Clay modeling is a fascinating activity that will bring joy to a child, help develop hand motor skills, and can also become a serious hobby for an adult. Clay crafts are beautiful, original, and environmentally friendly. One of the main questions for a beginning sculptor is what clay to use?

  1. Ready clay. Currently, craft supply stores offer a wide range of ready-made polymer compositions for modeling. This is, of course, very convenient, but it also has its disadvantages. Firstly, the finished mass is quite expensive, secondly, it is sold in small packages, such packaging is not enough for the manufacture of large products, and thirdly, the composition contains chemicals. It will be much more economical and environmentally friendly to prepare polymer clay for modeling with your own hands. Moreover, it is easy to do at home.
  2. Natural clay powder, sold in construction and hardware stores. Plus - a relatively low price for fairly large packaging (3, 5, 10 kilograms).
  3. Natural clay. If you wish, you can dig it yourself required material in quarries, ravines, etc. The cost will be zero, however, it should be taken into account that it will be difficult for a beginner to make crafts from natural materials.

Making polymer clay with your own hands (using potato starch)

The polymer material is easy to use, and you can prepare it yourself from potato starch It's not difficult at all.

Compound:

First you need to mix construction glue and starch in a saucepan or other container, gradually add juice and oil. Place the pan on low heat and, while heating, stir until a mass similar in consistency to puree is obtained. After this, remove the pan from the stove, add a little more oil, take out the finished mass and knead it. The polymer mass for crafts is ready; it needs to be wrapped in film and allowed to cool. Place the cooled mass in the refrigerator.

Recipe polymer material simple and accessible to everyone.

Secrets:

  1. The quality of PVA glue must be high. Low-quality construction will result in the material not being plastic.
  2. If the glue is thick, you should slightly reduce the amount of starch.

Gallery: clay modeling (25 photos)






















Making clay dough with your own hands (from natural clay) and modeling from it

Clay extracted independently from a quarry requires special preparation. The recipe for mixing clay with your own hands is somewhat more complicated.

Preparing clay for modeling.

First you need to divide the common layer into small pieces and fill with water. The water for pouring should be warm. The clay mass will swell, after which it must be laid out on a thick cloth. The fabric should completely absorb excess water. While waiting, it is necessary to knead and turn the mass from time to time with hands lubricated with cream. Particular attention should be paid to the absence of unnecessary impurities in the material (stones, too coarse sand, etc.).

After kneading, the clay must be beaten. Divide the clay dough into layers and hit them with your hand to remove air. If the mixture is runny, it will require additional drying time. The clay for modeling, prepared independently, is ready. It is stored in a cool place, wrapped in a damp cloth and bag.

You can use this dough to make dishes, toys, whistles and other crafts. A product made with your own hands must be dried and “baked” in the oven. Products can also be painted and coated with various varnishes.

Mixing clay with your own hands to sculpt products from clay powder

You need to knead the clay in advance., about two weeks before the expected day of sculpting. For best results, the material must be well-seasoned. To prepare the dough, clay powder is poured with warm water and stirred into a plastic mass. Wrap the clay dough in a bag or film and put it in the refrigerator for storage.

Preparation of white self-hardening clay from soda and corn starch, modeling.

To make white clay you will need almost a full pack of baking soda and a cup of cornstarch. Mix starch and soda in a saucepan, add a little water, about half a cup, and put it all on low heat. The mixture must be stirred all the time to avoid sticking to the bottom of the dish. If desired, you can add a few drops essential oil with a pleasant aroma, so the composition will be flavored. When the mass in the pan looks like puree, you can transfer it to a plate, cover with a damp cloth and wait to cool. After cooling, the material must be thoroughly crushed. For ease of use, you can lubricate your hands with cream. To avoid hardening, clay should be stored in an airtight bag or film.

Brick stoves, despite several centuries of use and the development of new technologies, have not lost their popularity today, especially in rural areas. A brick stove is a complex heating structure, the internal volume of which consists of several zones exposed to high temperatures different ranges. But even in the least heated compartments, the strength and tightness of the stove body and chimney are very important, since the leakage of combustion products into the premises threatens the lives of residents with poisoning or fire.

The material for making stone stoves is two types of bricks - heat-resistant and regular red, laid on a solution of a certain composition (depending on the heater zone). A Russian, Dutch or Swedish stove is a massive structure, and the consumption of materials for its construction is significant. At the same time, the cost of purchasing bricks cannot be avoided, but you can save on masonry mortar - do not buy ready-made heat-resistant mixtures, tempted by the deceptive cheapness, but prepare them yourself.

