The main structural elements of buildings. Walls, their purpose, varieties What walls can be

Walls are the main element of the house, which determines its appearance, operational and aesthetic characteristics. They must satisfy a number of requirements for architectural expressiveness, thermal protection and fire resistance, have sufficient strength and durability, provide the necessary sound insulation, etc.

The choice of material for the walls depends on the taste and financial capabilities of the owner of the house, the traditions of the building area, but at the same time, you should pay attention to neighboring houses and listen to the opinion of the architect. Your home should fit into the architectural ensemble and, regardless of the funds invested in construction, look beautiful and organic.

The material for the walls can be wood, brick, natural stone, as well as blocks and panels made of concrete with various additives (slag, expanded clay, sawdust, etc.).

According to the purpose, the walls are external and internal, and according to the perception of loads - bearing and non-bearing.

Depending on the materials used, the walls are conditionally divided into the following types:
wooden from logs, beams, wooden frame,
brick from corpulent and hollow clay,
ceramic and silicate bricks and blocks,
stone from cobblestone, limestone, sandstone, shell rock, tuff, etc.,
lightweight concrete from gas silicate, expanded clay concrete, slag concrete, argolite, sawdust concrete,
soil-concrete from adobe, compacted soil.

According to the constructive solution, the walls are:
chopped from logs and assembled from wooden beams,
small-block bricks and small blocks weighing more than 50 kg.,
panel or panel from prefabricated wall elements one floor high,
frame from racks and strapping with sheathing with sheet or molded materials,
monolithic of concrete and soil,
composite or multilayer using various materials and designs.

Materials for the construction of walls and their constructive solution are chosen taking into account local climatic conditions, the economy, the given strength and durability of the building, internal comfort and the architectural expressiveness of the facades.

Natural stones and solid bricks have the greatest strength and durability.
At the same time, in terms of their heat-shielding qualities, they are significantly inferior to lightweight concrete, effective brick and wood. Their use in "pure form" without combination with other, less thermally conductive materials is justified only in the southern regions of the country.
When building brick walls, one should strive for lightweight masonry, using efficient bricks and arranging voids using warm mortar.
Solid masonry of solid brick walls with a thickness of more than 38 cm is considered impractical.

Reliable in operation and 1.5-2 times cheaper than brick lightweight concrete walls based on slag, expanded clay or sawdust using cement.
If you use pre-fabricated lightweight concrete blocks, you can significantly reduce the seasonal construction time.

The traditional material for the walls of low-rise buildings is wood.
Chopped and cobbled walls, according to sanitary and hygienic requirements, are the most comfortable. Their disadvantages include low fire resistance and sedimentary deformations in the first 1.5-2 years.

In the presence of lumber and effective insulation, frame walls are quite justified.
They, like chopped ones, do not require massive foundations, but unlike them, they do not have post-construction deformations.
When facing frame walls bricks significantly increase their fire resistance and solidity.

In the southern regions with sharp changes in day and night temperatures of the outside air, walls made of soil-concrete (adobe) “behave” well. Due to the large thermal inertia (slowly heating up and cooling down), they create an optimal thermal regime in such a climate.

Views in roof structures

The roof of the house is not only a protection against atmospheric influences (snow, rain, sun, wind, etc.), but also the appearance of the house. A beautiful roof, like an elegant hat, decorates the house and emphasizes its individuality, it is the crowning achievement of an architectural structure.

The roof of almost any configuration consists of a supporting structure - roof trusses and battens - and the roof itself.

The presence of certain elements of the roof is determined by its shape and design features.

The shape of the roof is chosen depending on the purpose of the building and its size.

shed roof most often hidden outbuildings, garages, sheds. For residential and garden houses, gable and mansard roof forms are traditional. They are easy to manufacture and are covered with any roofing materials. In the southern regions, hip roofs are more often arranged, as they better withstand wind loads.
Roofing materials

Of the roofing materials, slate has the most reliable and durable properties. For low-rise buildings, shingles are the best roofing material, but they require reinforced rafters due to the weight of the shingles.

Roofing steel is used for complex roof configurations. Roll roofs used when covering utility rooms or as a temporary cover in residential buildings. In one-story houses with an average load-bearing wall, they usually arrange a roof with sloping rafters, resting at one end on the outer wall, and at the other - on a run or rack installed above the middle wall. The elements of the rafters are interconnected with rafter brackets, nails.

: 1 - gable; 2 - attic; 3, 4 - hip; 5 - tent; 6 - multi-forceps.

The ends of the rafters are attached to the chopped walls with brackets. The rafters are attached to the stone walls as follows: first, a metal ruff is hammered into the wall, not higher than the fourth seam of the masonry. Rafters are attached to the ruff with twists of wire in two loops.

The ends of the rafters of a stone house rest on a beam laid along the entire length of the wall, which distributes the load from the rafters to the wall. In the rafters and the crate at the place where the chimney passes from the stove, a fire break is arranged, a gap of 13 cm is left between the elements of the rafters, the pipe and the crate.

Roof elements: 1 - slopes; 2 - skate; 3 - inclined rib; 4 - groove; 5 - cornice overhang; 6 - gable overhang; 7 - gutter; 8 - downpipe; 9 - chimney.

Roof trusses various shapes have their own characteristics. At the heart of any truss truss is a triangle, as the most rigid and economical design. It is formed from 2-rafter legs (upper truss belt) and puffs (lower belt). The upper ends of the rafter legs are connected to the ridge run. The lower ends of the rafter ng, as well as the ends of the lower belt, are attached to the outer walls of the house. The design, consisting only of the upper and lower chords, is able to withstand only a very light roof. For greater reliability, the farms are equipped with additional internal supports (struts, risers, fights).

Construction trusses create the necessary roof slope, which depends on a number of factors:

Climate features: with a large amount of precipitation, the slope of the roof is 45 ° or more, with prevailing winds, the slope is much lower, etc.;

Roofing material: when using piece roofing materials, the slope is at least 22 °, for roll materials - 5-25 ° or more, for asbestos-cement sheets and tiles - 25-35 ° or more.

It must be remembered that with an increase in the slope of the roof, the consumption of materials increases, and, accordingly, its cost.

Depending on the method of attaching the truss to the walls of the house, structures with hanging or inclined rafters are distinguished.

Hanging rafters are in the same plane, rigidly interconnected and rest on two extreme supports (outer walls).

: 1 - brace; 2 - single puff; 3 - overlay board; 4 - lining; 5 - outer wall; 6 - overlay.

