During any construction work related to brickwork, you can’t do without cutting the brick. When constructing walls, stoves, fireplaces, facing and other masonry work, a block may be needed irregular shape or custom size.
How to cut brick using different tools
Previously, the question of cutting bricks did not arise, because it was simply cut with a pick. But now there are many construction tools allowing cutting blocks quickly and accurately.
While cutting this building material A lot of dust is generated, so you should always use personal protective equipment: a respirator, fabric gloves, plastic goggles. According to safety regulations, all electrical equipment must be grounded.
To get an accurate and even cut, you need to apply it to the object being processed. necessary markings. The required dimensional lines are drawn on the plane of the brick with a pencil using a ruler and a square.
Cutting with a gas cutter
A petrol cutter is a special circular saw of an independent type, equipped gasoline engine. This tool has a large mass and size, so for piece cutting ceramic bricks it's not entirely convenient. The cutting tools used in a gas cutter can be of two types: discs or chains. Both types of equipment are made with diamond coating.
A saw equipped with a disk resembles a grinder (only larger size). When installing the chain, the tool resembles a chainsaw. Due to its power, such a saw is more suitable for cutting openings and niches in brickwork, as well as during dismantling work. The petrol cutter is able to cope with walls of almost any thickness. The big advantage is that this equipment is equipped compulsory system supplying water to the cutting area, which eliminates dust.
Cutting bricks with a grinder
When performing small-scale work, cutting bricks with a grinder is good decision. It is recommended to use angle grinders with a power of 2 kW or more. But you shouldn’t take too powerful ones, because they are extremely bulky and heavy.
The most convenient for this are models that can use circles with a diameter of 23 cm. Cutting equipment of a smaller diameter is also suitable, but it is not very convenient to use, since the disk does not go through the entire thickness of the block. The workpiece will need to be turned over, and the accuracy and quality of processing will suffer, and productivity will significantly decrease.
Technically, the method of cutting bricks with a grinder does not present any particular difficulties. But it is important to hold the tool correctly. He must have reliable fixation, in which the cutting edge is strictly perpendicular to the surface being processed. An inexperienced person is unlikely to be able to make an even cut right away, so you should practice first. Width must be taken into account cutting edge and tool play.
Experts advise using a special clamping frame for angle grinders to improve cutting quality. In this device, the workpiece is fixed in an individual recess, and the grinder is rigidly fixed to the lever. Fixed mount brick block allows you to easily cut it lengthwise, crosswise and at any angle. More details in the video:
Diamond cutting of bricks
In order to obtain flat surface Diamond cutting of bricks is used to ensure a cut without cracks or chips. Such work is carried out with a grinder, but using a special diamond cutting tool. Any work that involves such equipment is considered diamond cutting. The difference between these cutting elements is that they have diamond coating on the working part.
It is better to use for cutting brick blocks diamond discs, because they ensure the safety of work and have a long service life. Use diamond cutting using a more powerful professional tool is not economically feasible.
Manual tile cutter
When it becomes necessary to cut thin pieces of facing bricks, you can use manual tile cutter. It will be convenient when carrying out finishing work, when you may need pieces of brick with non-standard sizes and corners.
Application of tile cutters-tongs
Using pliers, you can give the brick an arbitrary shaped shape: bevel, round, etc. The tool is suitable for delicate and painstaking work.
Cutting bricks using a special machine
A specialized machine for cutting bricks is effective when carrying out large-scale work. It allows you to carry out all manipulations as quickly and efficiently as possible. Thanks to the presence of an irrigation system during processing on such special machine A minimal amount of brick dust is released into the surrounding air. But this equipment has a fairly high price, so its use for single jobs is unprofitable.
Some craftsmen make machines with their own hands. To do this, construct a structure from a frame (support) and cutting equipment ( circular saw, Bulgarians). The equipment should be securely fastened and checked for proper functioning before starting work.
Types of bricks
Brick has been used in construction since ancient times. It is distinguished by enviable strength and durability. There are quite a large number of types of bricks, depending on the material from which it is made, as well as on what is planned to be built from it (walls, stoves, etc.).
Red brick
Classic brick made from special types of clay and fired in a kiln at high temperature, called red for its color. It is widely used in various areas construction and during the construction of individual residential buildings. The material can be cut at home with several tools that allow this to be done to obtain products that differ high level accuracy. Cutting tool more often it is a diamond wheel. It largely depends on what you cut with. appearance final structure.
Hand-molded facing brick
A distinctive feature of hand-molded brick is its unusual and attractive appearance. Used for facing work. However, it is quite expensive, so in order to save money, it is practiced to cut hand-molded bricks in half along the length of the block. This will take 2 times less material. Cutting is carried out with a diamond tool.