Ready-made dry masonry compositions for furnaces and natural clay

The strength and uniformity of the brick is controlled by the manufacturer during manufacturing, so it is rarely questioned. But the quality of homemade mortar, the second most important material when constructing a furnace, depends on the characteristics of the components and the correct manufacturing.

Let's take a closer look at stove masonry mortars and what kind of clay should be used for laying stoves.

Types of clay solutions for stoves and fireplaces

When laying a stove, depending on temperature regime area being built, several types of solution are used:

  • 1200-1300 0 C - clay-chamotte and cement-chamotte;
  • 1100 0 C - clay-sand mixture;
  • 450-500 0 C - lime-sand;
  • 220-250 0 C - cement-lime;
  • range of atmospheric temperatures (kiln foundation) - cement-sand mixture.

Of the listed masonry mortars, clay or fireclay made from it are included in three mixtures: clay-sand, clay-chamotte and cement-chamotte).

Let's look at these important components of kiln masonry mixtures.

Clay components of solutions for brick heaters

Clay is a sedimentary rock with a fine-grained structure, the forming substance of which is kaolinite, consisting of a mixture of silicon oxides (47%), aluminum (39%) with water (14%). The name kaolin comes from the Chinese locality Kaolin, where such clay was first discovered white. If kaolin clay contains iron ions of different valencies, the color of this material can be different - yellow, red, brown, blue, green, but this has little effect on the physical properties. In a dry state, clay is a lumpy material made up of fractions of various sizes; when mixed with water, it forms a plastic mass with good adhesion.

Clay quarry and clay sample of plastic consistency

Chamotte is a powder obtained by grinding pieces of clay that have been sintered during high-temperature firing and have lost molecularly bound water. The size of the fireclay crumb fractions after crushing or grinding ranges from 0.2 to 2.5 mm. Sifting fireclay powder allows you to separate fractions by size, after which finely ground powder is often called fireclay clay, and coarse powder is often called fireclay sand, but chemical composition and the properties of these materials are identical - high heat resistance and low water absorption.
Fireclay filler for industrial production and packaging

The degree of clay sintering depends on the magnitude (or) and duration of high-temperature exposure, which determines the division of fireclay into:

  • low-burnt - firing temperature 600-900 0 C, water absorption up to 25%;
  • high-burnt - for regular firing at 1300 0 C and water absorption of less than 5%, for special quality - at 1500 0 C with water absorption of less than 2%.

Important! The shrinkage of solutions using low-burnt fireclay is up to 16%. However, the porosity of such solutions after curing is much lower than that of mixtures with high-burnt filler, since the difference in the shrinkage of low-burnt fireclay and the binder (clay) is very small. Therefore, to obtain heat-resistant bricks with low porosity, high compressive and fracture strength, low-burnt fireclay is used, and for masonry mortars, high-burnt fireclay is used.

Characteristics of clay for oven mixtures

The main characterizing parameter of this material is fat content, which combines the degree of plasticity, strength, water resistance, as well as adhesion before and after curing.

In nature, clay is three types- skinny, medium fat and fat, with no clear boundaries between them.

The belonging of a material to one of the types is determined by simple mechanical manipulations, the most accurate of which is performed as follows.

Approximately half a kilogram of clay is mixed with water to a homogeneous dough-like consistency, after which a ball with a diameter of approximately 5 cm is formed from the resulting mass.

The ball is placed between two pieces of glass, which are used to slowly squeeze it, observing the formation of cracks in the clay:

  • the destruction of the ball at the beginning of squeezing indicates low fat content - the clay is thin;
  • the appearance of thin cracks after reducing the diameter of the sample by 1/3 of the original value indicates that the clay is of normal fat content;
  • if cracks appeared only when the ball was squeezed to half its diameter, it is a mass of high fat content.

Determination of the fat content of clay by squeezing: on the left – fatty, on the right – normal.

The main factor influencing the fat content of clay is the percentage by weight of sand in it:

  • from 15 to 30% - skinny;
  • from 5 to 15% - medium fat content;
  • up to 5% - fatty.

Production of clay masonry mortars

This or that type of clay oven mixture purchased in a store is prepared according to the instructions on the package; no questions arise here.

If you decide to use a homemade mortar for laying the stove, then there are two main conditions on which the quality of preparing the mixture depends: proper preparation components and compliance with the proportions of the components.

Using the example of a clay-sand mortar, we will consider preliminary operations and mixing rules.


Using the data in this table as a basis, you can achieve high quality masonry mortar by slightly adjusting the proportions based on the parameters of the components used.

Natural clay prepared for the kiln must be cleaned of foreign impurities - everything foreign (plant remains, stones, debris) is manually removed, and large lumps are broken up. Then the mass is rubbed through a metal mesh with a mesh size of approximately 3 mm.