The support for the lower ends of the rafters are Mauerlats, hewn into two edges. The simplest hanging trusses consist of rafter legs and puffs (lower belt). To protect against deflection of the rafter legs, if their cross section is insufficient, a lattice is inserted between them from the rack, struts and crossbar. This increases the rigidity of the roof truss structure. Rafter legs are strengthened with brackets and tied with a wire 4-6 mm thick to ruffs driven into the wall. This protects the roof from possible failure in strong winds. The lower end of such a twist is fixed to a crutch or ruff hammered into the seam of the masonry 250-300 mm below the edge of the wall, or to the beam of the attic floor. In wooden chopped houses, the rafters are fastened with brackets to the second crown of the frame.

: 1 - brace; 2 - Mauerlat; 3 - twist; 4 - outer wall; 5 - inner wall; 6 - cutting; 7 - bed; 8 - roofing material.

To install hanging rafters, it is necessary to raise the rafters made in advance, each separately, to the attic floor, and then assemble them using auxiliary braces and sawing from boards for temporary fastening of the truss. Hanging rafter truss nodes are assembled with or without a crossbar for spans up to 6 or 8 meters. A single puff is made from the same boards as the rafters; boards of smaller thickness are suitable for a double puff. For crossbar overlays, boards of 25-30 mm are suitable. If the rigidity of the roof is provided by a truss truss, then 1-2-diagonal braces (braces) are installed to counteract wind loads in the transverse direction. The braces are made from boards 30-40 mm thick, attached to the base of the rafter leg and to the middle of the adjacent one. It is most convenient to place the braces above the middle wall. Boards in this case are nailed to the rack and bed. The cross section of the rafters depends on the size of the span, the pitch of the rafters and the slope of the roof. The most common rafter spacing is 120 cm.

Inclined rafters are laid obliquely, on supports of different heights. The supports are either two outer walls, or outer and inner walls. When installing a gable roof for inclined rafters, a support wall is required.

The rafter legs of opposite roof slopes can be in the same plane and are laid alternately on the ridge run. Laminated rafters are easy to assemble, do not require complex mechanisms for installation. Knots of layered rafters are assembled with struts, racks.

If the width of the building is 10 m, one additional support is sufficient, and if it reaches 15 m, then two supports are desirable. The upper ends of the rafter legs are overlapped with the help of corner plates. The lower ends of the rafters are attached to the support bars (Mauerlats) 100x100 mm in size. Mauerlats in most cases are harvested from whole logs hewn into two edges, but sometimes, in order to save money, they are made from scraps 0.6-0.7 meters long. In the middle of the truss, an average post is installed, on which the top of the upper belt of the truss rests.

At the top of the roof truss structure, a run is laid, which serves as the basis for the future roof ridge. The ridge run is either made from logs with a wide section, or knocked together from two boards 50 mm thick.

For mansard roofs, trusses of a special design are made. They can also be installed with fixing to the inner wall (for two-span houses) or without it (for single-span houses). A feature of attic farms is the presence of an interfloor overlap instead of a puff. This is due to the fact that the lower belt serves as the basis for the floor of the attic room. The upper and lower belts, as well as vertical risers and horizontal bouts, must be paired, made of double bars. For a two-span attic structure, doubling is not necessary, since it has an additional support in the center.

Modern houses with an attic are often made without a broken roof structure, with the wall located at an angle to the floor.

: A - hanging farm of a single-span house; B - farm with struts; B - farm for a single-span house with a width of more than 8 m; G - inclined roof truss; D - a farm for a mansard roof.

To illuminate the attic floor, additional windows are often arranged in the roof slopes. Such windows can be arranged not only for lighting. Often they are made in the form of vents designed to exit to the roof and ventilate the attic.

In order for the roofs of buildings to have an overhang necessary to drain water from the walls, puffs or rafter legs are released beyond the wall line. For wooden buildings, the overhang must be at least 550 mm.

The crate of the building is the basis for the roofing. Depending on the type of roofing, the crate can be made of boards, bars or tess.

The lathing directly perceives the load of the roofing material and, in turn, presses on the rafters, and the rafters transfer the weight of the roof to the supporting walls.

The crate can be solid, when the gap between the bars does not exceed 1 cm, or sparse. Solid formwork, as a rule, is arranged from two layers: the first - discharged and the second - solid from boards laid at an angle of 45 ° with respect to the boards of the lower layer.

A solid crate is arranged under soft roof, flat asbestos-cement and asbestos-free slate, metal and soft tiles. Sparse lathing is quite suitable for steel roofing, roofing made of clay or cement-sand tiles, as well as for roofing made of corrugated asbestos-cement sheets.

Sheathing beams are nailed to the rafters with nails, the length of which is equal to the thickness of two beams. At the joints and intersections of the slopes (on the ridge, ribs, valleys, grooves), as well as along the cornice overhangs, a continuous crate is always made.

Usually the supporting structure is made of softwood.

in brick and block houses rafters and lathing can be made of reinforced concrete or metal.

Optimal crate size for most roofing are bars with a size of 50x50 mm (60x60 mm) or poles with a diameter of 70 mm. The average distance between the rafters is about 1 m. On roofs with a slope of more than 45 °, this distance increases to 1.2-1.4 m and on the roofs of houses located in snowy areas, it decreases to 0.8-0.6 meters .

Distances between the rafters of the supporting structure (m)

At present, to facilitate private construction, the industry produces ready-made truss structures, which can only be assembled, laid on the outer walls and laid on top of them with sheathing. The load-bearing structures are made of wood, reinforced concrete or metal. All structures are prefabricated. They are delivered to the construction site disassembled and stacked on site. A folding structure may consist of several elements packed together. Some designs are quite bulky even when disassembled, as they are divided into three big details: for eaves and ridge. Others are completed from smaller planes. The most convenient to use are hinged structures equipped with hinges either in the ridge run or along the cornices. Hinges allow the supporting structure to be folded and unfolded without problems.

Forms of finished roof structures reflect almost all existing roof configurations.

Sheathing beams are attached to finished truss trusses in the way that is provided for by the design itself. To the rafters made of wood, the purlins are simply nailed. As for reinforced concrete roof trusses, they can have either holes for nails, or outlets up to 6 mm in diameter, which wrap around and firmly hold the battens of the batten, or spikes on which the purlins are pricked.

Often the base roofing materials needs more alignment. So, reinforced concrete slabs, as well as the base on which a semi-rigid or loose insulation is laid, are leveled with cement-sand mortar or asphalt concrete screeds.

: 1 - gable truss; 2 - a farm with a complex shape of the upper belt; 3 - farm-scissors; 4 - vaulted farm; 5 - attic farm.

Leveling with sandy asphalt concrete is permissible only on roofs with a slope of no more than 20%.

ties are carried out in the following order: with a slope of up to 15% - first at the junction and grooves (valleys), and then - on the slopes; with a slope of more than 15%, work on leveling the base is carried out in the reverse order.

