters. There are 3 main types of clay - normal, skinny and oily. Only normal clay is suitable in its pure form. And if you can find it, then you can use it in a solution only with the addition of water. You don't need any sand or binder. In nature, such clay is almost never found, and acquiring it is also quite problematic. That is why the preparation of a solution from clay is a rather complicated and lengthy process. First, you need to find clay, then check it and, in the end, after mixing the solution, determine whether it is suitable for laying a brick oven. Finding clay in most regions of our country is not so problematic, because in most cases, at different depths, each gardener, for sure, found several pieces of clay. And even in sand pits, you can find clay deposits.
So, it is more profitable to dig up clay with your own hands than to buy it in a store or order it online. This is due to the fact that no one will tell you exactly what its composition is and, even after paying, you risk subsequently doing all the same measures as in the case of self-mining of clay in a quarry. Secondly, when ordering clay in an online store, you run the risk of encountering dishonest entrepreneurs. Even if you find conscientious sellers of clay for mortar, then only for the delivery you will have to pay quite an impressive amount.
Therefore, take a bucket, a shovel and go to the nearest mountain, in which you, for sure, will dig up the amount of clay necessary for mixing the solution. It is impossible to determine by eye whether normal, skinny or oily clay was mined by you. This requires some experimentation. There is nothing complicated in this, and no chemical reagents are required from you here. All that is needed is a small container, water, sticks and the actual clay. First, you need to pour water into your existing vessel, then a small amount of clay is immersed in it. After the clay has softened for a few minutes, stir it with a stick. Pulling it out, it will be possible to determine what kind of clay you dug. So, if a lot of clay has accumulated on a stick and it is difficult to peel off, then such clay is oily. If the clay has covered the stick with a thin layer and gradually slides over it, then it is normal. At the same time, when the stick was taken out absolutely clean or covered with a very thin clay film, we can say for sure that the clay is skinny.
In order for the greasy clay to be used for mortar, it is necessary to add sand or skinny clay to it. Conversely, if the clay is skinny, then you will need to find more oily clay for it. This method will not allow you to determine the quality of the clay as accurately as possible, because you can put little clay in the vessel or pour too much water into it. Therefore, you can resort to another method for determining the composition of clay. To do this, you need skills acquired in kindergarten or school. This method consists in the fact that you will have to mold 2 balls with a diameter of no more than 7 cm from the extracted clay. One of them will need to be crushed into a cake, and then both products will be sent to dry for 2 - 3 days. After that, first you need to see if cracks have formed on the cake. If so, you can immediately tell that the clay is oily. If there are no cracks, then this indicates that the clay is either normal or skinny.
How to mix a clay mortar for laying a brick oven?
A ball sculpted together with a cake will help you determine what it is. It will need to be hit very hard on some hard object. If the ball crumbles, then the clay in it is thin, but if its shape and integrity are preserved, it is normal. A clay mortar is mixed for laying a brick oven, usually by hand. Or you can do it with your feet. The clay is soaked in a large cauldron in water for several days, then you need to put on long rubber boots and, after trampling it, you will knead the masonry mortar. But this option is used only when normal clay is used, and neither sand nor a binder needs to be added to it. By the way, cement or lime is added to the clay solution as it.
In these cases, the clay is pre-soaked, after which it must be shoveled with sand or other binding element. This is done as follows. Clay is laid on the platform in a long bed, about 35 - 40 cm wide, sand, cement or lime is poured onto it. This puff bed with a shovel needs to be chopped into small pieces, then shoveled all this and again form the same bed. This continues until the solution turns into a homogeneous viscous mass. Water can be added depending on the consistency of the solution.