This “dry punching” is a labor-intensive procedure, so it is more rational to pre-soak manually cleaned clay for 2-3 days in a tin trough - lay it in layers of 12-15 cm, wetting them abundantly, then cover the entire packing with water (approximate ratio: 1 part water per 4 parts clay). After 2 days, mix thoroughly with feet or a stirrer and rub through a sieve with a mesh size of 2-2.5 mm.


Ways to soak clay

During soaking, sand is prepared. Fireclay sand does not require preparation, except perhaps sifting if purchased in bulk. And river sand must be sifted through a sieve with a mesh size of 1-1.5 mm, then rinsed with running water in a container until the turbidity disappears and laid out on a clean inclined plane to remove as much residual moisture as possible.

There is no strict ratio of the volumes of these components, since any clay initially contains some amount of sand. Therefore, the proportion can be from 1:2 to 1:5; ideally, the clay should only fill the voids in the solution between the grains of sand.

To have an approximate idea of ​​the volumetric ratio of the components, the bucket is filled 1/3 with a clay suspension when it is ready, and then sand is added along the edge. The materials are thoroughly mixed in any container to the desired consistency with the addition of the required amount of water. The readiness of the mixture for laying the stove is checked as follows - it must be held on the trowel after turning its plane by 180 0 and slide off it in a vertical position.

Testing the readiness of clay-sand mortar

If the mixture falls from a base turned 180 0, then clay must be added to it. If the solution does not slide off the vertical plane, add sand. After correction, the check is repeated.

By testing the solution in this way, an approximate volume ratio of the components is obtained.

Clay-sand mortar is used in furnace areas with temperatures up to 1000 0 C. Full or partial replacement of river sand with fireclay allows the mixture to be used for laying fireboxes with operating temperatures up to 1800 0 C, including in places of direct contact with the flame.

Important! Clay mortars without the use of cement allow you to disassemble a brick heater after curing and reassemble it without destroying the elements.


Options classic style stone ovens

A more clear answer to the question of how to prepare a mortar for laying a stove is given in this video:

Conclusion

Availability of clay in natural conditions does not mean its primitiveness as building material– solutions based on this mineral, prepared correctly, have served in stone heaters for centuries. Therefore, the use of clay-based mixtures is a sign of professionalism of the stove maker, and not a reason for skepticism.

The main point of the article

  1. A stone oven is a complex engineering structure, efficient use which depends, among other things, on the quality of the materials used for its construction.
  2. Clay – affordable natural material, and today has not lost its demand, and in a number of characteristics is superior to Portland cement.
  3. For high-quality masonry, it is necessary not only to choose the right clay for the stove being built, but also to properly prepare it for adding it to the solution.
  4. The high quality of the components of the furnace mortar guarantees the functionality of the mixture only if the required proportions are observed.
  5. The advantage of clay, among others, is the ability to completely rebuild the masonry without damaging the dismantled materials.

For centuries, the skill of the stove maker was carefully passed on to descendants. The subtleties of the device and carefully thought-out procedures were scrupulously conveyed to future generations. Craftsmen patiently taught their students the art of constructing brick units and revealed the secrets of producing binders. Improved old recipes are still used at work. In order for the “hot heart” of the bath to serve for many years, you need to know how to prepare a solution for laying the stove, where to find cheap raw materials and clearly calculate the proportions.

Furnace design and correct solution

A brick sauna stove is a large structure, parts of which operate under uneven conditions. The humidity and temperature values ​​operating at the base of the unit differ significantly from similar parameters near the firebox and chimney.

The temperature “fork” during the period of active operation can vary from 0º to 1200º or more. The firebox and chimney are persistently attacked by flue gases, and the latter also has to repel the onslaught of rain, winds, and frost.

So far, such a thing has not been invented by man in nature. mortar, which could adequately resist the listed destructive factors. Cement and lime individually and together are not capable of maintaining such an impressive temperature range. Clay below the mirror groundwater, simply becomes limp, and the excessively porous lime composition allows gaseous combustion products to pass into the steam room, washing room and rest room.

For a normally functioning structure brick oven At least three masonry mortars with different properties will be required. There is no point in using fireproof, very expensive binding mixtures for the chimney. They are needed for structural components exposed to intense exposure to high temperatures. There is no reason to use heat-resistant materials in the construction of the largest heat-storing part. Instead, relatively inexpensive ready-made clay for laying a stove or a completely free mixture mined and created with your own hands is suitable.

Solutions for the construction of all structural parts brick stove can be purchased in factory packaging. They are extremely simple to use: just read the instructions on the package and add the required amount of water. The proportions are thoroughly calculated and selected. True, the cost of ready-made building mixtures cannot be classified as humane.