Leveling screeds are not arranged all over the entire surface of the base, but in areas measuring 6x6 m (for cement-sand mortar) or 4x4 m (for asphalt concrete). Between these sections, temperature-shrinkage seams 5 mm wide or 1 cm wide are made with the laying of rails in them. Strips of roofing material 150 mm wide are laid over the lice with their spot gluing on one side of the seam.

The thickness of the asphalt concrete screed depends on the base material: if the base is made of concrete or rigid heat-insulating slabs, the thickness of the screed should be 15-20 mm, and if it is made of non-rigid insulation, then 20-30 mm. Asphalt screed is arranged only on slopes.

After the installation of the leveling screed, the base must be immediately primed, which will ensure a stronger bonding of roll and waterproofing materials. Before cement mortar close up all the irregularities of the base. Screeds are primed in strips 4-5 m wide.

The quality of the base device is checked according to the following indicators:

evenness;

Strength and rigidity (the base should not fall through and bend underfoot);

Smoothness and roundness of junctions and grooves (for more durable gluing of rolled materials).

The strip foundation is almost universal. It is also used in the construction of small wooden buildings and in the construction of large-sized brick houses. Great for any soil. It is necessary to lay a strip foundation at least 50-70 cm or 20 cm below the freezing depth.

Let us consider in more detail the device of strip foundations. First, the bottom of the pit dug under the foundation is covered with sand (15-20 cm). Then they are filled with water and rammed. Then crushed stone or gravel is laid with a layer of 10 cm and poured with cement. This process is then repeated layer by layer. Above ground, the concrete is placed in the formwork to the required level. 3 hours after the installation is completed, the entire surface is covered with burlap. With such a scheme for pouring a strip foundation, concrete is saved up to 50 percent.

In order for the strip foundation to be strong, it is necessary to use cement of the highest grades. Also to achieve best quality when preparing concrete, it is necessary to use clean water preferably from a well.

Slab foundations are quite popular and widespread. Thanks to a rigid structure - a monolithic slab, made under the entire area of ​​​​the building, they are not afraid of any movement of the soil: the slab moves with it, protecting the house structure from destruction. Therefore, this kind of foundation is also called floating.
A solid slab of floating foundations is made of reinforced concrete and has rigid reinforcement along the entire bearing plane. This further increases their resistance to loads arising from freezing, thawing and soil subsidence.

Solid (slab) foundations are used in the following cases:
with weak soils at the construction site or with significant loads from the building;
with destroyed, eroded or bulk base soils;
with uneven compressibility of soils;
if necessary, protection from high level ground water.

The device of slab foundations requires a relatively large consumption of concrete and metal and can be justified in low-rise construction during the construction of small and simple buildings and structures on heavy heaving, moving and subsidence soils, as well as in cases where a high base and top are not required. slab foundation can be used as a basement floor.

Slab foundations are designed in the form of flat and ribbed slabs or in the form of cross strips. For buildings with heavy loads, as well as in the case of using underground space, box-shaped foundations are used.
Slab foundations are designed for buildings mainly with a frame structural system. To increase the rigidity of the plate, ribs are arranged in cross directions, which can be performed both with the ribs up and down with respect to

At the intersections of the ribs of the foundation slab, columns are installed with a frame structural system, and with a wall rib, they are used as walls of the basement part of the building, on which the supporting structures of its ground part are installed.
Foundations in the form of a box section are used in the construction of high-rise buildings with heavy loads. The ribs of such a slab are made to the full height of the underground part of the building and are rigidly connected to the ceilings, thus forming closed sections of various configurations.

The columnar foundation, as its name implies, is a set of individual pillars dug into the ground. First of all, such pillars are located at the intersection of the walls of the house, and at the same time they can be located in the spans between them. The upper end of the pillars is called the head, the lower end is called the base. A house will subsequently be placed on the heads, so they should be at the same level for all the pillars - this will be the floor level of the first floor, usually at a height of 40-50 cm from the ground. Such a gap between the floor of the house and the ground is necessary to avoid dampness, from which wooden structures the lower part of the house (namely, wooden houses are most often erected on columnar foundations) will quickly rot.

The shape of the foundation pillars can be different - square, rectangular, round, but pillars with a round cross section are most common, because wells can be drilled under such pillars with a hand drill. The diameter of the pillars can be very different from 15 cm or more, but when building a columnar foundation with your own hands, you will have to choose from the following diameters: 150 mm, 200 mm, 250 mm, 400 mm. Wells of just this diameter can be drilled with most commercial hand drills. The depth of the columnar foundation, as a rule, is about 2 m (below the freezing depth). The area of ​​​​the base of the columnar foundation is small, therefore, in order to withstand the load from the house, it must be based on a layer of soil with a large bearing capacity.

Foundation columns can be made from different materials: wood, brick, monolithic concrete. A wooden beam or log can be burned or treated with an antiseptic to prevent (or at least slow down) the decay of the wood. You can also use waterproofing materials, but still such poles will be the least reliable option.

Brickwork is a perfectly acceptable option in terms of strength, but this option is far from ideal in terms of ease of construction. It is not possible to lay a pillar of bricks directly in the well itself. Folding the post completely on the surface of the earth, and then lowering it into the well does not look like a quick and pleasant experience either.

Monolithic reinforced concrete is definitely the best material in all respects. It provides the greatest compressive strength, with reinforcement - and tensile strength. The reinforced monolithic column will not crack under any action of the forces of frost heaving. Dilute the concrete mixture and pour it into the dug well, the action is quite simple.

Foundation pillars can have a constant or variable cross section. In the first case, this is a simple cylinder or parallelepiped, in the second, a more complex shape with a broadening at the bottom of the column. Such a broadening allows you to increase the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe base and, accordingly, increase the bearing capacity of the foundation: the weight of the house will be distributed over a larger area. The second advantage is greater resistance to frost heaving of the soil. If the column expands at the bottom, then the heaving forces will not be able to squeeze it up.

