DIY decorative brick mold for interior decoration

Gypsum brick for interior decoration has become one of the most popular ways to decorate room surfaces. It has replaced options that are considered more traditional: wallpapering, painting. The fact is that this decorative material includes an excellent aesthetic component, as well as the availability of a product that you can make yourself.

Advantages and disadvantages

Decorative gypsum bricks have many advantages, which are as follows:

Creating a good indoor microclimate. Possessing hygroscopicity, the material is able to take away some of the moisture from the air, which it releases when there is a lack of it.
Fire resistance. Gypsum is not subject to combustion, which means it is not a source of flame propagation.
Additional thermal and sound protection of the object. The product creates a coating that retains heat inside the room and also prevents the penetration of noise pollution.
Light weight. The design does not exert significant load on the surface. Therefore, such bricks are excellent for finishing partitions.
Large selection of colors and relief. This makes it possible to show a full flight of fantasy and design imagination.
Easy to install. To work you will need a minimum set of tools and skills.
Possibility of self-production. This significantly reduces the overall costs of finishing activities.

One of the main advantages of gypsum brick is its ease of installation
. Of course, there are some disadvantages. The negative points include low resistance to mechanical damage. That is, it is quite easy to damage the material. But with some skill, it is possible to restore the coating.

How is drying carried out?

After light facing brick or any other is poured into molds, it is necessary to dry the raw materials. Successful drying consists of uniform evaporation of moisture from inside and outside. To bring the brick to readiness, separate rooms are used in which the raw brick dries for 5 to 20 days under normal weather conditions. In general, the drying algorithm looks like this:

Lay out the finished forms in 6-8 rows high, sprinkling each layer with sawdust or dry sand, which can be found at home.
As they dry, remove the finished fragments and display freshly prepared ones.
After 3 days of drying indoors, it is necessary to ventilate the future building material in the fresh air.

To make the bricks of the highest quality, you need to cover the floor indoors with dry boards, and build a rain shelter outside.

Where can the material be used?

Currently, there are various types of products on the market. They differ in their external properties. There are the following types of decorative tiles:

Glossy. It is obtained by applying a layer of varnish.
Matte. The treatment is carried out with special impregnations that increase the protective properties of the material.
Embossed. The drawing is completely individual.
Convex and concave.

Gypsum brick can vary in color, relief, texture and shape

The number of existing shades is very large. If necessary, additional painting of the product can be carried out.

The material is suitable for use in various rooms, but exclusively inside a house or apartment. It is also necessary to take into account that its use is unacceptable in the following places:

in the bathroom or shower;
next to the kitchen sink and gas stove;
for facing fireplaces.

The coating looks quite impressive when combined with other types of finishing products.

Gypsum brick can only be used for finishing dry rooms

Self-production

Decorative bricks are made by hand without the use of special technologies and units. For such a process you will need a simple set of components:

Gypsum mixed until liquid.
A hardener that reduces the setting time of the solution and also increases its performance properties.
A color that is added directly to the mixture.
Form - can be plastic or silicone.

On a note! It is the form that is quite expensive, so many people try to make it from improvised means. The process takes two to three weeks. For this, a brick is used, which will act as a sample. It is placed in a manufactured wooden frame of the required size. All parts are coated with lubricant. The structure is filled with liquid silicone. It turns out to be a household version, which is not much different from the store version.

Mold for making gypsum bricks

But how to make decorative brick at home? The event consists of following certain steps:

The necessary tools are being prepared. To work, you will need a container (construction bucket), a drill with a mixer attachment. Pre-prepared molds and lubricant for them. It is the last ingredient that helps to remove the product with minimal difficulty. You can purchase a special substance or use simple Vaseline or soap solution.
You should mix enough mixture to fill all the molds. It should be borne in mind that excess will quickly harden and become unusable.
The solution is mixed as it is done during normal work. The dry mixture is poured into a pre-prepared container with water. Everything is thoroughly mixed. You need to get the consistency of sour cream. It is important to consider that the presence of lumps and dry sediment is unacceptable. Additionally, a hardener is added.

The solution for making gypsum bricks must be of uniform consistency, without lumps

On a note! In the absence of a hardener, many craftsmen who make such bricks themselves recommend using citric acid.