The Yemeni city of Shibam seems to be an island of orderliness in the midst of the free fantasy of nature. It stands at the bottom of a deep canyon with sides cut by erosion, and the valley between them is named Wadi Hadhramaut. Wadi is a special Arabic word for a valley once created by streams of water, or a river bed that flows and dries up, depending on the season. The city of Shibam (or rather its central historical part) is made a symbol of orderliness by a low wall that forms a regular quadrangle. What is inside the wall is usually called "Arabian Manhattan" by journalists. Of course, in this poorest part of the Arab world, you will not find anything like the Empire State Building or the towers of the late World Trade Center, but the similarity with the world's most famous cluster of skyscrapers, Shibamu, is given by the layout - it all consists of buildings standing close to each other, the height of which far exceeds the width of the streets running between them. Yes, the local buildings are inferior to the New York giants - their height is no more than 30 m, but the oldest of them were built even before the discovery of America. But the most surprising thing is that all this multi-storey exotic is made of unbaked clay based on pre-industrial technologies.
The plan, prepared as part of the German-Yemeni City Development Project, shows the location of buildings in the walled central part of Shibam (newer areas of the city are located outside the wall). The buildings, marked with different colors, were partially destroyed, but restored as part of the project. Among the objects to be restored were not only multi-storey residential buildings, but also public buildings, mosques and other monuments. The oldest buildings are confidently dated to the 16th century, but perhaps there are structures two centuries older among them. Over the past centuries, the houses have been regularly rebuilt.
Up from the Bedouins
During the rainy season, Wadi Hadhramaut is partially flooded, covering the surrounding area of Shibam with alluvial clays. Here it is, the handy building material of local architects, which they have been using for thousands of years. But the question is - why did it take so much to "squeeze" in the spacious valley and solve the engineering problems of multi-storey construction half a millennium ago? There are at least two reasons for this. Firstly, the old Shibam stands on a small rise in area - according to some sources, it has a natural origin, according to others - it was formed from the remains of an ancient city. And the elevation is flood protection. The second reason is that the high-rise buildings had a fortification meaning. Centuries ago, this part of South Arabia, which ancient geographers knew as Arabia Felix ("Happy Arabia"), was a thriving region of the world. There was a trade route connecting India with Europe and Asia Minor. The caravans carried spices and a particularly valuable commodity - incense.
Wealth from abundant transit became the basis for the rise of Shibam, at times it became the capital of the kingdom: monarchs, noble nobles and merchants lived in it. And somewhere in the vicinity wandered the warlike nomadic tribes of Bedouins, who, attracted by the splendor of Shibam, organized plundering raids on the city. Therefore, the locals decided that it was easier to defend a compact territory, and it is better to hide from the Bedouins somewhere higher, where you can not ride a camel. So the buildings of Shibam began to rise upward.
Goats, Sheep, People
We must, of course, understand that, no matter how from a distance the seven or eleven-story buildings of Shibam look like the “towers” of our residential quarters, they are something completely different from apartment buildings. The whole building is dedicated to one family. The first two floors are non-residential. Here, behind blank walls, there are various pantries for food supplies and stalls for livestock - mainly sheep and goats. So it was originally conceived: on the eve of the Bedouin raid, grazing cattle were herded inside the city walls and hid in houses. Living rooms for men are located on the third and fourth floors. The next two floors are the "female half". In addition to living rooms, there are kitchens, washing rooms and toilets. The sixth and seventh floors were given to children and young couples if the family expanded. At the very top, walking terraces were arranged - they compensated for the narrowness of the streets and the lack of courtyards. It is interesting that between some neighboring buildings, transitions from roof to roof were made in the form of bridges with sides. During the raid, it was possible to easily navigate through the city without going down, and observe the actions of the enemy from a bird's eye view.
Original and cheap
While some are fighting to preserve the centuries-old clay "skyscrapers", others are trying to convince their contemporaries that buildings made of clay mixtures or even just earth are practical and environmentally friendly. Unlike concrete and other modern building materials, building materials literally dug out on the spot do not require a lot of energy, when a building is demolished or destroyed, they dissolve without a trace in nature, and they better maintain the microclimate in the building. Now buildings from sun-dried clay soil with additives (in Russian the term "adobe" is used, in English - "adobe") have become widespread in Western Europe and the USA. One of the original methods of using untreated soil in construction was called Superadobe. Its essence is that walls, arches, and even domes are erected from plastic bags filled with ordinary earth, and barbed wire is used for fastening.