Significant expenses do not bring joy. On average, 2-3 buckets are needed per 100 bricks, depending on the thickness of the seam and the density of the masonry. Elementary calculations for upcoming construction rarely bring pleasure to thrifty owners. We would like to introduce you to the recipe for preparing budget masonry mortars, available for your own production.

Types of masonry mortars

Solutions are mixtures consisting of one or two binder components and filler with water. The binding components are clay, cement, and lime paste. The filler in the furnace industry is silicate sand or fireclay sand. Water is taken without impurities and technical contaminants. Clean tap, well or lake water will do. The best solvent for masonry mixtures is considered to be rain or melted water.

Solutions differ in porosity, gas conductivity and thermal properties. Their general characteristics there must be ease of application, easy-to-work plasticity and stable strength after hardening. According to the classification of old stove makers, masonry mortars are divided into the following groups:

  • Fatty - having excellent plasticity, but cracking after drying.
  • Normal - characterized by average ductility and strength, suitable for reliable masonry.
  • Skinny - characterized by fragility, low ductility and strength, crumbling after drying.

If the mixture contains only one binder, for example, cement or clay, the solution belongs to the category of simple solutions and is designated as a 1:1 ratio; 1:2.5 or 1:3, etc. The ratio tells us in what proportions the components are taken. The first number indicates the binder component, the second number indicates the volume of filler. If there are two binder components in the solution, the ratio looks, for example, like in the complex cement-lime version 1: 2: 8. The proportion of the most effective binder is indicated in the first place.

It is clear that stove makers need solutions with normal plasticity and the same strength. However, you should not give up fatty and skinny people. The fatty variety is brought to normal by increasing the sand content, the skinny variety is brought to normal by enriching it with an astringent component.

Apart from pouring a reinforced concrete base under the foundation, the following solutions are used in the construction of furnaces:

  • Lime. It is used in laying brick foundations for stoves and. Those. suitable for the construction of those parts of the sauna unit that will not be subjected to heating above 450º-500º. The seams are strong, but not fireproof enough. But when attacked by atmospheric phenomena, the pipe elements, lined with a lime composition, turn out to be quite wear-resistant.
  • Cement-lime. Applicable only for foundation construction, because not heat resistant enough for chimneys, able to withstand temperatures of no more than 250º.
  • Cement-chamotte. It is mixed from cement with heat-resistant fireclay sand and water. It is used in the construction of the combustion sector, because withstands temperatures up to 1300º without destroying the substance. It does not allow flue gases to pass through, but does not prevent the escape of condensate. It is heat-resistant, fire-resistant, easy to use, but expensive, which is why prudent bathhouse owners most often give preference to its analogue with a clay component instead of cement.
  • Clay-fireclay. It is used in the masonry of fireboxes; the properties of the solution are similar to the previous representative, but it is cheaper due to the inexpensive or completely free binding component.
  • Clay. It is used in the masonry of the main part of the furnace, which accumulates heat and transfers it to the room being treated. The clay composition is distinguished by average heat resistance. The seams created from it can withstand temperatures up to 1100º. Hardening of the mixture occurs by evaporation of water from the composition. When wetted, the solution again acquires plasticity and makes it possible to sort out the furnace for the purpose of repair. The clay composition is used in the construction of the source of the chimney. However, it cannot be used for laying parts that extend beyond the building due to the likelihood of getting wet from atmospheric moisture.

The predominant part of the furnace is built using a clay version, which is attractive at a budget cost. The relatively low price of a factory product can mercilessly deceive. The expense is impressive.

The components of this mixture can be obtained for free. We literally trample them underfoot. Therefore, it is better to find out how to make your own mortar from clay from sand for laying a stove, and how to save a significant amount without putting in too much effort. In addition, the clay component can be useful in the production of a mixture for the combustion segment.

Homemade mortars

Before you start making masonry mixtures, you need to stock up on a simple tool for stirring. Among stove makers it is called a oar because it really resembles a rowing device. This is a board hewn on both sides with a uniquely hewn handle. You will need a shovel, a mixing container, ideally wooden barrel or a tub; if you don’t have one, a metal one will do. You will need 5-7 buckets, a trowel to determine plasticity, two sieves with cells of 3 mm and 1.5 mm, as well as components of future building mixtures.

We extract cheap clay

Those who want to minimize costs should stock up on clay and sand. They are not only included in the basic mortar for laying the furnace body, but are also used to adjust the plasticity of the mortars. Clay is useful for the refractory mixture used in the firebox.