Facing hollow brick
Hollow brick has internal voids, which can account for up to half of its mass. There are products on sale in all kinds of shapes (with ready-made fillets, bevels, etc.), so you don’t need to cut it so often. If necessary, you can cut the material with any diamond device (grinder, saw, etc.).
Solid brick crossbar format
The crossbar-format brick has an unusual shape: it is elongated (more than 29 cm) and narrow (about 4 cm). Used exclusively for cladding. Cutting is done with the same tool.
Clinker brick
During production clinker bricks A special refractory clay is used, so it is much stronger and harder. Thanks to these qualities, as well as a variety of textures and colors, it is used for paving paths and courtyards, cladding facades and plinths of buildings. It is necessary to cut such material on special machines using water cooling.
Sand-lime brick
Sand-lime brick is made from a mixture of lime and sand (quartz rocks). The material is quite pliable and therefore can be easily cut with a grinder and a diamond wheel. If you don’t have this tool, you can get the job done with a simple hacksaw.
Fireclay brick
Stove, or fireclay, brick is a heat-resistant building material that is used for laying fireplaces and stoves. The blocks are cut on a special machine using a segmented diamond wheel.
Cutting an opening in a brick wall
Diamond cutting is considered the leading technology for creating openings in brick structures. The choice of equipment is determined by the complexity and scale of the work performed. The following devices equipped with diamond tools are used:
- angle grinder;
- petrol cutter;
- seam cutter;
- diamond wire;
- laser equipment;
- wall cutting machine.
Types of discs for electric tools
There are 2 types of equipment for stone: diamond and abrasive cutting discs. Abrasive discs for cutting are inexpensive, but they wear down quickly and are prone to deformation and destruction during operation.
Diamond blades (diamond-coated wheels) are safer and last longer. Based on the type of edges, they are divided into 3 types:
- Solid. Possible overheating work surface and as a result, a short service life.
- Segmental. Edge split radial cuts on separate areas. The cutting area is ventilated, but there is a risk of waste sticking between the segments when cutting wet.
- Turbocharged. The teeth in the edge are arranged in a spiral, due to this, wet and dry waste is well removed. It has the best performance characteristics and a long service life.
Using an Angle Grinder
Sometimes, during the work process, minor damage and scratches occur on the brick. These shortcomings can be corrected without using a grinding machine - a grinder will do. It is recommended to use a corner grinder power up to 1.5 kW, equipped with special nozzles. Sanding is best done on a wet base.
How to choose a disc for grinding bricks
To carry out grinding work with a grinder, special attachments are used: cups, cleaning discs, various shapes wire mesh.
When choosing a suitable specimen, you should focus on the following characteristics:
- form;
- circle diameter (size);
- type of abrasive used;
- type of ligament;
- grain;
- hardness;
- structure.
The wheels can be made entirely of abrasive material or have abrasive pads on a plastic/steel base.
Summer is the time when many people think about building a brick stove, barbecue or fireplace in their dacha. This good idea often comes down to subtleties and nuances, which can be told by craftsmen who have been involved in the stove business for many years. In this article, one of them shares secrets that will probably be useful to you for laying a stove with your own hands.
Choosing a brick
Brick is the basic material for laying stoves. Its features are that it comes in four main types. This:
- ceramic;
- refractory;
- silicate;
- hand-molded brick.
Ceramic is used for lining the furnace, its “backing” - this is the internal space for laying the furnace. For these purposes, you can use brick grade M - 250, or better yet 500. Of course, it is more expensive than regular M - 100 or M-150. But it is more uniform and can withstand many heating and cooling cycles. In addition, it can easily be further molded as decorative elements, and brands with lower indicators simply crumble from such a procedure.
Ceramic brick grade M - 250 is ready to become the lining of the furnace.
Tricks for laying stoves with your own hands
There are a huge number of tricks to save time and improve results. In this article we will talk about 11 tricks.
How to make perfect finishing masonry
In order not to waste time when laying the facing row, constantly monitoring the mortar on the front part of the bricks - just paste it over masking tape 60 mm wide. After finishing the work, when the mortar has set, remove it and sweep the masonry with a stiff brush.
We lay a brick with masking tape pasted, even if the solution was dripped, there is nothing terrible in this, at the stage finishing just remove the tape and your masonry is perfectly clean.
The same fireplace after the tape was removed from it.
No homemade clay solutions
Find clay, soak it, knead it, add river sand– this is a recipe from the last century with simple ovens and molds exterior finishing. Today, all stove makers work only with stove mixtures from various manufacturers.
The ready-made sand mixture, which can be purchased at any hardware store, is packaged in 5, 10 and 25 kg bags. Most practical option– 25 kg. Unless of course you need to spend cosmetic repairs ovens.
