A modern country house with a spacious living room is hard to imagine without a massive brick fireplace. It gives the room a cozy and beautiful look, and also makes it possible to spend time pleasantly at friendly gatherings or on a romantic date. An open fire creates an incredible atmosphere of warmth and comfort in which you can relax after a hard day and take a break from problems. When using detailed drawings and calculations, you can build a fireplace with your own hands from bricks.

However, such construction is a rather complex and responsible business, therefore, it is necessary to take into account the rules of stove masonry, prepare the necessary materials and tools, and also find the optimal drawing or create it yourself.

DIY brick fireplace

When building a brick fireplace, it is extremely important to pay special attention to the calculation of its parameters. This is due to the fact that it performs not only a decorative function, but is also used to heat the room. First of all, it is necessary to accurately determine the required dimensions of the combustion hole. In this case, the following is taken into account:

1. The ratio between the clumsy portal and the size of the room should be approximately 1 to 50. Therefore, if heating is required for a room with an area of ​​20 sq. m., then the size of the firebox should be approximately 0.4 sq. m.
2. The ratio of the height and width of the firebox should be in the ratio of 2: 3. In this case, for a room of 20 sq. m. the optimal size of the sides will be 51 by 77 cm.
3. The depth of the firebox is also an important indicator. The traction force will depend on it. The depth of the firebox should be in relation to the height of 7:10. Therefore, for such a fireplace, this indicator should be about 34 cm.If the indicator is higher, then heat loss will increase, and if it is lower, smoke can penetrate into the room.
4. The chimney area should be about 10 times smaller than the portal area.
5. A podium should be placed in front of the firebox opening, the width of which should be about 50 cm.The side podiums should be no more than 30 cm wide.
6. The transfer sheet must extend beyond the limit of the combustion area by a distance of up to 30 cm.

You can learn more about the construction of a mini-fireplace made of bricks with your own hands from the video

Types of brick fireplaces

There are various types of fireplaces that can be installed in a country house or in a small cottage. First of all, brick fireplaces are divided into wall and built-in ones.

Photo of a corner fireplace

Built-in

A feature of this design is that the fireplace is installed inside the load-bearing wall. A chimney is pre-installed inside this wall. This option is quite difficult, therefore it is rarely chosen for independent construction. In addition, the creation of such a fireplace is possible only at the design stage of the house.

Wall-mounted

The most successful option for self-production. It can be easily done both in a country house and in a small summer cottage, without having experience in the construction of such structures. You can create a wall-mounted fireplace both at the design stage and at any time after building a house. However, if you need to build a fireplace in an already finished house, you must first create a separate foundation.

Photo of a direct fireplace

Wall-mounted fireplaces can be either straight or angled. The latter option is the most compact, so it is great for a small room. In addition, its construction is much easier than direct construction, and much less material is required.

Preparation for construction

The beginning of any construction is the preparation of a sketch and carrying out design work. First, you should draw the future fireplace by hand in relation to the room. You should also carefully draw the location of the firebox, the shape of the portal, chimney and other elements. The dimensions should first be indicated in advance, after which the calculations should be made using the formulas.

A detailed drawing should be made based on the rough drawing. In it, you need to specify the dimensions of all parts, the side section of the building and other elements. Particular attention must be paid to the ordering scheme according to which the construction will be carried out. There are many such schemes. You can choose the best option or think of your own. You can also use one of the ready-made drawings of the fireplace, having previously adjusted it taking into account the size and characteristics of the room.

Materials and tools

For the construction of a brick fireplace, you can use solid bricks, but the interior decoration must be done only with the help of special refractory bricks. Such a material is distinguished by a high indicator of resistance to prolonged exposure to high temperatures and their changes, as well as to the effects of chemical components that arise as a result of combustion. In addition, refractory bricks heats up slowly and retains heat for a long time.

To prepare the solution, it is recommended to use a special refractory mixture, which you can buy at a hardware store or prepare yourself. The simplest version of the mixture consists of clay from sand. The ratio between the components is calculated empirically. The finished mixture should have the consistency of thick sour cream. It is not recommended to use cement for laying the fireplace. It can only be added in small proportions to a mixture of clay and sand when building a base.

Any type of sand can be used to prepare the mortar for the base or side walls of the fireplace. For areas that will be constantly exposed to high temperatures, gully or quarry sand should be used. River sand or sea sand is too smooth and will have insufficient adhesion to the clay. Before preparing the solution, the sand must be sieved and washed.