Clay is a natural finely dispersed material that acquires plasticity when saturated with water. Its plasticity depends on the content of small and dusty particles in the rock: the more of them, the fattier the clay. If the clay contains more than 40% sand, then it is called sandy or lean.

For the production of masonry mixtures in natural form it doesn't fit, the seams are too fragile. The optimal content of sand particles is 37-38% - this is the norm. If there are fewer of them, the rock can be “normalized” by adding simple or fireclay sand.

There are three ways to prepare clay:

  • Soak factory-produced raw brick. To do this, unfired building material is placed in a tub with clean water. The soaked mass is filtered using a fine sieve, then sand is mixed into it. The required consistency is achieved by adding water.
  • Buy broken rock from the local population, probably dug up in the garden. To obtain suitable raw materials from it, you will have to work hard. Typically, such material is heavily contaminated with organic matter, which is removed through repeated soaking, sifting and straining.
  • Get it yourself. Clay deposits are found everywhere. Having gone 4-5m deep, it is quite possible to dig it on your own site. However, it is better to walk along steep river banks, ravines and similar outcrops. Taking a closer look at the section (cut of a bank or ravine), you can identify individual rock layers without any problems.

Measure approximately 5m from the surface and pinch off a piece of rock for “field” testing. Remember the lump, it should wrinkle like plasticine, without sticking to your hands. Try rolling it into thin “sausage”-type flagella. If you managed to roll up a flagellum 5-7 cm long and 4-5 mm thick and bend it into an arc without breaking it, you have taken the right path as a procurer. If not, continue searching for suitable material in the outcrop being examined or find a similar location.

The color of the rock does not matter; it depends on mineral inclusions, which have virtually no effect on the plastic qualities of the material. However, the most suitable is considered white clay, called kaolin. It can be used in the manufacture of clay mortar for masonry fireboxes sauna stove. The most common are gray, bluish- and greenish-gray clays. There are frankly chocolate and earthy breeds. Don’t let the rusty or brown tint scare you, this is just evidence of the presence of iron oxides.

Experienced stove makers can determine clay with suitable plasticity without laboratory testing. Beginning masters will have to find out their suitability experimentally. To do this, you should select equal 5 portions of the breed, approximately 0.5-1 liters each.

Stocking up on free sand

Packaged or bulk sand, sorted by grain size into fractions, can be freely purchased at construction market. Or you can get it and prepare it with your own hands for introduction into the future mortar for laying the furnace. It is advisable for buyers of the finished product to give preference to the mountain or lake version, because the roughness and angularity of their grains of sand will improve the adhesion of the mixture.

The regulated thickness of the seams of the stove masonry is 2-3mm, which means that you should buy material of a fraction of no more than 1.6-1.8mm. Stove makers recommend that in addition to sand with the specified size, you also purchase smaller material. A mortar with different grain aggregates adheres more firmly.

Those who want to dig up sand themselves will certainly have options in the surrounding area: abandoned quarries, ravines, river shallows, steep bank outcrops, etc. It must be taken from a depth of at least 1-1.5 m, so as not to bother with washing the organic matter. If you still extract sand with foreign inclusions, it should be washed with running water, to do this:

  • We pour sand in portions into a bucket, which we then fill tap water from a hose.
  • We stir the soaked material in a bucket with a piece of board or a paddle and drain the muddy slurry that floats to the top.
  • We repeat the process until the refilled water becomes transparent and absolutely clean.

The washed and dried sand is sifted through a sieve with a mesh size of 1.5 mm.

Methods for determining clay plasticity

Now is the time to remember the clay samples taken to determine suitability for plasticity. Place them in different containers and mix with water. Add it gradually so that you get a stiff clay dough that does not stick to your palms.

We mark the samples with serial numbers to know how much sand was added and how it affected the plasticity:

  • Let's leave the first one as is.
  • In the second we mix 10%.
  • In the third 25%.
  • In the fourth portion 75%.
  • To the fifth sample we will add 100% sand, i.e. an amount equal in volume to clay.

Add sand in several stages, stirring gently after each addition. When inserted large quantity sand will have to add water. From each sample it is necessary to make experimental samples: two or three balls Ø 5 cm and the same number of cakes 2-3 cm thick. The samples, according to the numbering, must be laid out to dry in a room protected from drafts. After 8-10 days, the cakes with balls must be checked and determined which sample has the optimal composition.

A solution that satisfies the following conditions is considered suitable for masonry:

  • If a ball dropped from a height of approximately 75cm-1m above the floor does not break and does not become colored when pressed.
  • If the dried samples do not have noticeable cracks.

Two or three samples were made so that the experiment could be carried out several times.