Ligation of bricks

a.
b.
Chain (two-row):
a - cut
b - facade a.
b.
Spoon (multi-row):
a - cut
b - facade Masonry schemes

With air layers With internal insulation Brick walls of the well masonry

Of bonded bricks arranged in a checkerboard pattern Of bonded bricks located in the same plane With horizontal diaphragms made of cement-sand mortar
Axonometry of well masonry Brick wall with lightweight concrete infill

vertical section Examples of plinth designs

From concrete stones to pruning
lined with stone blocks
Brick with a tint
lined with bricks Cornice designs

hemmed On a portable filly Brick With precast concrete slab Vertical section of an exterior wall using wood

Types of cobbled and chopped walls Wall connections and cuts

Cutting log walls "in the paw"
Corner connection of cobbled walls "in oblo" Corner connection of cobbled walls on a dowel
Conjugation of the inner and outer wall

So, dear reader, the outlines of your house have already been visibly marked by a foundation arranged for all supporting vertical structures (walls, columns, partitions). New worries and troubles arise. First of all - about the walls of the house. You already know from the project what kind of material, constructive solution, size they are supposed to be. But a lot seems unclear. So let's talk about the walls. The choice of materials and wall structures depends on the climatic conditions of the place, on the purpose and temperature and humidity conditions of the enclosed premises, the number of storeys of the building, the availability of local building materials and their technical and economic indicators, taking into account the distance of transportation, on the appearance and architectural design of the facades of the house.

In Russia, for a long time, for the construction of civil buildings, churches, monasteries and other structures, wooden, stone, and later brick structures were widely used. Beautiful mansions, hipped and many-domed churches, beautiful and original, were created. Suffice it to mention the magnificent St. Basil's Cathedral, made of bricks (the correct name is "The Intercession Cathedral, which is on the moat", 1555-1560). No less wonderful and amazing achievement is the wooden construction of the 22-domed church (1714) of the Transfiguration of the Savior on the Kizhi churchyard.

Of course, in the old days, when there were no heat engineering calculations, the thickness of the walls was often excessively large. For modern low-rise cottage construction, in addition to traditional stone, brick and wooden wall solutions, more efficient materials and constructive solutions: lightweight concrete, ceramic, lightweight, layered brickwork, wooden frame, panel and others using lightweight insulation. These structures can significantly reduce the weight of the walls, improve their economic performance, and speed up construction.

Let's get acquainted with the basic requirements for the walls. The selected wall design must have the same durability as the house as a whole, and perform two main functions: protecting from the adverse effects of the external environment (rain, snow, wind, sun, overheating) and bearing - to withstand the load (weight) transferred to them from overlying structures, equipment, furniture.

Depending on the location in the building, the walls are of two types: external and internal. The latter also serve as barriers.

External walls must have sufficient (according to relevant standards) heat-shielding qualities: design resistance to heat transfer (frost resistance in winter, protection from overheating by the sun in summer), vapor permeability and air permeability, that is, they must provide the necessary temperature and humidity conditions in the premises at any time of the year. Depending on the required degree of fire resistance of the house, the walls must have a flammability group and a fire resistance limit not lower than those established by fire safety standards. Both external and internal walls must have sufficient (according to relevant standards) soundproofing properties.

These and some other requirements, which should be taken into account when choosing a project and coordinating the designs of different elements of the house, are sometimes contradictory. It is necessary to choose materials and designs that meet, as far as possible, all technical requirements and the most economical solutions. According to the constructive solution, the walls can be divided into solid, consisting of a homogeneous material and solid, consisting of various materials. The former perform simultaneously both enclosing and supporting functions, and the latter either carrying or enclosing functions.

Let us first consider the construction of stone walls, most often used in cottage construction - from brick, concrete, ceramics, as well as from sandstone, limestone, shell rock. In stone low-rise buildings, the own weight of the walls together with the foundations is 50-70% of the total weight of the building, and the cost of the walls is up to 30% (with simple architectural details) of the cost of the entire building. This shows how important it is to skillfully choose the type of walls, especially the outer ones.

brick walls

They are laid out from artificial stones- nominal size 250 120 65 mm, excluding tolerances of 3-5 mm. Bricks are laid with the long side (25 mm) along the facade (along the wall) and are called spoons, or the short side - across the wall - and are called pokes. The gaps between bricks filled with mortar are called seams. The normal thickness of the horizontal seam (between rows) is 2 mm, vertical (between bricks) - 10 mm. Often, builders use much thicker seams, which is highly undesirable, because this reduces the heat-shielding qualities and strength of the wall and violates the modularity of dimensions.

In cottage construction, solid bricks are used, ordinary or clay red, fired with a bulk weight of 1700-1900 kg / m 3 and less expensive silicate or white (bulk weight - 1800-2000 kg / m 3). For the convenience of work, the weight of one (solid) brick is from 3.2 to 4 kg. The thickness of homogeneous (solid) brick walls is always a multiple of half a brick and is raised to 1/2; one; 1 1/2; 2; 2 1/2 bricks, etc. Given the thickness of the vertical joints of 10 mm, brick walls have a thickness of 120, 250, 380, 510, 640 mm or more. It depends primarily on the winter calculated outdoor temperatures.

The placement of bricks in the masonry of the walls is carried out with a certain alternation of spoon and bond rows in order to obtain a dressing of vertical seams.

The most widespread are two-row (chain and Russian) and multi-row (spoon) masonry systems. In the double row, the spoon rows alternate with the bond rows, forming, as it were, two repeating chains of rows on the facade.

In a multi-row system, three to five spoon rows alternate with one bond row. The outer and inner parts of the walls are laid from whole bricks by a qualified bricklayer, and the middle of the backfill (backfill) is filled with broken bricks and poured with a liquid mortar. This method of masonry is simpler than chain laying, so labor productivity is higher, and a larger amount of filling reduces the cost. Before laying, the brick must be moistened, for example, by dipping it in a bucket of water. Indeed, otherwise, especially on hot days, water from the mortar will be absorbed into the bricks, poorly binding them together, creating conditions for the destruction of the wall.

Some types of bricks, ceramic and lightweight concrete stones, small concrete blocks (solid or with vertical voids) are somewhat larger than ordinary bricks. For example, their height can be 88, 140, 188 mm in order to link individual matching horizontal rows and seams when laying together with ordinary red brick lining.

When laying a wall of stones with slot-like voids, it is necessary to lay out the stones so that the slots are parallel to the wall, that is, perpendicular to the heat flow. Masonry of natural stone walls, which are given a regular, larger than brick, shape (by sawing or trimming), is carried out according to a chain system, mainly for unheated buildings in areas where this stone is local building material.

Full-bodied bricks are strong, but in terms of their heat-shielding qualities they are significantly inferior to effective multi-hole and scutching, more porous ones (bulk weight - 1100-1300 kg / m 3). Brick grades 50-150 are used; grades of mortars (binder) from 10 (lime) to 25 (cement) for different types of masonry and structural elements. Masonry is carried out on heavy volumetric weight of more than 1500 kg / m 3), the so-called cold (cement-lime, sand) or light (slag), warm solutions. Solid masonry of walls made of solid brick with a thickness of more than 380 mm is considered impractical, because such dimensions of the brick, its large volumetric weight (mass) make solid masonry uneconomical. The thickness of the outer wall of cottages, which is assigned according to heat engineering calculations, is excessive in terms of strength. It is sometimes used only for 15-20% of its bearing capacity. Therefore, lighter, more efficient bricks, heterogeneous (layered or lightweight) wall masonry systems, as well as ceramic and lightweight concrete stones are used in cottage houses.