For an additional effect, PVA is introduced - fifty grams of glue are used per kg of dry mixture. Fiber is added to reinforce the material. Its amount does not exceed 1-2 grams.
When the solution is ready, pour in the prepared color, the thoroughness of stirring it depends on what effect is desired. For example, to obtain a homogeneous surface, intensive mixing is carried out. And to create stains, the pigment is poured into the resulting substance, but without proper stirring.
The mold is greased. The composition is poured in one layer, without creating unnecessary gaps. Everything is left for a while.
After 30-40 minutes, remove the resulting products. This must be done carefully. If plastic molds are used for decorative bricks, they are lightly tapped with a mallet. Silicone products are simply bent a little.

When removing the finished brick from the mold, be careful not to damage it.

Advice! To show your design imagination, you can paint after finishing the surface. This will allow you to get completely customized coverage. The compositions are chosen to be water-based.

If required, the material is coated with special impregnations. To create a glossy effect, apply several layers of varnish. The resulting material has all the properties of purchased material and is excellent for installation indoors.

Unloading semi-finished products from molds and completing the drying process

During the drying process, moisture from semi-finished products moves from the inner layers to the outer layers, and it evaporates from the surface. Surface tension forces expand the outer clay layers and contract the inner ones. The natural drying process is carried out under a canopy. Semi-finished products are unloaded onto a rack or a leveled ground surface, having previously poured a 1-2 cm thick underlying layer of dry sand and straw.

The purpose of the underlying layer is to prevent the workpieces from sticking to the plane, to ensure their uniform drying on the lower plane and the ability to conveniently move and move semi-finished products if necessary. In temperate climates, outdoor drying can be used. In case of precipitation, stock up with removable waterproof film. The drying process lasts 8-10 days. In this case, approximately 80-85% of the moisture contained in the workpiece evaporates. And the remaining 15% is removed during firing.

Brick blanks are removed from the molds and left in the air to dry.

After the drying process is completed, the resulting raw brick is removed from its molds and masonry work begins. It is necessary to make a reservation that raw brick is not used for facing work, but only for internal ones. It should be remembered that the product has low water resistance.

The walls that are erected from it must be protected from moisture. For this purpose, it is necessary to carefully bandage the seams in the masonry. Door and window openings are provided at a distance of 1.5 m from the corner of the room. The roof overhang, which forms a canopy over the walls and protects them from getting wet during precipitation, must have a length of at least 600 mm. When a wall built from raw brick has completely dried, it must be lined with siding or red burnt brick with beautiful smooth surfaces.

Bricks for cladding are made in batch kilns by firing. The firing technology takes place in a floor-standing batch or temporary kiln in several stages.

Foam bricks

For work you will need: • a base on which the bricks will be glued (you can choose plywood or drywall); • cutting knife; • primer; • PVA glue; • soldering iron to imitate the structure of artificial stone; • aerosol paint (you can use car paint).

1. To imitate bricks, it is better to take polystyrene foam made from polyurethane foam

. having small grains. Products made from it will be more durable and will not crumble when touched.

2. The foam is cut

according to the dimensions of a standard brick – 250×120 mm.

3. Using PVA glue, the bricks are glued

onto a base (plywood or drywall) primed to increase adhesion, which is pre-cut to the required size. To imitate masonry, a gap of 10-15 mm is left between the bricks. If the walls are perfectly smooth, you can glue directly onto a primed wall.

Advice.

To ensure that the spaces between the bricks are the same, you can use blanks 10-15 mm wide and insert them between the rows.

4. To simulate unevenness, cracks and potholes are drawn on the bricks using a soldering iron. Instead of a soldering iron, you can use any sharp object.

Important!

When foam is heated, it becomes toxic, so you should wear a mask when working.

Creating cracks on the wall using a soldering iron or sharp knife

5. The last, final stage of creating a brick wall is painting it. You should paint in several layers, each time using different shades of paint. Its last layer should be lighter.

A wall imitating artificial stone masonry can be painted not only in the usual red, but also in a light beige color

Brickwork in the kitchen interior

Concrete cinder blocks

This option is the most expensive of the three mentioned above. But, nevertheless, by making the blocks yourself, rather than purchasing them, the master significantly saves money.

For a concrete cinder block you need to take:

1 part cement;
6 parts sand;
10 parts filler.

The filler is expanded clay or crushed stone. But a thrifty owner can replace purchased ingredients with ordinary garbage, which is easy to collect in his yard, from his neighbors, or (forgive me, people with an aristocratic upbringing!) in a landfill.

It is important to use as a filler something that does not rot and does not shrink.

These are:

broken glass;
stones;
pieces of brick;
plastic;
small metal parts.