There are two more methods of determination with a similar division into five parts and equivalent preliminary preparation, according to which:

  • Each sample should be rolled into balls Ø 5 cm. The prototypes are alternately placed between two boards that serve as the working parts of the press. When the boards are compressed, a ball of plastic clay will decrease by 1/2 of its diameter with the appearance of minor cracks. A sample with average plasticity will “sag” by 1/3 with the formation of noticeable cracks. The skinny material will only shrink by 1/4 or less and crumble.
  • From each sample you need to roll out sausage flagella about 1.5-2 cm thick and 25 cm long. They should be slightly stretched and bent around a wooden rolling pin or the handle of a shovel up to 5 cm in diameter. A sample of thin clay breaks off almost immediately and does not stretch. A sausage of average plasticity will break when the stretching and deformation section decreases in thickness by 20%. It will crack at the folds. A rope made of plastic clay will not break and will stretch smoothly.

The simplest tests should indicate to us the proportions of a mixture of medium plasticity, according to which we will prepare the masonry mortar. Masonry mortars will require 1/10 of the volume of the stove or a little less.

Preparing clay mixture step by step

Before mixing the solution, immerse the crushed clay in a barrel or similar container and fill it with water. It needs to soak for a day, preferably two. If after two days of soaking there are still lumps, you can extend the procedure for another 24 hours. Mix the softened rock thoroughly to form a mass reminiscent of sour cream. If necessary, add water and strain the dough before using.

Prepare a mixture from creamy clay dough and sifted sand in the following order:

  • In accordance with the proportions verified experimentally, we measure out the clay and sand in buckets.
  • Pour the ingredients into a convenient container in portions, distributing them so that the raw materials are stacked in several layers.
  • Mix the components of the mixture with a shovel repeatedly and intensively, adding water if necessary.

Mix until the masonry mortar resembles a homogeneous, loose dough. Let's check the consistency of the mixture with a shovel: the solution should seem to slide off the bayonet without spreading. You can store it in any container under a “lid” made of a piece of roofing felt, polyethylene, plywood, etc. There is no need to part with the solution remaining after work; its shelf life is unlimited - just add water.

Second folk method will require the use of physical force. Essentially, the raw material will need to be beaten with a board or paddle. Because plant debris and gravel inclusions will still be knocked out of the mixture; they do not need to be sifted first. We will lay out the sand in a bed according to the proportions on a wooden board with an area of ​​1.5x1.5 m. Bed width up to 35cm, height up to 25cm. We will make a depression in the middle of the bed and fill it with soaked and crushed clay.

We shovel the laid raw materials, pouring sand into the clay from the edges until the mixture becomes homogeneous. Then we again form a bed, which we backhand and forcefully “chop” with the edge of a wooden oar. We strike often to break up all the lumps. After processing is complete, add water if required.

How to make lime mortar

The lime mixture is used when laying the stove foundation and chimney outside the roof. The preparation container needs to be of such a volume that it can accommodate the lime, which increases three to five times during the slaking process.

The starting material is poured with water and waited for thickening, periodically stirring and breaking the lumps with a paddle. The resulting lime dough is diluted with water so that the consistency becomes similar to sour cream. Then sand is introduced in portions until the solution clots begin to stick to the oar.

The mixture is stored for several days; when the consistency changes, water is added to it. To save yourself the hassle of making lime dough, you can buy it ready-made.

Firebox masonry mixture

To make a refractory mortar, you need plastic white clay; slightly yellowish or gray clay is suitable. Fireclay sand or a cheaper mixture of quartz and fireclay sand is used as a filler. You need to take them in equal shares. Plastic clay does not need to be tested before preparation; it can be immediately mixed with clean, soft water.

Video instruction on how to use a mixer

A video on the topic “How to prepare a mortar for laying a stove with a mixer and how to make it correctly” will clearly present the manufacturing process:

The simple methods and recipes for masonry mortars for the stove we have described will help to significantly reduce the costs allocated for the construction of the main bath unit.

Clay mortar for stove masonry is made from natural materials.

Clay has the same coefficient of linear expansion as bricks that are made from this raw material.

The hardened clay mixture is a strong and durable material, it does not collapse decades.

Composition of clay mortar for laying stoves, proportions

The solution is used for laying the stove itself, but mixtures based on lime and concrete. They are less susceptible to cracking from stove gases and hot smoke.

Photo 1. Clay mortar is applied to the bricks, thus connecting the blocks.

Clay mortar contains 2 main ingredients - clay and sand. For strength, it is sometimes added to the mixture table salt(consumption of which from 80 to 250 grams per bucket of solution), cement (0.75-1 kg per bucket) and heat resistant glue(according to the instructions on the package).

Reference. The amount of clay in masonry mortars depends on its quality and is from 20 to 100% volume of the mixture.