Laying of silicate bricks, which have a smoother surface than clay ones, is usually carried out without exterior plaster and with seams. The same solution can be recommended for red brick masonry using a special facing clay brick.

The combination of masonry made of clay red and silicate white bricks can give an interesting artistic decision facades. However, silicate brick should not be used in places subject to increased moisture, such as a cornice, basement. In rooms with wet processes (bathrooms, swimming pools), the laying of walls and partitions should be solid from solid clay bricks of plastic pressing.

A common and economical design of external walls is the so-called well masonry, in which the wall is laid out from two independent walls half a brick thick (external, verst and internal), interconnected by vertical brick bridges every 0.6-1.2 m, forming closed wells . During laying, wells are filled with insulation: slag, expanded clay, lightweight concrete with compaction. So that the insulation does not sag over time, versts are connected with horizontal jumpers through 3-4 rows: bonded rows, mortar diaphragms in height after 0.5 m, anchors made of strip (1.5-20 mm) or round (diameter 6-8 mm) steel coated with anti-corrosion compounds (cement milk, bitumen).

More industrial and faster work are masonry systems in which the wall insulation is replaced by less microscopic thermal inlays made of cinder concrete, foam concrete, foam silicate. The width of the thermal liners is 40-50 mm less than the distance between the versts in order to form gaps that are filled with mortar.

Quite economical are solid brick masonry, consisting of two walls with closed air gaps 40-70 mm wide. At the same time, brick consumption is reduced by 10-15%; the outer wall consists of spoon rows of half a brick, and the inner wall, depending on the required thermal protection, is 250 or 380 mm. The walls are connected by the above methods, plastered outside to reduce air infiltration. When filling the air cavities with mineral felt, the thermal efficiency of the wall increases by 30-40%.

To improve the thermal insulation qualities of walls, it is also possible to use thermal insulation boards (plasterboard, foam concrete, chipboard) installed on wooden (necessarily antiseptic) bars, mortar beacons and in another way with inside. For thermal insulation and airtightness, it is recommended to paste over the inner side of the slabs facing the masonry with aluminum foil, kraft paper, etc. In a similar way, the walls are sheathed from the inside with boards. Tiled insulation can be attached to the wall directly on the mortar. The outer surfaces of walls insulated from the inside also need to be plastered.

An important note, dear reader. Internal load-bearing walls and load-bearing partitions (on which beams or floor slabs rest) should be laid out from solid clay or silicate bricks, with a minimum completely sufficient (!) Wall thickness of 250 mm (sometimes 120 mm). The cross section of the pillars must be at least 380 380 mm. At high loads (specify in place), the bearing pillars and piers should be reinforced with a wire mesh with a diameter of 3-6 mm through 3-5 rows of masonry in height. Partitions are laid out with a thickness of 120 mm and 65 mm (brick "on edge"). With a length of such partitions of more than 1.5 m, they should also be reinforced after 3-5 rows.

Load-bearing partitions can be built (except for rooms with wet processes) from lightweight concrete, gypsum concrete and other slabs, usually 80 mm thick, from boards and other materials suitable for local conditions, using an appropriate finish.

For facade cladding, which is carried out simultaneously with the laying of walls, it is best to use the front ceramic brick, which is somewhat more expensive than usual, but in appearance, texture, color and tolerances in size, is the highest quality. This eliminates the need for painting for three to four years.

The laying of external walls should begin from the corners of the building. From the outer verst. For better observance of the straightness of the walls and evenness, horizontality of the rows of masonry, it is necessary to use a plumb line, a stretched mooring cord and a vertical ordering rail with marking on it of each row of bricks and a seam in height.

Wall elements

plinth- the lower part of the wall from ground level to floor level, at least 500 mm high, enclosing the underground space of the house. The plinth is exposed to moisture from atmospheric and ground moisture, snow, mechanical stress, therefore, when constructing it, durable, water- and frost-resistant materials (stone, concrete, red brick-iron ore) should be used.

The outer surfaces of the plinth can have a different texture and finish; smooth and embossed, including from a thick layer cement plaster with cutting into rustications imitating stonework lined with natural stone, hard rocks, ceramic tiles on cement mortar, the composition is one part of cement to three parts of sand. At a level of about 150 mm above the adjacent blind area, a layer of anti-capillary horizontal waterproofing should be arranged around the entire perimeter of the base, consisting of two layers of roofing felt, roofing material or cement screed.

Plinths of layered walls should be made of solid brickwork or other durable, frost- and moisture-resistant materials.

Zabirka- lightweight plinth. A thin wall between the foundation pillars, under the lower part of the walls of the veranda, insulating under the full space, protecting from moisture, snow, etc. It is made of the same materials as the main wall, for example, one or half a brick; deepened into the ground by 300-500 mm. On clayey, heaving soils, a sand cushion 150-300 mm thick is arranged under the pick-up.

The cornice finishes the top of the wall and is called crowning. It is designed to protect the wall from slanting rain, excessive heating by the sun, and also to drain water flowing from the roof. In addition, the cornice usually decorates buildings, giving the composition a finished look. Therefore, its shape, height, projection and color are largely determined by the overall architectural design of the facade.

Cornices stone walls of a simple shape can be laid out by a gradual overlap of each row by no more than 1/3 of the brick length (by 80 mm). The total extension should not exceed half the thickness of the wall. With a large extension of the eaves of complex configuration, special prefabricated reinforced concrete slabs, beams, cantilevered into the wall and fixed with anchors, should be used with brackets. Often, cornices are used on the release of rafter legs or fillies; they are open and hemmed.

Undoubtedly, various architectural details, belts, intermediate and crowning cornices introduced into the planar solution of facades can improve the aesthetic appearance of cottages. Laid out of brick or other, for example, concrete elements, but simple in design.

Smoke and ventilation ducts for low-rise buildings, as a rule, they are arranged in internal walls 380 mm thick, lined with red smooth solid brick. The cross section of these vertical channels for stoves is 140 270 mm, and ventilation - from kitchens, latrines, bathrooms - 140 140 mm.

Ventilation of living rooms - through the windows. Each stove (or fireplace) must have its own separate smoke channel. Internal surfaces channels for better traction should be clean and smooth, wiped (it is important not to forget about it) with clay (not cement) mortar. Alignment and grouting of the walls is carried out with a clean wet rag when laying channels through five to six rows of bricks.