When combining ingredients, it is necessary to measure the parts based not on the weight of the materials, but on their volume.

The volume of filler is calculated using a method based on Archimedes' law.

To do this, you will need a container of known volume and water. First, they put the material into it. Then fill everything with water, filling the container completely. After this, all that remains is to simply calculate how much water fits, subtract this number from the known volume of the container. What will remain is exactly the figure that will be equal to the volume of the material being measured.

Gypsum tiles imitating brick

Plastic gypsum allows you to imitate the structure of brick down to the smallest detail. Products made from it are almost indistinguishable from natural ones. They can be purchased ready-made or made by yourself.

For work you will need:

• mold for making bricks; • dry gypsum mixture; • water; • tile adhesive; • notched trowel; • damp sponge to remove excess glue.

Brick mold

1. Gypsum powder, water and glue

mix until a creamy mass is formed.

2. The prepared mixture is poured into molds

. It hardens very quickly (about 30 minutes), so you should not use too much solution.

Pouring into molds

Advice.

To ensure that the solution is distributed more evenly, shake the mold slightly after pouring.

3. If the bricks will be glued directly to the wall, it should be prepared: leveled, knocked down protruding parts, filled with glue or plastered over the largest cracks and potholes. It is much easier, just as in the previous case, to glue bricks onto the base

. plywood or drywall.

4. After preparing the surface, it is primed

. With the help of a primer, adhesion increases and the bricks will hold more firmly.

5. Markings are made on the wall with a level. Glue is applied to it using a spatula equipped with teeth, and then the bricks are laid.

Gluing tiles from bricks

6. Water based acrylic dye

You can add it directly to the mortar or paint the bricks after gluing them to the wall. To imitate masonry, the base between the bricks is painted with a darker color.

An example of plaster brick finishing

Making molds for drying raw bricks and filling them with dough, drying blanks

The necessary materials are boards 20-25 mm thick and sheets of plywood. The boards are laid on a sheet of plywood and strengthened in such a way that there are many cells of the same size. Based on the fact that the raw material shrinks up to 15% during drying, the molds must have dimensions larger than the standard dimensions of the products (250×120×65 mm) by 15%. The equipment parts are fixed with long nails. For better adhesion of the clay dough to the molds, they are provided with conical projections that create voids in the bricks. It is better to make the protrusions in plywood, which will serve as a removable cover. Note that performance depends on the number of forms.

Pallet form for two raw bricks.

The inner surface of the molds is pre-moistened with water and sprinkled with cement in order to facilitate the process of removing blank bricks. Clay dough with a moisture content of 20-25% is distributed into cells and shaken. This allows the clay to fill the corners in the molds. Excess is removed with metal plates. Afterwards the mold is closed with a lid. After some time it opens. The blanks are removed from the molds and placed on racks to air dry.

Decorative Portland cement brick

To work you will need:

• cardboard; • white Portland cement; • sand; • foam balls (they are sold in any furniture store); • cement-based sealant; • reinforcing mesh.

Styrofoam balls

1. The first step is to make a mold for bricks

. It can be made of ordinary cardboard. A reinforcing mesh of suitable size is placed on its bottom and walls.

2. To make a solution

sand, foam balls and water are mixed in water in a ratio of 1:1:2. Next, Portland cement is poured so that the solution acquires the consistency of very thick sour cream. To increase viscosity, it must stand for 20 minutes.

3. The mass is placed by hand (it is better to wear rubber gloves) into a cardboard box, leveled and left for a day to harden.

4. To make the products smooth, they are coated with a more liquid solution consisting of water, sand and Portland cement (3: 1: 1).

5. Bricks should be painted with acrylic paint diluted with water. First, you should tint them with a darker solution, and then cover them with a transparent layer of lighter paint.

Portland cement bricks can be any color

6. The last step is to seal the paint with liquid sealant.

Where there are no forests, but there is clay

Brick and its prototype adobe were widely used as the main building material in the southern treeless areas. The word adobe itself literally means straw, translated from the Turkic language. In the south, not only buildings, but even fences are actively being built from adobe and mud brick.

It is worth saying what a brick is in the general sense of the word. Brick is a rectangular building material made from mineral raw materials and has a number of fundamental qualities: strength, frost resistance and water resistance.