The clay for the mortar should be pre-soaked for a week, stirring daily and adding water if necessary. If there is no time for long-term preparation of the solution according to all the rules, it is better to purchase ready-made refractory mixtures.

For the construction of a fireplace with a closed firebox, additional metal doors are required. In order to see the fire through them, it is better to choose doors with fireproof glass. For a fireplace with an open hearth, doors are not required. You will need a purge and clean door, as well as a damper to adjust the draft. For a chimney device, it is best to use a round pipe. You can choose almost any metal, but stainless steel is the best solution.

For exterior decoration, you can use decorative plaster, refractory ceramic tiles, decorative stone. In some cases, you can leave the brick without decorative trim, if the fireplace fits into the decor of the room. For example, for a loft-style interior.

The construction of a brick fireplace is carried out using the following tools:

• Master OK;
• building level;
• shovel;
• roulette;
• container for mixing the solution;
• Sander;
• plumb line.

After preparing the necessary tools and materials, as well as the necessary plans and drawings, you can proceed to the direct construction of the fireplace.

Foundation construction

Before building any kind of fireplace, it is required to build a foundation under it. The size of the foundation should exceed the dimensions of the fireplace by about 25 cm on each side. The depth of the base depends on the weight of the fireplace and its size. For a medium-sized product, a base depth of 50-60 cm is sufficient.

The first step in building a foundation is digging a hole. After that, the bottom must be tamped, and then covered with a mixture of gravel and sand. The next step is to install the formwork. For additional reinforcement, a metal grating should be installed inside the formwork. The foundation is filled with mortar, for the preparation of which sand, cement and gravel are used. The optimal solution is this proportion of components 3: 1: 4.

The foundation completely freezes in a month. After that, it can be covered with a cement-sand mixture, as well as a layer of waterproofing. The construction of the fireplace can only be started after the base has completely hardened.

Fireplace masonry

Particular attention should be paid to laying the first row. According to the rule, it fits without mortar. The brick must be soaked in water just before laying so that it does not absorb moisture from the mortar.

Brick laying scheme

The first row of bricks should be brought out to floor level. The part of the fireplace above the floor should be at least 30 cm to the firebox. After that, the ash pan and blower doors are installed. The ash pan can be made in the form of a door or a drawer.

After that, the fireplace is laid according to a pre-selected scheme. The doors of the production line are best made of metal with fireproof glass.

Basic principles of building a fireplace

For fireplace masonry, you can use different orders, however, any option has general principles:

Corner fireplace

• the first row of bricks should be installed on the edge, and the next rows should be flat;
• the first two rows are the base;
• bricks should be used without breaks, cracks, chips and other damage;
• if red brick is used for construction, it must first be soaked in water so that it does not absorb moisture from the solution;
• it is not necessary to soak refractory bricks before construction, it is enough to clean it from dirt and wipe it with a damp cloth;
• the thickness of the seam during construction should not be higher than 5 mm;
• if excess mixture appears between the seams, it must be removed before hardening;
• it is necessary to apply a moderate amount of the mixture so that it guarantees reliable adhesion and does not go beyond the boundaries of the brick;
• during construction, a homogeneous solution without lumps should be used;
• the solution cannot be used to coat the fireplace inside;
• the optimal time for construction is summer or another warm period;
• laying should be started from the corners so that it turns out to be even and neat;
• the bottom of the firebox should be at least three bricks away from the floor.

For construction, it is necessary to choose the optimal scheme, purchase high-quality materials and prepare a refractory mortar. It is worth paying attention to the external finishing of the product. After all, the fireplace will become a place around which all family members will gather.

Despite the availability and abundance of proposals for compact and quick-to-install steel and cast iron fireplace inserts, traditional brick fireplaces, the construction of which requires a lot of labor and time, continue to attract modern "fire worshipers" who prefer the traditional massive open hearth, hand-made to a mass factory product. For various reasons, the owners of private houses prefer massive bricks, some are attracted by the design, others by the solidity of the structure, and still others are attracted by the fact that, unlike rapidly cooling metal, fired ceramics will retain the heat of burning logs and coals for long hours. The laying of fireplaces is a very responsible technological process, because mistakes in the construction of a brick hearth are unacceptable, "a little blood" cannot fix a stove-maker's flaws.

Fireplace drawings and why orders are needed

Like any structure, a fireplace should be erected in accordance with a previously thought out and drawn project, even experienced craftsmen who have built more than one fireplace or stove do this. You will need a front view, a side view, a section and an ordinal laying of the fireplace.