We separate fireclay from the facing masonry
Fireclay, the so-called firebrick masonry, can withstand heating up to 1200 degrees without harm to its structure, but ceramic only up to 650 degrees. To preserve ceramic brickwork, even grade M-250, you need to isolate the fireclay from the cladding using basalt cardboard with a thickness of at least 5 mm.
Combustion chamber lined with fire bricks, heat is insulated using basalt cardboard 5 mm thick.
Metal corner at the service of the stove maker
Any lintel, overlay and others design features They lay out better and look perfect if you use an ordinary 50 mm metal corner. We position it in such a way that it is not visible from the outside, and it presses the brick on both sides.
Lay the bricks so that the corner wraps around them on both sides; usually six corners are needed for the “overbrick”. The length of the corner should not exceed 75-80 cm, otherwise there is a guarantee that the corner will “sag” from heating.
When laying the stove with your own hands, avoid using metal corners on the front side
The fewer foreign bodies on the front side, the more harmonious your design looks. Never use a metal corner on the front side of your designs. This is not aesthetically pleasing and dangerous. How many times have we been convinced that this element often leads to burns? Replace the corner with a wedge lock on the front side.
Prepare required quantity bricks and apply markings with mandatory numbering.
Use a ceramic cutting wheel to cut off the required elements.
The wedge-shaped lock is ready, all that remains is to put it in place.
Hide everything in grooves
The stove lasts much longer if all its fittings (damper, door views, grates) are placed in grooves made to a depth equal to the thickness of the fittings.
The grate will lie more securely if it is placed in a recess like this.
“Hairpins” are used
For the front part of the jumpers, use metal studs with threads with a diameter of at least 16 mm. With their help, it is very convenient to form the front finish without resorting to the help of corners to hold the bricks.
We prepare a brick for the lintel, drill it in the middle, put it on a stud, coat each one with mortar and tighten it all together.
We put the jumper in place; if it turns out to be heavy and you visually see sagging, then strengthen the structure with another stud.
Making molding bricks with your own hands
I really want to decorate the masonry with decorative elements - rounded brick, Empire style, etc. Now you can buy anything. But they usually cost twice as much as standard ones. Use your imagination and make them yourself. To do this, you will need a grinder, a diamond cutting wheel for ceramics, and a partner who will pour water on your bricks to reduce dust. You should only work in a respirator and goggles.
A “station wagon” drill mounted on a homemade stand and a cutting wheel for ceramics inserted into the chuck.
This semi-finished product is obtained with a minimum of skill in a couple of minutes.
A prerequisite for work is that you work with a partner who adds water to the cutting line. The work is dirty, but exciting.
Sometimes you need not just to round the brick, but to give it more refined and unusual shapes, for this we use a slightly different system and technological technique.
An excellent decorative element is made using an ordinary cutting wheel, a grinder and your imagination.
Side view.
First, symmetrical lines are drawn, then the brick is clamped into a clamp onto a thick board and processed.
How to make a masonry seam perfectly straight
There are many tricks on how to make a seam perfectly straight. I have been using this technique for many years. Its essence is as follows. Two metal rods are placed on a row of masonry, preferably quadrangular with a thickness equal to the thickness of the seam. Usually it is 8 mm. Mortar is placed on top of these rods and then the bricks are laid.
Using ordinary rods, the ideal thickness of the seam is set.
The rods are removed after the last brick of the row is laid. After this, you cannot set the bricks down, so as not to create a “wave” in the masonry. The only disadvantage of this technique is that maximum length the radius should not exceed 1 meter. If it’s more, then you simply won’t be able to pull out the rods without damaging the masonry.
The second condition is that you must lubricate the rods with either used machine oil or grease. This will greatly facilitate the sliding of the rod in the solution.
Arches and other decorative elements – we lay them out at once!
The dream of many is to decorate a fireplace with an arch. What, they just don’t advise different sources. I even saw advice using a car wheel. Maybe it works, but why? simpler design, the more effective it is. My method is to use 12mm thick plasterboard sheets. From them I cut an arch the desired shape, I put it on workplace and lay out the bricks using this template.
We cut out the template and press it to the base using any available material.
We prepare the bricks of the desired shape.
We lay the bricks strictly along the guide of the template.
It turns out smooth and neat.
Pipe - difficulties in a simple matter
It seems that it could be easier to lay out the pipe. But that was not the case. I have seen many crooked pipes that had to be re-routed simply because their slope was only more than 5 degrees. This is precisely what is enough for such a tilt to lead the entire structure of the furnace. To prevent this from happening there is a little trick. You lay out the base of the pipe. Then, using a plumb line, find the point on the roof to which the pipe should aim and secure the first self-tapping screw. You do the same for the second and subsequent corners of the pipe. Then you pull the bright threads to the base of the pipe and lay the masonry along them.
