Good afternoon, dear guests!
You may have already read that I made the basement and chimneys of my house from rubble stone (if not, I I will leave links at the end of the article), and since such work is expensive, I had to learn how to lay a stone with my hands.
In the first few days, I faced many difficulties, both with the selection and joining of the stone to each other, and with the correct mixing and laying of the cement mortar. I experimented for a long time, until I came to the best option, which I want to share in this article.
And I really hope that this material will be useful to you!
The first thing to pay attention to: stone fraction!
The optimal fraction for masonry is 300-500 mm. Fraction is the maximum size of a single stone, which, when sifted, passes into the corresponding size cell.
300-500 mm. - This is an ideal stone for masonry, since the diameter is below 300 mm. - this is a very small stone with which it is troublesome to work, and above 500 mm. - a very large boulder, and sometimes it is very difficult to lift it.
Second - tool.
Requires a sturdy chisel, sledgehammer, mason's pick, trowel, and metal brush.
In the process of work, it is always necessary to split the stone into several parts or to cut the edge. Tos is made with a pickaxe, split - with a chisel and a sledgehammer. Seams are formed with a metal brush (described in more detail below).
Third, marking the masonry plane.
Bubble level is not a helper here! There is not a single flat plane to measure anything. For laying stone, you always need to rely on tight laces and on your eyes.
A strong cast-off is made and two cords are pulled: at the bottom and at the top. The latter forms the zero mark, the former is just above the base. Both cords are stretched to create a perfect vertical plane. The plane of the masonry is formed by laying each stone and joining it in a plane along two laces thanks to the innate eye :-))).
Fourth is building spot.
For the optimal speed of laying before mixing the mortar, it is required to prepare several dozen stones of different configurations around the building spot.
This is done so that you can quickly see the stones that can be installed in the prepared place. A stone is not a brick, and the laying of each stone takes time to select a seat so that the edge lies on the edge of the already laid stones with the appropriate dressing of the seams.
The fifth rule is corner stones rule and sequence.
From all the brought stone, it is required to select and throw aside all stones, the angles of two faces of which are approximately 90 degrees. There are very few such buta, usually it has ragged edges, and the main task is to sort out more even corner stones!
In the photo I show corner stones with obligatory dressing of the seams:
After sorting the corner stones, it is necessary to deliver the largest stone to the base (to the foundation). At the base is always a large stone - further in descending order.
The first row starts with the largest stones:
Sixth, preliminary layout before mixing the solution.
Pre-layout is a dry layout of stones without mortar.
Having laid the first 1-2 rows on dry, one can already understand the dimensions and configuration of the following stones. Also, the preliminary layout forms the speed and does not waste time looking for the required boulder.
Seventh - mix proportion.
The kneading is done only after all the previous points have been completed.
So, the proportions of the mixture (brand from M200 to M250):
- 1 hour cement M500;
- 2.5-2.7 hours coarse sand (river);
- super plasticizer C-3 (each manufacturer indicates its own proportions, so you need to follow the instructions on the label);
- 0.5-0.6 hours water. (~ 0.1 h. can be added, depends on the quality of the plasticizer).
It is very important that the mortar is dry. Rubble stone, due to its monolithic low-porosity structure, does not absorb moisture compared to brick, and the solution is always "in one pore" for a long time, i.e. there is no fast setting.
With a liquid solution, masonry will not work. Under a significant mass of stones, the mixture is displaced, the stones float, squeezing each other out.
A plastic NOT waterlogged solution is the key to the success of reliable masonry!
Eighth and last - seam formation.
This stage is one of the most important, since it is he who forms the beauty of the masonry.
The newly laid stone is highlighted in the photo. In this state, until partial setting, the solution should be for about 2 - 4 hours (depending on the air temperature).
As soon as the solution begins to crumble and do not slip with your finger, the seam must be embroidered. Joining is done with a metal brush by carefully cleaning the edges of the stones from the masonry mortar.
Once all the edges of the stones have been cleaned, the seam becomes deep and beautiful.
That's all! Good luck and I will be very glad if the article is useful to you!
ALL MY ARTICLES ABOUT STONE MASKING:
Eternal base. Rubble stone and concrete!
Rubble stone. Put it yourself really!
Base from rubble stone. Build and forget!
Facing with rubble stone! With this approach, the stone will not fall off!