Ordering is a sequential set of plans for each row of bricks, from the first to the topmost. Laying a fireplace with your own hands, the order of which includes the image of all the elements of the row (whole bricks and halves, embedded steel parts), will pass quickly and accurately.

Detailed drawings of different types and models of fireplaces can be found in special manuals and on the network, but if none of the ready-made options are suitable for configuration or design, the fireplace masonry scheme can be developed independently, taking into account the technical features of the fireplace device. Useful articles on this topic can be found on our resource. The orders do not have to be accurately drawn on a Whatman paper, it is easier to sketch them on paper in a box, one 12x25 cm brick - two cells.

Take a compact corner fireplace for summer cottages as an example. The layout of the corner fireplace masonry is quite simple: the firebox is two bricks wide without a blower, firewood must be placed on the grate. The opening from the facade is covered with an arched lintel, the tooth shelf is located one row higher. The orderly laying of a corner fireplace consists of 18 plans, of which three upper rows are the lower part of the chimney.

On the sequential plan, the reduced (chipped approximately 3/4) bricks are crossed out with a diagonal line, the halves - crosswise. The first row is laid out with a brick on the edge

The orderly scheme of laying the fireplace will allow you to calculate the required amount of material and prepare it in advance.

Fireplace brick

Full-bodied ceramic bricks are a traditional material for stoves; provided that the fireplace is well-fired, the whole fireplace can be made of it. Depending on the production technology, one of the brick spoons can be fired more than the other. The side of the brick, which has a smoother surface and a darker color, is oriented towards the fire. For greater reliability and if the quality of the ceramics leaves much to be desired, it is better to use fireclay refractory bricks for the hearth, walls and the upper part of the furnace, it will withstand high temperatures without problems.

Please note: ceramic and fireclay bricks have different coefficients of thermal expansion and, in order to avoid cracks in the masonry, they cannot be tied together.

If the brick is cut by hand, all the elements, including the halves, are counted as whole. You can also cut bricks by installing a ceramic cutting disc on an angle grinder or paving slab cutting machine, in which case the cut will be perfect and there will be no waste.

Fireplace mortar

It is easier to purchase a clay-sand mortar for laying a fireplace ready-to-use, the mixtures are packed in 20-25 kg kraft bags, their composition is balanced, you just need to seal it with water. It should be borne in mind that kiln mixtures have different heat resistance. Often, the fireplace is heated with a higher intensity than the stove, so its firebox must be folded on a heat-resistant composition.

On the left is a heat-resistant mixture with the addition of chamotte, on which the entire fireplace can be laid out, or in order to save only its firebox. On the right is a furnace composition suitable for laying the fireplace body outside the firebox and chimney within the attic

You can prepare a clay-sand masonry mortar yourself. For this, oily clay and washed, without impurities, seeded sand with a particle size of 0.2-1.5 mm are used. It is not so easy to choose the optimal composition of the mortar for laying a fireplace, with an excess of clay it will be prone to cracking and too fluid, with a shortage it will be fragile and low plastic. Clay is chosen as pure as possible, with a minimum sand content, and is kept for a long time in the open air. The ideal option is blue clay, red is also suitable. Before preparing the solution, it is soaked for several days and, if necessary, filtered through a sieve, removing pebbles.

The proportion in which clay is mixed with sand, depending on the fat content of the first, is from 1: 1 to 1: 3, the exact ratio of the components must be determined locally, guided by traditional control methods. One of the control methods: a layer of mortar with a thickness of no more than 5 cm is placed on the brick, another brick must be placed on top and pressed. After two minutes, lift the upper brick, if the lower one holds, the mortar is normal. It must be borne in mind that an excess of clay is less dangerous than a lack of it.

Another method to obtain a high-quality clay-sand mortar is to purchase at the factory where the fired brick was purchased, the required amount of raw materials for its production or raw brick. Not all, but very many enterprises sell such "semi-finished products". The raw material is easy to soak, the similarity of the composition of the brick and mortar will ensure the strength of the masonry.