It has several main varieties:

Ceramic, aka clay and aka red brick. Produced from certain types of clay, followed by high-temperature firing and slow cooling;
Silicate, aka white. It consists mostly of sand and lime;
Adobe, molded from clay and filler, which can be straw, manure, sawdust, grain cleaning waste, etc.;
Hyperpressed consists of a dry mineral mixture by subjecting it to extremely high pressure;
Bio, as a binder in its production, bio cement is used, obtained as a result of the microbiological transformation of calcium carbonate by the action of certain types of bacteria.

In addition, a standard brick has three main faces, which are determined by state standards and which form its geometric parameters:

The bed is the main working side of the product, which is located parallel to the masonry line. Has the largest area;
Spoon - a plane located perpendicular to the bed and having an average area relative to the rest;
Poke - has the smallest area of all the faces, which is also located perpendicular to the bed. In everyday life, a poke is called a butt.

Size matters

For ease of use of this building material, produced by many manufacturers, back in 1927, an industry standard was adopted regulating the dimensions of commercial products:

The nominal format NF 1 has basic dimensions of 250×120×65 mm, all others are derived from the nominal one;
One and a half 1.4 NF 250×120×88 mm;
Double 2.1 NF 250×120×138 mm;
Eurobrick 0.7 NF 250×85×65 mm;
Single modular 288×138×65 mm.

For ease of use when carrying out masonry work, manufacturers produce a number of products that have a full-length format:

3/4 - 180 mm;
1/2 - 120 mm;
1/4 - 65 mm.

Gypsum plaster “like brick”

For work you will need:

• plaster; • water; • putty knife; • Master OK.

You can also “paint” bricks on gypsum plaster. To do this, the solution should be applied to the wall in small fragments - no more than 0.5 square meters. m.

1. First, a small layer of plaster is applied to the wall. Using a spatula, create unevenness

in the style of Venetian plaster. You can also imitate cracks and potholes on the wall using ordinary crumpled plastic film or a rubber sponge.

Creating unevenness on the wall

Creating cracks using crumpled plastic film

Using a regular sponge you can also imitate unevenness on the wall

2. To imitate masonry, stripes are drawn

. First, horizontal and then vertical lines are drawn.

3. The wall is painted

acrylic paints in two or three layers.

Related video: Do-it-yourself brick imitation

Making at home

The technology for producing building materials from clay has been known for centuries. You don’t need machinery or equipment or the skills of a highly qualified specialist. Proven methods and new technical techniques are used, which allows us to obtain high-quality products at minimal cost.

To give the brick strength, it is fired in a kiln. If a lot is required, a permanent structure is built; for small volumes, even a metal barrel can be used. Modern additives improve quality characteristics: thermal insulation properties, resistance to frost, moisture, and cracking.

Preparation of raw materials

Not all clay is suitable for making bricks. Only high-quality material is used, which does not contain stones, pebbles, earth, or white inclusions. Strength, durability, resistance to low temperatures and water depend on this. It is first checked for fat content. A small amount is soaked, and when the material becomes homogeneous, roll into a ball with an approximate diameter of 5 cm.

It is left in the shade to dry thoroughly, then testing begins. If it bursts, the clay is oily, you should add 5 parts of fine river sand to it. But this is an approximate dosage; you will have to experiment to achieve a high-quality composition.

Cracks may not form. Then they take the ball and let it free fall from a meter height onto a hard surface. If it survives the impact, the strength is high, suitable for brick. When it breaks, the mixture is diluted with a fatty compound. It or sand is poured in small portions, checked each time until the desired composition is achieved.

Greater ductility facilitates manufacturing. To achieve this state, the crushed raw materials are placed in a wide box, water is added in several steps, mixing everything thoroughly. Leave in this form for at least three days until the composition becomes homogeneous. Cover the container with a moistened cloth or film.

Product molding

The finished solution is placed in wooden or metal boxes. They are calculated for one brick or more. The inside must have a smooth surface. Before filling, lubricate with oil or use whitewash (water and chalk). The forms can be collapsible or solid, as shown in the pictures.

When filling containers with clay, take into account that when it dries, and then when fired, it decreases in size. Therefore, each side is increased by 10 mm. For ease of use, the box is made without a bottom and with removable sides. It can be made to form one solid piece, which is then cut into pieces with a string or a metal plate soaked in water.

Fine sifted river sand or a little sawdust is poured onto the moistened sides and bottom. Lay the prepared mass and compact it. During the shrinking process, clay is added until it is even with the edges. The excess is cut off with a metal or wood strip or a large spatula. The surface is smoothed and the box is removed. The product is left to dry for 1–2 hours. Readiness is determined by pressing with your fingers - there should be no traces left. Rejected copies are allowed for processing.