Smoke channels from different stoves in the attic are combined into chimneys that lead above the roof level. If a combustible structure adjoins the wall at the location of the smoke channels, for example wooden beams ceilings, then in this place, by the height (thickness) of the ceiling, the walls of the chimneys (120 mm) are thickened according to fire regulations up to 380 mm.

Ventilation ducts (each room has its own channel) are also combined into ventilation pipes that lead out over the roof.

Other structural elements of the walls, such as lintels - horizontal, arched, arched over door and window openings, we will consider later, together with the ceilings of buildings.

Wooden walls

Wooden walls are traditional in the construction of low-rise buildings in Russia, they have excellent sanitary and hygienic properties, have low fire resistance and fragility, and are susceptible to decay.

A wooden frame, which requires a large amount of first-class wood, after about 30-40 years, as a rule, warps and becomes unusable. The construction of cottages with wooden solid walls in modern practice is rare. However, the arrangement of the second floor with wooden walls and the first - brick - gives good results.

Types of wooden walls: chopped log, block, frame and panel, as well as frame-panel. Frame and panel walls are used in simple prefabricated houses and garden houses. The chopped outer walls of residential buildings built in the middle climatic zone must be made of logs with a diameter of at least 220 mm, have a careful fitting (the width of the longitudinal oval groove of the upper log, into which the “hump” of the lower one is inserted, is approximately 2/3 of the log diameter).

The felling (assembly) of log walls is carried out "dry" without tow, then the logs are marked, the log house is dismantled and already assembled on tow on the prepared foundation. Caulking should be carried out twice: the first time during assembly. The second - 1-1.5 years after the cessation of shrinkage and shrinkage of logs. A row of logs laid around the perimeter of the house is called a crown. The crowns are mated with each other with the help of plug-in wooden spikes of rectangular or large section, located along the length of the log at a distance of 150-2000 mm in a checkerboard pattern. Due to the shrinkage of logs by about 3-5%, stud nests should be made 20-30 mm deeper than the height of the studs (120-150 mm).

The connection (conjugation) of the longitudinal and transverse walls is done with the help of various kinds of cuts - “into the bowl”, “into the oblo”, “in the paw”, “pan”, etc., then insulating some of them with boards nailed on the outside.

Walls of wooden beams are erected with less labor costs, since all the cuts, dowels, dowels have already been made at house-building plants and combines. Therefore, an individual developer can buy and build such walls on their own.

The thickness of the bars, depending on the climatic region, that is, on the winter design temperature, is taken for external walls 150 (t \u003d -30 C) or 180 mm (t \u003d -40 C), for internal - 100 mm, with the height of the bars - the same for external and internal walls - 150 or 180 mm.

Between the crowns of the bars are laid thermal insulation material- a caulk of tow or felt. For better drainage of water from the horizontal seam between the bars, a chamfer 20-30 mm wide is removed (cut off) from the upper edge of each bar. Felt strips should be cut 20 mm narrower than the width of the bars. To reduce the conductivity between the bars, you can arrange grooves, cords, stuff triangular slats. To fasten the crowns (beams) in height, dowels and dowels are inserted into pre-drilled holes (similar to those discussed above for log walls). Connections (intersections) of external walls in the corners and with internal walls are similarly constructed.

Unlike log walls, block walls are assembled into a log house immediately on prepared foundations of the usual type. To improve the protection of block walls from the biological destruction of wood and from atmospheric influences, the walls can be sheathed from the outside with boards (diameter 25-40 mm) or facing bricks (diameter 88.12 mm). This will make the walls warmer, and with brick cladding, more fire resistant. Plank sheathing is best done horizontally, which facilitates the installation of insulation. Fastening with wooden beams and metal clamps.

Sheathing and cladding of cobbled and log walls should be done after their complete settlement - not earlier than 1-1.5 years after their construction.

A variety of architectural elements and details of country houses has always been characteristic even in buildings built at the beginning of the 20th century.

So, dear reader, now you have become more familiar with some of the basic provisions for constructive solutions for walls.

Now you can have professional conversations with builders, choosing one or another wall design option, watching the construction progress.

Wall classification . It is important for the builder to know that walls are vertical building envelopes. Depending on the purpose, they are external and internal.
Classification of buildings by wall construction is currently very diverse.
Internal walls (mainly partitions) are designed to separate rooms (rooms of a residential building, cottage, apartment) among themselves.
Exterior walls may be simple or complex in design.
Depending on working conditions walls are divided into load-bearing (self-supporting) and non-bearing (hanging, enclosing) building structures.
load-bearing walls- it walls, which perceive loads from overlying floors and structures.
Self-supporting walls - these are walls that perceive their own weight, i.e. exterior walls both in residential and industrial frame buildings.
Enclosing walls - it walls which serve as protection against atmospheric precipitation. Such walls are made of lightweight materials.
curtain walls(hanging) - these are external panels that are used in some series of panel buildings. They are hung on the frame of the building and attached to the floors.

Panel walls of a residential building

Classification of the walls of residential buildings . It should be noted that depending on the materials from which the walls are made, they are of the following types: brick walls(mostly ceramic or silicate brick), wooden walls (mainly used pine),
concrete walls- from large, medium and small blocks (the building material for which are: concrete, foam concrete, expanded clay concrete, wood concrete, cinder concrete and aerated concrete),
panels(1-3 layer), reinforced concrete, sandwich panels - enclosing structures (profiled sheet - insulation - profiled sheet) and a monolith.
It is noteworthy that during the construction of both residential buildings and industrial buildings important part wall structures are temperature-shrinkable seams.

Wall materials classification photo

Bearing structures of the building

Structures of external walls of civil and industrial buildings

The structures of the outer walls of civil and industrial buildings are classified according to the following criteria:

1) by static function:

a) carriers;

b) self-supporting;

c) non-bearing (mounted).

On fig. 3.19 shows a general view of these types of external walls.

Load-bearing exterior walls they perceive and transfer to the foundations their own weight and loads from adjacent structures of the building: ceilings, partitions, roofs, etc. (simultaneously perform load-bearing and enclosing functions).

Self-supporting external walls perceive the vertical load only from their own weight (including the load from balconies, bay windows, parapets and other wall elements) and transfer them to the foundations through intermediate load-bearing structures - foundation beams, grillages or plinth panels (simultaneously perform load-bearing and enclosing functions).

Non-bearing (hinged) external walls floor by floor (or through several floors) are based on adjacent load-bearing structures of the building - ceilings, frame or walls. Thus, curtain walls perform only a protective function.