We lay out the base of the pipe; a pipe with a masonry of 2 by 1.5 bricks works best.
Here they are thin red threads, along which it is convenient to carry out the laying.
Of course, these are not all the tricks that will help you build a brick oven, but more on that next time!
The article uses photographic materials from master stove maker A.G. Popov.
Sometimes, posting brick wall or oven, you need to use a brick with rounded corners. This is available for sale, although not everywhere and it costs much more than a regular brick. Having spent some effort and time, you can “round off” it with your own hands.
I had to make it convenient wooden workbench. I selected its height so that the tabletop was at the level of the solar plexus. As practice has shown, this is the most convenient. The workbench itself is made of thick bars, and the tabletop and shelves for storing bricks and tools are made of a wide floorboard 40 mm thick (forty boards).
Rice. 1. Ready brick
Using long wood screws (3.5x70 mm), I attached small wooden blocks to the top of the tabletop, so that one brick was tightly held between them. For reliability and durability wooden structure I used bars with a side of at least 40 mm as guides. Of course, these guides become cramped over time, but due to the fact that the block is secured with screws, it is easy to replace.
The brick is held in place by bars on three sides. One of its edges (ends) of the brick should be facing the free side of the table top - from this side it will be carried out further processing construction tool. As a construction tool, I used a grinder with a cutting disc for stone (in extreme cases, for concrete).
Before processing (rounding) the brick, a sharp object (an awl, marker or pencil) marked the corner of the cut. To do this, I used homemade molds made from thick cardboard.
Rice. 3. “Patterns” for marking bricks
To finish the rounded surface I used the same grinder with a grinding disc. The grit size of the grinding disc was also selected according to the situation, starting with high grit (for rough processing) and ending with a fine-grained disc. The result is a fairly decent and high-quality rounding, and if you get used to it, the brick can be processed in just a couple of minutes. Using the same tool, you can also make longitudinal notches and grooves in bricks.
If you don’t have a sanding disc or have a great desire to save money, you can sand by hand. Then you need a roll sandpaper, which is put on in parts wooden block with a handle and is attached to it. But this process is much more labor-intensive and takes more time.
- Roulette
- Pencil and ruler (profile, block, anything that can help with smooth drawing)
- Bulgarian
- Drill with screwdriver
- Jigsaw
- Hammer
- Screwdriver
- Sandpaper
- Spatula
- Basin (for primer and plaster)
- Primer and plaster
- Wood plank
- Plywood
- Corners
- Dye
How to round a corner: step-by-step instructions. Step 1: measure the radius of the future smooth corner
The beginning of work is marked by measurements of the radius of the future curvature. It is necessary to measure a certain number of centimeters on both sides of the corner along the entire height. Also be sure to mark the radius on the ceiling and floor.
Step 2: mark the rounding points
Attach a beating thread (one that leaves an imprint on the surface when touched) to the marks near the floor and ceiling and get a straight line of boundaries for crushing the corner. If there is no thread, use metal profile and draw a line with a pencil.
Step 3: cutting the plaster
In order to cut the corner, you will need a grinder. It is necessary to cut off that part of the plaster that covers the corner of the wall before splitting. Make cuts along the marks to the brickwork.
Step 4: mark the template for the rounding
A template is necessary to create an even corner shape. For production you will need wooden board, on which draw a circle with a compass.
Next, draw tangent lines at a distance of 5-7 cm from the circle, which diverge by 90°. The result should be a trapezoid. 
Step 5: cut out the template
Take a jigsaw and carefully begin cutting the board along the designated lines.
Upon completion of the work, you should receive an arch, the edges of which should be sanded with sandpaper. At the top of the template, screw a smooth bar that will fix it and prevent it from bending. You also need to attach a strip to the ends to ensure perpendicularity.
Step 6: color the rule (template)
To prevent the template from warping as a result of water ingress, it is worth painting it. The edges are the most vulnerable to moisture, so they need to be painted most intensively, even in several layers.
Step 7: Punching the Corner
Do round corner needed within the template you noted earlier. Take a hammer drill and beat the plaster down to the brick. Then proceed to give the brick a rounded shape. Any metal rods that come across are cut off with a grinder. 
Thanks to the template, you can constantly check the desired result.
Step 8: Prime the Corner
Before you start plastering, you need to prime the surface. This will increase its adhesiveness and make the entire masonry much stronger. Take a large brush and apply the compound to the surface using broad strokes and generous amounts of primer.
As a result, you will get organic angles rather than reinforced concrete structures, as is usually done in other ways. And the corner itself will become one of the central decorative elements in the room, since it can be decorated with paint, stone, decorative plaster etc.
Good luck with your renovation!