To make bricks with your own hands in large quantities, you should take care of the equipment. A homemade screw press, which uses a jack for drive, will make the work easier. Hot water for preparing the solution speeds up the initial drying.

How to dry it properly

Quality largely depends on how moisture is removed. The more uniformly and longer the process lasts, the stronger the material becomes. If the temperature is not constant, overheating is allowed, then cooling, cracks and deformation appear. Usually the formed blanks are placed under a canopy.

In open areas, the top and sides are covered with fabric to protect from sunlight at midday, and in case of rain - with film. Don't forget to shoot when the weather is moderate and there is no precipitation. They make sure that the base is not wet - even on dry ground they spread a film or lay boards, and then put raw material on top.

The material laid out in one layer dries faster, but requires a lot of space. Therefore, they make vertical bags of 6–8 rows, each sprinkled with sawdust or sand. Lay them loosely, leaving a small space for air to pass through. When the bricks dry out from below, they build them up with freshly made bricks. Taking into account the fact that the process occurs faster from above, all products will be ready at approximately the same time. The outside air temperature must be at least 10°.

If clay brick is simply dried without firing, it will turn out raw. It has a faded brown color. In terms of performance, it is almost no different from red, but is more susceptible to deformation and less durable. If you use high-quality raw materials and dry them well, the characteristics are almost comparable.

The duration of the process depends on the weather. At normal temperatures without excessive humidity, bricks of small standard sizes dry in 10–15 days. Readiness is determined by testing. Take one raw material from the middle and break it in half. If there is no dark spot, which indicates moisture, the required quality has been achieved.

Firing technology

If a person is making building bricks for the first time, then he does not have a special oven. If something like this is not planned in the future, there is no point in building it. A metal container of 200 liters is used, holes are made in the bottom.

Choose an area where there are no underground communications. Dig a hole of a slightly smaller diameter, 0.5 m deep. Place stones 20 cm high on the sides, with a barrel on top of them. Raw material is placed inside - 35–40 pieces included. They are laid with gaps and closed at the top.

A fire is lit under the container. The firing process is long and tedious, lasting 20 hours. They start early in the morning, constantly maintaining a high temperature by adding fuel. When the required time has passed, leave it to burn out. It is impossible to simmer so that the barrel cools slowly, otherwise the baked clay will crack.

Better firing is obtained if you use a homemade oven, the design of which is shown in the figure below.

The properties of brick are determined by many process factors:

time of temperature rise and its final indicators;
holding at the achieved parameters;
cooling rate.

The construction of the furnace begins with a foundation 0.5 m deep and 0.6 m wide. Then vertical walls half a meter thick are laid out. After reaching ⅔ of the height, they are gradually narrowed, forming a chimney, on which a pipe is placed to improve draft. Burnt brick or raw brick is used. To make the structure easy to disassemble when no longer needed, the masonry is done using thin mortar. A 10-centimeter layer of crumbs or small crushed stone is poured under the stove.

An opening is provided for loading, which then serves as a firebox. A well-fitted lid or door is installed on it. All external walls are coated with a thick layer of clay. After laying the raw material, the fuel is ignited. At first, only 150° is required; you should not increase it sharply - a lot of steam accumulates, which threatens destruction. Low-grade firewood is used.

After 48 hours, the temperature is gradually raised to 1000° and maintained for up to four days. The flame should be light orange. When they stop heating, seal the cracks that appear on the walls and leave until completely cooled. The quality of the bricks is checked by breaking one of them. Well fired has a uniform color and structure. If you fill it with water for several hours, the original appearance should not change.

Gypsum brick: use for interior decoration and DIY production

Advantages and disadvantages

Decorative gypsum bricks have many advantages, which are as follows:

Creating a good indoor microclimate. Possessing hygroscopicity, the material is able to take away some of the moisture from the air, which it releases when there is a lack of it.
Fire resistance. Gypsum is not subject to combustion, which means it is not a source of flame propagation.
Additional thermal and sound protection of the object. The product creates a coating that retains heat inside the room and also prevents the penetration of noise pollution.
Light weight. The design does not exert significant load on the surface. Therefore, such bricks are excellent for finishing partitions.
Large selection of colors and relief. This makes it possible to show a full flight of fantasy and design imagination.
Easy to install. To work you will need a minimum set of tools and skills.
Possibility of self-production. This significantly reduces the overall costs of finishing activities.