It costs a hundred bricks 30-36 dm 3 clay-sand paste (three buckets). The thickness of the joints in the masonry is 3-4 mm, but not more 5 mm.

They sell it in construction stores ready-to-pack mixtures for masonry. They consist of high quality clay mixed with fine sand.

To make masonry mortar with your own hands, you have to take sand and clay from the area. Stove makers sometimes use several types of raw materials from different areas. In order not to make a mistake and not to bring 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 Al2O3. This material is very plastic, susceptible to mechanical stress, clay paste will withstand the thinnest modeling. The volume of raw materials swollen with water increases up to two times.

The composition of clays includes oxides of iron and other metals, plant residues, hydrocarbons, carbonates, chalk particles, and iron sulfide. Impurities give this rock various colors.

Fatty clays are finely dispersed, they highly plastic. When dried, the raw material cracks greatly, although the dried pieces are highly durable. Such rocks contain from 3 to 15% sand

Lean (sand-enriched) clays, on the contrary, have low ductility. When dried, they become fragile, destroyed due to the high content of granular material and are close in composition to sandy loam. In them - more than 80% sand

Clays normal (average) the composition does not crack after drying, and does not crumble under mechanical stress.

The quality of raw materials is determined experimentally. Exists several ways to determine the fat content of clays:

Method 1. From clay that has been soaked a day ago, roll sausages up to one and a half millimeters thick and up to length 20-22 cm. They wrap a cylindrical object with a circumference about 50 cm.

Fat, viscous clay stretches smoothly and easily without breaking. When the raw material has a normal composition, small cracks will appear on the flagellum due to stretching. A rope of thin clay mass will break when stretched.

Method 2. The dry material is poured with water and softened until batter. The soaked mass is mixed with a wooden spatula and lifted up. Oily, viscous clay forms a layer on the blade that strongly adheres to the wood. Normal clay falls off the mixer in chunks. Skinny - everything falls off, only moisture remains on the stirrer.

Method 3. On a freshly rolled clay sphere press with a plank. If the material has a greasy composition, cracks will appear on the sphere 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 thin clays - when slightly flattened.

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.

  • Oily, plastic clay will develop cracks after drying.
  • If the raw material has a normal composition, there will be no cracks.
  • On lean clay, saturated with coarse impurities, there will be no cracks, but the ball will be fragile and will crumble under mechanical stress.

If the ball is dropped from meter height, oily (and normal) clay will not break. A ball molded from thin clay saturated with coarse fraction will break into many pieces and grains of sand.

What sand to prepare

Only fine sand with the diameter of sand grains 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 purification. From raw materials different ways remove residues plants, roots, grains of sand, pebbles, pieces of crushed stone.

How to remove impurities from clay

Impurities greatly degrade the quality of the masonry. Raw materials are purified in three stages:

  • manual sampling plant remains, roots, crushed stone, pebbles;
  • sifting through a metal sieve with hole size 1.5 mm;
  • soaking clay;
  • rubbing through a metal fine-mesh sieve.

Photo 2. The process of sifting clay through a metal sieve. You need to press it with your palm so that all the particles pass through the mesh evenly.

In practice, to clean clay for mortar, craftsmen do without the labor-intensive process of soaking the raw materials.

How to remove impurities from sand

Sand is considered prepared when water passing through it will become clean. To prepare the material, you need to complete the following actions:

  • From sand manually select plant remains, roots, large stones.
  • After rough sampling the material sift 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.

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Soak

Dry packaged clay purchased in a store should be soaked. Needed for work wide capacity(trough), tank or other vessel:

  • The container is filled 80% clay.
  • Capacity up to the 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, add it again and leave the clay to soak for another day.
  • Soaked material transfer to another container.

Clay extracted from a quarry yourself is soaked in the same way. If the material is wet, it is also soaked, since it usually does not contain sufficient quantity water.

There are several ways to mix clay mortar for masonry. 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 mixture components - 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 for 2-3 days.
  • Clay stir with a wooden stirrer, then - construction mixer.
  • In the tub add sand.
  • The solution is stirred(first with a spatula, then with a construction mixer), add a little water if necessary.
  • If planned, in a sand-clay mixture add supplements, enhancing the strength of the masonry.

How exactly clay is diluted, its 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% dry raw materials take 25% water. The rubbed clay paste is immediately used for masonry.

Attention! For kneading it is better to take "soft" water low in calcium carbonate and other salts. Salts appear on the walls of a dry stove and, in the absence of whitewash, spoil it appearance.