What tools will be needed

• Measuring tools: tape measure, folding rule, building level, plumb line, cord, square, pencil.
• Mason's trowel (trowel), the sharp end is rounded.
• Bushhammer.
• Joining, the shape depends on the profile of the seam that needs to be obtained.
• "Bulgarian" (angle grinder), if the brick is supposed not to chop, but to cut. A diamond cutting wheel must be installed on it. G designed for working with ceramics.
• Abrasive, a circle or a bar, for grinding masonry and cut bricks.
• Tools for solution preparation. For the ready-made mixture: a bucket and a drill with a mixer attachment, for self-production from sand and clay - troughs, buckets, sieves, shovels.
• A container with water for soaking bricks.

Basic tools of a bricklayer

Pay attention to the order, this is a flat bar with cuts for the cord, located in multiples of the rows of bricks. Not all stove-makers use the order, but by tinkering with its installation first, you can save time during the masonry process. You need to have at least two orders, or better - according to the number of outer corners.

Masonry technology in the construction of a brick fireplace

• The concrete surface should be waterproofed with an inexpensive cement-polymer coating mixture (for example, CeresitCR 65), smearing it twice with a brush or a spatula.
• If the fireplace is adjacent to a wall made of combustible material, a fire protection must be installed.

An inexpensive and effective option for fire-prevention cutting of a fireplace and a wooden wall is a slab of basalt wool (at least 5 cm thick), covered with reflective foil from the side of the fireplace

• Preparation of clay-sand mortar. When making your own, the clay should be soaked in advance. Water is added to the finished mixture before starting work in accordance with the instructions.
• The brick should be soaked - immersed in a trough of water for a few minutes. If this is not done, the masonry mortar may dry out too quickly and not gain the required strength. In addition, the wet brick can be displaced if necessary, which is important when the fireplace is laid out by a not very experienced craftsman.
• The first row is laid out, it should be as even as possible, the horizontal level of the level should be carefully controlled. If you "missed" the foundation a little, the first row can be laid out on a cement-sand mortar, so it is easier to fix the flaws of the base.
• Further, the laying of the fireplace is carried out in strict accordance with the ordinal plans. We recommend laying out each subsequent row first dry, only after that on the solution. If the fireplace is large, the cord is pulled; for the small size of the structure, control with a level and a square is sufficient.

Vertical seams of bricks should not be located one above the other; the need for bandaging should be taken into account even when drawing up drawings.

Laying begins with corner elements, strictly controlling the observance of the horizontal level between them

Excess mortar is removed with a trowel, the seams are sewn, the contaminated bricks are wiped with a wet cloth.

The shape of the joint determines the profile of the joint, concave, convex or rectangular

Another way to make a neat seam is to lay bricks along the guides.

Take a closer look at the photo: from the outside, a square metal profile is inserted into the seam, after a few minutes it is removed.

It is not necessary to lay more than 8-10 rows in height in one shift.

Stages of building a fireplace

Pay attention to how the arched lintel is assembled over the firebox - according to a pre-installed wooden template.

Chimney construction technology

The chimney is placed on the same clay-sand mortar, only the area above the roof is on cement. The inner surface is carefully rubbed and leveled to improve traction. Do not forget to install the damper. At the place where the chimney passes through the wooden floor, a thickening is made, it is called "fluff".

In order to protect the roof from the penetration of precipitation, a thickening, "otter" is also made over the roof. Under it, an apron (collar) is mounted from galvanized sheet steel or waterproofing roofing tape (for example, unduflash), covering the gap between the brickwork and the roofing.

The choice of material for the otter apron depends on the type of roofing. You can use galvanized steel, plain or with a polymer coating, or flexible metallized strips, since there are a lot of them on sale now

Otter ordering

When installing a chimney, it is important to observe fire-prevention measures, especially in terms of its passage through the wooden floor and roof.

General fire safety rules, mandatory for the construction of stoves and fireplaces.

In conclusion, let's say that building a fireplace is a complex undertaking that requires preliminary preparation, the necessary technical knowledge, accuracy and perseverance. It is not easy for a beginner to cope with this work, to ensure the proper quality and fire safety of the structure. If you are not confident in your abilities, it is better to entrust the construction of a brick fireplace to an experienced specialist.

Video: instructions for building a fireplace with your own hands

The brick wood burning fireplace is the perfect combination of functionality, aesthetics and comfort. Judge for yourself: it perfectly heats the house, decorates the interior and creates a unique atmosphere of comfort. Therefore, it is not surprising that many are wondering: how to make a brick fireplace on their own and without unnecessary expenses? Of course, building a home with your own hands is not an easy task. But this is not a reason to immediately abandon such a bold idea - if you follow proven technology, use quality materials and be meticulous in every step of the implementation of the conceived project, you will definitely achieve your goal. And our detailed step-by-step instructions and photos will help you get closer to it even faster.