One of the main advantages of gypsum brick is ease of installation

Of course, there are some disadvantages. The negative points include low resistance to mechanical damage. That is, it is quite easy to damage the material. But with some skill, it is possible to restore the coating.

Types of brick and its features

All products have standard sizes 65×120×250 mm, 88×120×250 mm or smaller, but multiples in all respects. Building bricks are made from fusible clay; in the finished state, they have slight porosity to reduce thermal conductivity and adhesion to the mortar.

It is well fired in a kiln at 900–1100°. When under-dried, it has a scarlet color and poor characteristics: insufficient strength, low water resistance, and does not withstand frost well. Burnt (iron ore) usually with curved shapes and high thermal conductivity. In construction, high-quality bricks are used for laying walls, chimneys, stoves, except for the firebox area.

They use fireproof, which can withstand high temperatures. It is made by firing clay with fireclay, but it is impossible to make at home - it requires 1500°. If the brick is overexposed, it becomes covered with a shell similar to glass. Its quality is easily recognized by its appearance - sandy-yellow, grainy. Upon impact, it shatters into large pieces, and the unburnt one crumbles into small pieces. It cannot be used for laying fireboxes or chimneys - it does not retain heat and may collapse.

The apartment is finished with decorative brick and has an original design. The products have different parameters and surface structure, rectangular shape and slightly rounded edges, and a wide variety of colors. The wizard will help you choose the most suitable options for the interior. The types differ in production technology and material:

Cast plaster or molded	Easy to manufacture and relatively cheap. Does not tolerate frost, suitable only for interior decoration
Ceramic	It is fired in a kiln under a specific temperature regime. Creation in industrial conditions requires huge amounts of electricity
Polyester	Composition: mineral filler. The most decorative look with high strength. Production is long and consists of many stages

The advantages of decorative products include long service life, light weight, resistance to abrasion, water and fire. Has some imperfections in painting if low quality materials are used. Due to the convex surface, the volume of the room is visually reduced.

The main advantage of facing brick is its beauty. At the same time, it is durable, resistant to atmospheric agents, and is successfully used for interior and exterior work. The variety of shades is amazing - you can choose the color to your taste. The sizes vary, allowing you to realize any idea. The wall acquires a unique design.

The industry produces several types that differ in their front surface and quality:

glazed – has a special layer that adds volume;
ceramic - it is used to create patterns;
clinker - less aesthetically pleasing, but with increased wear resistance and strength;
hyper-pressed - consists only of limestone and cement, does not contain clay.

The latter is produced without firing, but under high pressure. Does not retain heat well and is used indoors.

Where can the material be used?

Currently, there are various types of products on the market. They differ in their external properties. There are the following types of decorative tiles:

Glossy. It is obtained by applying a layer of varnish.
Matte. The treatment is carried out with special impregnations that increase the protective properties of the material.
Embossed. The drawing is completely individual.
Convex and concave.

Gypsum brick can vary in color, relief, texture and shape

The number of existing shades is very large. If necessary, additional painting of the product can be carried out.

The material is suitable for use in various rooms, but exclusively inside a house or apartment. It is also necessary to take into account that its use is unacceptable in the following places:

in the bathroom or shower;
next to the kitchen sink and gas stove;
for facing fireplaces.

The coating looks quite impressive when combined with other types of finishing products.

Gypsum brick can only be used for finishing dry rooms

Self-production

Decorative bricks are made by hand without the use of special technologies and units. For such a process you will need a simple set of components:

Gypsum mixed until liquid.
A hardener that reduces the setting time of the solution and also increases its performance properties.
A color that is added directly to the mixture.
Form - can be plastic or silicone.

On a note! It is the form that is quite expensive, so many people try to make it from improvised means. The process takes two to three weeks. For this, a brick is used, which will act as a sample. It is placed in a manufactured wooden frame of the required size. All parts are coated with lubricant. The structure is filled with liquid silicone. It turns out to be a household version, which is not much different from the store version.

Mold for making gypsum bricks

But how to make decorative brick at home? The event consists of following certain steps:

The necessary tools are being prepared. To work, you will need a container (construction bucket), a drill with a mixer attachment. Pre-prepared molds and lubricant for them. It is the last ingredient that helps to remove the product with minimal difficulty. You can purchase a special substance or use simple Vaseline or soap solution.
You should mix enough mixture to fill all the molds. It should be borne in mind that excess will quickly harden and become unusable.
The solution is mixed as it is done during normal work. The dry mixture is poured into a pre-prepared container with water. Everything is thoroughly mixed. You need to get the consistency of sour cream. It is important to consider that the presence of lumps and dry sediment is unacceptable. Additionally, a hardener is added.