Quality check methods

Stove makers check the quality of the solution as follows: they take just prepared clay paste onto a metal construction shovel (trowel) And turn it over. A solution of normal composition stays on the blade without falling. If there is a lot of clay in the paste (oily composition), then it sticks tightly to the trowel in a thick layer 3-4 mm. If there is a lot of sand, the solution immediately completely falls off the inverted spatula.

To check the quality of ready-to-use material, you can use the same methods as to determine the fat content of raw clay(sculpting and drying balls, flattening a ball with a board, testing its strength by falling from a meter height, pulling out strands).

What to do if the mixture has dried out

To prevent the clay paste from drying out, store it by covering the container. wet rag. If glue and cement were not added during mixing, the material can be returned to working condition. For this, dried mass smash into pieces with a hammer and fill with water. In a day it will soften. If necessary, the pieces are crushed using a wooden tamper. After softening all the pieces, the solution is mixed with a mixer.

Clay mortar, ideal for laying bricks, is important to know how to prepare correctly. The quality of the binding ingredients, the purity of the filler, and the hardness of the water all matter here. Good mix in reality, it’s not difficult to make yourself if you strictly follow the proportions and follow the cooking procedure described below.

About the solution

The clay-based composition is mainly used for constructing stoves in private homes. Its properties make it possible to ensure strength and durability of the masonry.

In a bathhouse, the foundation (and especially the chimney) on this masonry mixture is unacceptable. It is much better to use a solution here:

  • lime;
  • cement-sand.

Neither one nor the other is afraid of condensation, which usually forms on these oven elements.

The main characteristic that you need to pay attention to when making a clay composition is fat content.

The result depends on it:

  • plastic;
  • degree of final shrinkage;
  • high temperature resistance;
  • the strength of the entire masonry.

In total, experts distinguish three types of solution:

  • skinny is very fragile and has low ductility - it often cracks when dried;
  • greasy – pliable, but after hardening it may begin to crumble;
  • normal – perfect option for masonry.

The last variety has the following properties:

  • does not shrink significantly;
  • withstands extreme heat;
  • have excellent ductility.

It's a pleasure to work with him. Using a normal solution, even a less experienced craftsman can easily assemble the oven.

How to find out how plastic clay is

In principle, the test is not difficult at all. To do this, take a bucket of cool water and gradually begin to add clay to it. The main task is to obtain a consistency similar to that of regular store-bought sour cream.

Mix the solution not with a trowel, but with any suitable board. When the result is achieved, it is pulled out of the bucket and examined. If a lot of clay sticks to it, then this means that it is quite greasy and equally plastic.

  • pour in the entire volume at once;
  • mix thoroughly;
  • check on the board (the norm is 2 millimeters of mixture on its surface);
  • if necessary, add new portions of filler.

Making a solution

The preparation of a high-quality clay mixture in separate steps is as follows:

  • a day before the start of work, the clay is soaked in a small amount of water;
  • 24 hours later, they begin to mix it with a shovel, gradually adding water;
  • when the mixture begins to resemble sour cream, filter it;
  • then they begin to add sand in the above proportion (liter per bucket).

The fact that the process is complete is indicated by the absence of puddles on the surface of the solution. Otherwise, keep adding aggregate a little at a time.

Another variant

This method is suitable only in a situation if you have absolutely clean clay, in which there are no foreign inclusions or pebbles. Here the procedure begins with the addition of screened aggregate. Next, add water to a quarter of the total volume.

The composition is mixed until homogeneous (it is permissible to use a concrete mixer) - as a result, it should fall freely from the shovel blade, but not spread.

The last stage is the addition of dry cement (750 grams per 10 liters) and salt (approximately 200 g).

Other options

In this case, you will need to stock up on fireclay sand and fireproof clay. Both ingredients are mixed in equal proportions. After this, add water in an amount of 1/8 of the total volume of the solution. When the mass becomes homogeneous, it can be used for its intended purpose.

It is permissible to make the composition from loams. In this case, you will need to prepare 10 different options in small quantities for testing. The first one takes:

  • 10 parts loam;
  • 1 – cement;
  • 1 – sand.

The finished sample is thoroughly kneaded until smooth, adding clean water little by little. It is necessary that as a result there are no lumps left.

The finished samples are placed in separate boxes and left for a week. When time has passed, they are examined. The following composition is suitable for the oven:

  • containing maximum clay;
  • not cracked.

It can easily withstand heat up to 600 degrees without deforming or crumbling.

Specifics of lime and cement mixture

As previously noted, chimneys and the foundation of the stove are constructed using other quick-drying and stronger solutions.

The universal composition is prepared as follows:

  • the sand is sifted;
  • mixed with grade 400 cement in a ratio of 3 to 1;
  • add water immediately before starting work.