Rice. 3.19. Types of external walls according to static function:
a - bearing; b - self-supporting; c - non-bearing (mounted): 1 - floor of the building; 2 - frame column; 3 - foundation

Bearing and non-bearing external walls are used in buildings of any number of storeys. Self-supporting walls rest on their own foundation, so their height is limited due to the possibility of mutual deformations of the outer walls and the internal structures of the building. The higher the building, the greater the difference in vertical deformations, therefore, for example, in panel houses the use of self-supporting walls is allowed with a building height of not more than 5 floors.

The stability of self-supporting external walls is ensured by flexible connections with the internal structures of the building.

2) By material:

a) stone walls are built from brick (clay or silicate) or stones (concrete or natural) and are used in buildings of any number of storeys. Stone blocks are made of natural stone (limestone, tuff, etc.) or artificial (concrete, lightweight concrete).

b) concrete walls they are made of heavy concrete of class B15 and higher with a density of 1600 ÷ 2000 kg / m 3 (bearing parts of walls) or lightweight concrete of classes B5 ÷ B15 with a density of 1200 ÷ 1600 kg / m 3 (for heat-insulating parts of walls).

For the manufacture of lightweight concrete, artificial porous aggregates (expanded clay, perlite, shungizite, agloporite, etc.) or natural lightweight aggregates (crushed stone from pumice, slag, tuff) are used.

When erecting non-bearing external walls, cellular concrete (foam concrete, aerated concrete, etc.) of classes B2 ÷ B5 with a density of 600 ÷ 1600 kg / m 3 is also used. Concrete walls are used in buildings of any number of storeys.

v) wooden walls used in low rise buildings. For their construction, pine logs with a diameter of 180 ÷ 240 mm or beams with a section of 150x150 mm or 180x180 mm, as well as board or plywood panels and panels with a thickness of 150 ÷ ​​200 mm are used.

G) non-concrete walls are mainly used in the construction of industrial buildings or low-rise civil buildings. Structurally, they consist of outer and inner cladding made of sheet material(steel, aluminum alloys, plastic, asbestos cement, etc.) and insulation (sandwich panels). Walls of this type are designed as load-bearing only for one-story buildings, and with a larger number of storeys - only as non-bearing.

3) by constructive solution:

a) single layer;

b) two-layer;

c) three layers.

The number of layers of the outer walls of the building is determined by the results of the heat engineering calculation. To meet modern standards for resistance to heat transfer in most regions of Russia, it is necessary to design three-layer structures of external walls with effective insulation.

4) according to the construction technology:

a) by traditional technology hand-made stone walls are erected. In this case, bricks or stones are laid in rows along a layer of cement-sand mortar. The strength of the stone walls is ensured by the strength of the stone and the mortar, as well as by the mutual ligation of the vertical joints. To further increase the bearing capacity of masonry (for example, for narrow piers), horizontal reinforcement with welded meshes is used after 2 ÷ 5 rows.

The required thickness of stone walls is determined by heat engineering calculation and linked to standard sizes bricks or stones. Apply brick walls with a thickness of 1; 1.5; 2; 2.5 and 3 bricks (250, 380, 510, 640 and 770 mm, respectively). walls made of concrete or natural stones when laying 1 and 1.5 stones, they have a thickness of 390 and 490 mm, respectively.

On fig. 3.20 shows several types of solid masonry made of bricks and stone blocks. On fig. 3.21 shows the construction of a three-layer brick wall 510 mm thick (for the climatic region of the Nizhny Novgorod region).

Rice. 3.20. Types of solid masonry: a - six-row brickwork; b - two-row brickwork; c - laying of ceramic stones; d and e - masonry made of concrete or natural stones; e - masonry of cellular concrete stones with external brick cladding

Floors and load-bearing structures of the roof rest on the inner layer of a three-layer stone wall. The outer and inner layers of brickwork are interconnected by reinforcing meshes with a vertical pitch of not more than 600 mm. The thickness of the inner layer is assumed to be 250 mm for buildings with a height of 1 ÷ 4 floors, 380 mm for buildings with a height of 5 ÷ 14 floors and 510 mm for buildings with a height of more than 14 floors.

Rice. 3.21. stone wall three-layer construction:

1 - inner carrier layer;

2 - a layer of thermal insulation;

3 - air gap;

4 - outer self-supporting (facing) layer

b) prefabricated technology used in the construction of large-panel and volume-block buildings. In this case, the installation of individual elements of the building is carried out by cranes.

The outer walls of large-panel buildings are made of concrete or brick panels. Panel thickness - 300, 350, 400 mm. On fig. 3.22 shows the main types of concrete panels used in civil engineering.

Rice. 3.22. Concrete panels of external walls: a - single-layer; b - two-layer; c - three-layer:

1 - structural and heat-insulating layer;

2 - protective and finishing layer;

3 - carrier layer;

4 - heat-insulating layer

Volumetric-block buildings are buildings of increased prefabrication, which are assembled from separate prefabricated block-rooms. The outer walls of such volumetric blocks can be one-, two- and three-layer.

v) monolithic and precast-monolithic construction technologies allow you to build one-, two- and three-layer monolithic concrete walls.

Rice. 3.23. Prefabricated-monolithic external walls (in plan):
a - two-layer with an outer layer of thermal insulation;

b - the same, with an inner layer of thermal insulation;

c - three-layer with an outer layer of thermal insulation

When using this technology, a formwork (form) is first installed, into which the concrete mixture is poured. Single-layer walls are made of lightweight concrete with a thickness of 300 ÷ 500 mm.

Multi-layer walls are made of precast-monolithic using the outer or inner layer of stone blocks made of cellular concrete. (See Figure 3.23).

5) according to the location of window openings:

On fig. 3.24 shown various options location of window openings in the outer walls of buildings. Options a, b, v, G used in the design of residential and public buildings, option d– when designing industrial and public buildings, option e- for public buildings.

From these options, it can be seen that functional purpose building (residential, public or industrial) determines the constructive solution of its external walls and appearance in general.

One of the main requirements for external walls is the necessary fire resistance. According to the requirements of fire safety standards, load-bearing external walls must be made of non-combustible materials with a fire resistance limit of at least 2 hours (stone, concrete). The use of slow-burning load-bearing walls (for example, wooden plastered) with a fire resistance limit of at least 0.5 hours is allowed only in one-, two-story houses.

Rice. 3.24. Location of window openings in the outer walls of buildings:
a - a wall without openings;

b - a wall with a small number of openings;

c - panel wall with openings;

d - load-bearing wall with reinforced piers;

e - wall with hinged panels;
e - fully glazed wall (stained glass)

High requirements for the fire resistance of load-bearing walls are caused by their main role in the safety of the building, since the destruction of load-bearing walls during a fire causes the collapse of all structures based on them and the building as a whole.