The solution for making gypsum bricks must be of uniform consistency, without lumps

On a note! In the absence of a hardener, many craftsmen who make such bricks themselves recommend using citric acid.

For an additional effect, PVA is introduced - fifty grams of glue are used per kg of dry mixture. Fiber is added to reinforce the material. Its amount does not exceed 1-2 grams.
When the solution is ready, pour in the prepared color, the thoroughness of stirring it depends on what effect is desired. For example, to obtain a homogeneous surface, intensive mixing is carried out. And to create stains, the pigment is poured into the resulting substance, but without proper stirring.
The mold is greased. The composition is poured in one layer, without creating unnecessary gaps. Everything is left for a while.
After 30-40 minutes, remove the resulting products. This must be done carefully. If plastic molds are used for decorative bricks, they are lightly tapped with a mallet. Silicone products are simply bent a little.

When removing the finished brick from the mold, be careful not to damage it.

Advice! To show your design imagination, you can paint after finishing the surface. This will allow you to get completely customized coverage. The compositions are chosen to be water-based.

Calculation of the required number of bricks

For every thousand bricks you will need two and a half cubic meters of raw materials. It remains to find out how many of those thousands we need. Let's first briefly go over the theory. Brick blocks come in the following types and sizes:

single - 250120x65 millimeters. This is a standard brick that is most often used in construction work,
one and a half - 250120x88 millimeters,
double - 250120x138 millimeters.

It is clear that one-and-a-half and double got their name because of their size relative to single. Since they are larger, the construction of the wall is faster, but there are some nuances. Firstly, masonry made from single bricks looks neat and excellent even without finishing.

We have all seen the most beautiful houses made of this material, which do not need any additional decoration. But from one-and-a-half and double blocks, the surface looks rough and is not very pleasing to the eye, so you usually have to add a decorative coating to such masonry.

Secondly, since we are talking about home production, we will make solid bricks. That is, those who have no voids inside. The pore volume in such blocks does not exceed 13% of the total. So, there will be no problems with the single and one-and-a-half versions, but a double brick made in this way will weigh a little more than seven kilograms.

Imagine how you will carry out the laying. You will have to lift a very large and, moreover, heavy stone with one hand. And this needs to be done not just once, but several thousand times in a row. In general, I don’t recommend this option; it’s better to take more single ones and lay out the walls in two rows.

By the way, about the rows. Of course, how many bricks you need also depends on their quantity. In general, there are established average indicators derived by experienced builders. To calculate them, two factors were taken into account: the thickness of the future wall and the dimensions of the brick. This data is quite usable. In addition, they are calculated taking into account the thickness of the seams between the rows and butts of the blocks, which is very convenient. So:

wall thickness 12 cm, half-brick laying - per square meter you will need 51 single blocks, or 39 one-and-a-half blocks, or 26 double blocks,
wall thickness 25 cm, masonry in one whole brick - 102 single, 78 one-and-a-half, 52 double,
wall thickness 38 cm, masonry of one and a half bricks - 153 single, 117 one and a half, 78 double,
wall thickness 51 cm, two-brick laying - 204 single, 156 one-and-a-half, 104 double,
wall thickness 64 cm, masonry of two and a half bricks - 255 single, 195 one and a half, 130 double.

Once you have decided on the thickness of the walls, you can begin specific calculations. First, calculate the perimeter of the future building, that is, the sum of the lengths of all its external walls. Then we multiply this indicator by the height of the structure, thereby obtaining the area.

If the building has doors, windows, arches and similar places not filled with bricks, you need to separately calculate their area, and then subtract this indicator from the total. Multiply the resulting number by the corresponding number of bricks from the table.

If you plan to erect internal partitions in the building, then make a calculation for each of them in the manner described above. Then add up all the results. Now you have information about how many bricks you need to make. You can start extracting the source material.

Don't be lazy to make all these calculations. They take very little time. By estimating the number by eye, you run the risk of ending up making too few blocks, and then having to go through the whole path again. Or, on the contrary, you will produce a bunch of bricks, spending a lot of time on it, and then half of them will not be useful. Therefore, preliminary routine meetings with a calculator are very important; they save time, nerves, and money.