Cooling accumulators
The "skyscrapers" of Shibam are built of adobe bricks, produced according to the most primitive technology. The clay was mixed with water, straw was added to it, and then the whole mass was poured into an open wooden mold. Then the finished products were dried in the hot sun for several days. The walls were laid in one brick, but the width of these bricks is different - for the lower floors the bricks are wider, which means that the walls are thicker, for the upper ones they are narrower. As a result, in the vertical section, each of the Shibam high-rise buildings has the shape of a trapezoid. The walls were plastered with the same clay, and on top, for water resistance, two layers of lime were applied. As floors and additional supports for them, a beam from local hardwood species was used. The interior interiors make it clear that, despite the high rise, we have a traditional oriental dwelling in front of us. Carved frames are inserted into the window openings - without glass, of course. The walls are roughly plastered and not leveled. Doors between rooms are wooden, carved, doorways do not completely overlap, leaving space above and below. Even in the most unbearable Yemeni heat, the clay walls keep the rooms cool.
The largest clay building in the world is the Jenne Great Mosque in the West African state of Mali. This is not a very ancient structure - it is only one hundred years old. Wooden parts protruding from the walls serve both for decoration and as scaffolding during renovation work.
Breathe life into clay
Today in "Arabian Manhattan" there are about 400 such multi-storey buildings (there are also palaces and mosques), and according to various estimates, from 3,500 to 7,000 people live in them. In 1982, UNESCO declared Shibam (part of it surrounded by the wall) a World Heritage Site. And immediately the question arose about the safety of the clay city. The high-rise buildings of Shibam stood for centuries only because the city lived an active life and was regularly renovated. Even in the hot climate of Yemen, adobe structures require constant maintenance, otherwise they will crumble into dust, which has already happened with some buildings. But from a certain point, people began to leave the clay city in search of dwellings that were easier and cheaper to maintain. Some of the houses fell into disrepair.
Clay, sand, water, manure, straw, sun - that's all you need to build a house for centuries. Taos Pueblo is a multi-storey adobe village built in Taos, New Mexico between 1000 and 1450 AD. It was built, of course, by the indigenous people of America. Even today, Taos Pueblo has a population of about 150.
In 1984, UNESCO sounded the alarm and allocated funds to study the possibilities of rebuilding the city. Since it was not a separate building or monument, but an entire city, it was concluded that the only way to save Shibam was to convince people to continue living and working among the ancient clay walls. In 2000, the Shibam City Development Project was launched, run by the Yemeni government in cooperation with the German aid agency GTZ. Yemen is included in the list of the least developed countries in the world, and life in Shibam, for all its picturesqueness, is monstrous poverty, lack of work and basic modern infrastructure. To make the city more attractive for life, the project included the laying of electricity, sewerage, street cleaning, and training courses in crafts, including for women. As for the clay houses themselves, for those of them that needed cosmetic repairs, the efforts of local residents were carried out to cover the cracks (with the same good old clay) - local "industrial climbers", armed with buckets of solution, descended on cables from roofs and patched up walls.
The most deplorable buildings have been reinforced with wooden piles, which support the lower floors, helping them to withstand the pressure of the upper ones. Wooden braces were placed on dangerous vertical cracks. The most difficult situation was with buildings that had already completely or partially collapsed. One of the challenges was to accurately reconstruct the number of floors. The fact is that the number of storeys depended not only on the personal preferences of the owner, but also on the height of the base, and on the location of neighboring houses. Walking yards on the roofs of neighboring buildings were not supposed to be on the same level - in order to maintain a kind of "privacy". It is also worth noting that the largest subsidies for repairs within the framework of the project had to be paid to the owners of those houses whose upper floors were destroyed. They did not want to restore them. Contrary to the precepts of their ancestors, the modern inhabitants of Shibam are not very eager to live "on top" and would prefer houses of two or three floors.