Non-bearing external walls are designed to be fireproof or slow-burning with lower fire resistance limits (from 0.25 to 0.5 hours), since the destruction of these structures during a fire can only cause local damage to the building.

When creating a project for their home, the owners want to have a cozy and comfortable room. They think over the interior decoration of each room, plan the arrangement of furniture. But the most important thing in the construction of a quality house is its decoration, which provides the building with waterproofing and thermal insulation of the walls, is the necessary barrier between the warm room and the cold air outside. The house has external and internal walls - which ones are better to insulate?

Sheathing the walls of the house from the inside, you significantly lose living space, and cold and moisture continue to affect the outer part of the building. If the outer walls are insulated and sheathed, then the living space will not decrease in volume, there will be no additional load on the foundation, but the brickwork will be reliably protected from moisture, temperature differences, fungi and bacteria. According to statistics, 40% of heat loss in houses is carried out through the walls. If the outer walls of the house are carefully insulated, then energy costs will be significantly reduced.

The choice of insulation

Before starting any work, you need to take care of the materials and think about which insulation is better to take. For sheathing the outer wall of the house, mineral wool, consisting of artificial mineral fibers, is suitable. It is divided into two types: stone and slag. It is sold in slabs or rolls. It does not pass moisture, does not burn, does not react to dampness, is resistant to mechanical damage, protects from insects and retains heat well. It is very convenient to work with her.

You can use glass wool for insulation, made from waste from glass production. It has similar properties to mineral wool, but during insulation work with such material, you need to wear protective gloves, a face mask and goggles. This will prevent small parts from entering the respiratory tract and eyes.

Styrofoam or expanded polystyrene is very popular. Plates made of this material are very light, have a cellular structure. It is the cheapest material, so it is often used in the construction of houses. There are two types: dense and porous. Now those with incombustibility have appeared. This is an important quality for the safety of your home. After installing such a material on the outer walls, you need to apply a layer of plaster or other type of cladding. V open form such a heater is not left.

Wall insulation

There are two ways to apply insulation to the surface of an external brick wall:

• A fastened way of laying plates joint-to-joint, which does not leave gaps.
• A crate stuffed on the outer surface of the house, in the cavity of which pieces of insulation are inserted.

Now the bonded method of insulation is very popular, since with such laying of the material the so-called "cold paths" do not remain - these are places where the insulation material does not come into contact with each other behind the crate, and unprotected strips of the wall remain. With the bonded method, the tiles are well joined, and the house is completely protected, without gaps.

The first step in warming will be leveling the surface of the walls. To do this, the surface is plastered, then a layer of glue is applied and an insulation plate is applied. The edges and the center are strengthened with special dowels, the cracks are blown out mounting foam. If the distance between the plates is significant, then it is better to fill the space with a cut-out strip of insulation.

The next stage of work on the insulation of the outer walls of the house is the application of a reinforcing layer, which is a fiberglass mesh or a metal mesh. A thick layer of glue is applied to the insulation plates and the mesh is pressed in. Smoothing movements level the layer of reinforcement. After the glue has completely dried, the surface is cleaned and prepared for the last stage for finishing with decorative plaster, which is subsequently painted.

Plastered and painted house

After applying insulation, economical owners can simply plaster the house and paint it with paint for open surfaces. Plaster can be made embossed, voluminous or textured. It is widely used today for finishing works. Relief plasters on the facade are in harmony with smooth surfaces from natural material.

To form a relief layer of plaster, a trowel and trowels, a sponge and various graters are used. In this case, you need to act quickly, forming a relief pattern on the base coat that has not yet dried. An interesting element of decorating with embossed plaster is painting the texture with several contrasting colors. To do this, after applying the main color, the paint that has not yet dried must be shaded with a special mitten.

House cladding with natural stone

The stone facades of the outer walls give the impression of solidity and respectability. Natural stone is always pleasing to the eye, even if the house is not fully lined, but only, for example, the basement. This is an environmentally friendly and durable material that creates coolness in the house in summer and does not release heat outside in winter. Installation work performed easily and quickly.

The only drawback of this material is its weight. The delivery of the material will be quite expensive, and the stone itself is not cheap. There is an artificial substitute that is much lighter and cheaper, but its service life is much shorter.

Facade tiles

Facade tiles are used to decorate and protect the house from moisture. It comes in several varieties: clinker, terracotta and decorative.

Clinker tile resembles brick in appearance, only smooth and bright. Such tiles can sheathe a building made of foam blocks or silicate bricks.

After finishing work, the house acquires the clarity of lines, the brightness of the brickwork. Yes, and such a coating will serve for a long time. Therefore, both in Europe and in Russia, this sheathing is very popular. From the tiles you can lay out the tracks on the plot.

Terracotta and decorative tiles are less popular but have the same properties. A variety of colors and shapes will attract the attention of people who want to have an original and unique design for their home.

wood paneling

Since ancient times, the sheathing of the outer walls of the house with wood has been very popular. Now the material called "block house" is popular. After covering the walls, the structure becomes like a wooden frame. This material looks expensive and has good characteristics. It is lightweight, easy to install and durable. With minor mechanical damage, the material can be sanded and repainted.

Finishing of external walls can be done with the help of wooden lining. The quality and durability of the material depends on the choice of wood. Inexpensive and comfortable lining made of pine. But if you buy oak, then the service life will last significantly: oak does not rot, it looks expensive, but it is also expensive.

Any wooden wall covering requires treatment with special compounds that protect the wood from decay, protect against fungus, mold, and insects. Lacquer or paint the facade will often have to. This will keep the building looking neat.

Siding

Modern plastic material is made by extrusion through holes different shapes vinyl mix. Now the siding is produced in two layers: it is more durable, non-flammable, well protected from water and seasonal temperature changes. The material is not subject to erosion, does not rot, does not conduct electricity, is resistant to mechanical damage, has a long service life (50 years).

According to the type of installation, vertical and horizontal panels are distinguished. They are attached with self-tapping screws.

In addition to vinyl, metal siding is produced. For the production of such panels, they are used which are wrapped on all sides with a passivated layer and painted over with a protective paint.

Material selection

Before you decide and purchase sheathing material for the exterior walls of the house, you need to weigh the pros and cons. Consider the weight, price and quality of the material. When buying, be sure to check the integrity of the package so as not to get poor-quality trim with broken corners.

At the time of buying natural stone you need to check that the stones are the right color.

Wooden lining is selected without knots and blue spots.

The siding should have a uniform color, the same thickness and shape.

When buying expensive material, it is advisable to use the services of trusted manufacturers who have proven themselves in the market, or listen to the reviews of professional builders.