Making decorative bricks for interior decoration with your own hands

Preparation for making decorative bricks Materials and tools
How to properly prepare a special mixture for sculpting decorative bricks

How to make a brick from a mixture and process products

Quite high demands are placed on modern building and finishing materials these days. Trying to make their home more comfortable and original, people purchase environmentally friendly and safe materials. Decorative bricks, which can often be found in construction stores, are very popular. But prices can be quite high.

Scheme for making decorative bricks.

If you want to decorate the interior of a room with decorative bricks, but you don’t want to shell out large sums for it, then you can make it yourself. The finishing material can be given an original shape.

Preparation for making decorative bricks

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Materials and tools

The ability to use imitation brickwork when decorating the walls of a room from the inside is the most popular finishing method. When starting to prepare for the creation of finishing materials, you should know how to make decorative bricks for interior decoration with your own hands. Many masters are able to cope perfectly with the task. To create this decor, you should prepare all the basic materials and tools.

The amount of materials needed will depend on the surface area that requires cladding. Since you will need bricks in large quantities, making it will not be so easy. Having calculated the required quantity, provide for the availability of stock. However, the installation process will take quite a long time. Initially prepare the following:

Tools for making bricks.

Container for mixing Portland cement.
Sprayer and brush.
White Portland cement.
Water.
Acrylic dye.
Paint container.
Styrofoam balls.
Cement-based liquid sealant.
White quartz sand.
Wire mesh.
Rubber gloves.

Special boxes of different sizes will help give the required shape to the bricks. You can combine bricks of different sizes during the manufacturing process. The mesh, made of wire, is taken in such dimensions that it makes it possible to wrap it entirely around the entire perimeter of the box from the inside.

To create a shape for the base of decorative bricks, you should take cardboard boxes of several sizes. They should have a shape similar to standard sized 24x6 cm bricks. The boxes should not be too deep in depth. A depth of 0.5-3 cm is quite sufficient. Fine wire mesh is used to wrap the boxes, which allows the products not to creep apart during the creation of bricks. The result is a mold that allows you to make several decorative bricks.

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How to properly prepare a special mixture for sculpting decorative bricks

Scheme of a homemade brick mold.

When the mold is ready, you need to start creating a special mixture. To apply a fairly thick layer with foam balls, fine sand and white Portland cement in its structure, they are taken in a certain ratio. For example, to create one portion, you should take sand and Portland cement in the ratio: 3:1. After this, water is added in small parts to obtain a mixture that has the consistency of thick sour cream.

The sequence of actions should be reduced to the following main points:

Take a container for the solution.
Pour water into the reservoir.
Add polystyrene foam balls (2 to 1) to the water.
The composition is mixed.
Sand is poured there in equal parts with Portland cement.
Mix thoroughly after each addition of the next component.

The result should be a mixture that you can sculpt with your own hands to make decorative bricks. The drying mixture can be given different shapes by using carving tools (chases, chisels, etc.).

It should be borne in mind that if the mixture dries for a long time, the product will be difficult to cut to the required shape. The mixture should sit and dry a little. When the composition becomes viscous, you can begin to sculpt bricks. It is advisable to apply the mixture completely before 20 hours have passed. If this is not done, the composition will lose its plasticity and become unsuitable for modeling.

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How to use molds for pouring bricks?

Small rectangular molds made from boards and plywood are suitable for casting clay. There are two types of bricks - baked and unfired. You can distinguish them by color. Burnt brick has a characteristic reddish tint. In terms of strength they are the same. The only difference is that burnt blocks are recommended to be used in construction in small quantities, since the process of their manufacture is very labor-intensive.

Unfired brick is easy to produce. Before pouring the mixture, the mold is moistened with water and sprinkled with a little cement so that the product can be easily pulled out. Afterwards the clay is poured - it must be smoothed out well so that voids do not appear. The matrix is covered with a lid. In order for the brick to dry well, it must stand in the air for 2-3 days in the shade. It is protected from direct rays of the sun and moisture.

Decorative stones

To produce decorative bricks (gypsum) you will need:

gypsum;
reinforcing mesh;
paraffin candles;
cardboard box;
plasticine for sculptures.

For decorative bricks and their filling, you need to buy plasticine and several tiles for a sample. Roll out the material over the surface (not very thin), then take the finished material and make an impression. This will create a blank for low tide. If there are no samples, then after rolling out the plasticine you need to take a screwdriver and cut out the matrix for the tile. It should be taken into account that all the lines of the brick will be mirrored. The finished mold can be used many times to produce artificial stone.

Source: etokirpichi.ru