Fireplace project: calculations, diagrams and drawings

The construction of any fireplace begins with a detailed development of the project - it will help to get a general idea of ​​the future design.

Brick fireplace project

The first step is to choose the location of the fireplace. The best options are a load-bearing facade or internal wall, or an angle between two load-bearing walls. And the most inappropriate places are in the area of ​​the flight of stairs and between the windows.

Important! The dimensions of the firebox opening and the dimensions of the room should correlate as 1:50, the width and height of the opening as 2: 3, and its height and depth as 1: 2 or 2: 3. The last indicator needs to be given special attention: an overly deep firebox can provoke a decrease in heat transfer, and too small - smoke in the room.

Keep in mind that the area of ​​the chimney opening depends on the area of ​​the furnace opening: in order to guarantee high-quality draft, the area of ​​the first one should be 8-15 times less than the area of ​​the second.

Once the dimensions are determined, proceed with the preparation of the drawings of the facade and section of the hearth. Drawings are necessary in order to obtain an accurate image of the appearance of the fireplace, which can be guided by during the subsequent installation.

And the last stage in project development is drawing up a masonry scheme, which is also called ordering. Here you need to number all the rows of the structure and separately designate each of its elements.

Working materials

The durability and functionality of your fireplace will directly depend on how high quality materials you choose. Therefore, take the process as seriously as possible.

For the construction of the fireplace, red refractory bricks are used

In the first place, of course, brick. A solid red brick is best for a home fireplace. Material requirements:

• ideal surface without melted areas;
• saturated color;
• corners without the slightest chips;
• homogeneous structure in the fracture.

Remember that defective bricks can cause significant heat loss, which will reduce the efficiency of the fireplace.

In addition to bricks, you will need a whole range of consumables and products. In particular:

• sand with a grain size of not more than 1.5 mm;
• cement;
• clay: brown, Cambrian or dark red;
• wooden boards;
• crushed stone 3-6 mm;
• roofing material;
• felt;
• grate;
• protective screen;
• smoke damper.

We pass directly to the construction of the hearth. This process consists of three stages: pouring the foundation, laying the main structure and installing the chimney.

Arrangement of the foundation for the fireplace

Stage 1: Installation of the foundation

The standard laying of the foundation for the fireplace is as follows:

1. Dig a pit 60 cm deep. Fill it with rubble and tamp it so that the base is strictly horizontal.
2. Build the plank formwork. Sheathe the structure with roofing material.
3. Assemble the formwork and cover it with broken bricks and rubble.
4. Prepare the grout: mix one part cement and three parts sand. Thoroughly fill the pit with the resulting solution.
5. Level the foundation surface. Its level should be at least 5-6 cm below the floor level.
6. Cover the foundation with regular film and let it brew well - for at least a week.

For the subsequent laying of bricks, you will need a clay mortar. You can easily do it yourself. First, you need to soak the clay for two or three days and, after the expiration of the period, filter it through a fine metal mesh. Next, it must be mixed with sand and water. Ratio: 8 parts of sand, 1 part of water, 8 parts of lean or 4 parts of oily clay. It is quite simple to check the quality of the composition: if it keeps its shape, does not stick to hands and resembles thick sour cream in its consistency, then you are not mistaken in the proportions.

Stage 2: Laying the fireplace

First, fix two layers of roofing material on the foundation - they will be responsible for waterproofing. Then calibrate the bricks.

Fireplace masonry

It is recommended to start laying from the corners. For maximum stability, the first row of bricks is best placed on a cement mortar. To give the hearth an original look, lay the bottom row on the edge, but all the rest are traditionally flat and already on the clay mortar. After each new row, check the ordering diagram compiled earlier.

Important! Before laying, each individual brick must be dipped in plain water for at least a minute so that air can escape from it. If you neglect this rule, the bricks will draw moisture from the clay mortar, and this will provoke a low strength of the masonry.

Excess mortar when laying the outer rows can be removed with a trowel, and when laying the firebox and smoke collector - manually with a damp cloth, carefully checking the composition for the presence of small pebbles.

In order for the bricks to form the necessary monolithic structure, be sure to bandage the seams on half a brick in each row. The optimum seam thickness is up to 5 mm.

Advice. To make the masonry of the curved vault as aesthetically pleasing as possible, use temporary formwork - it was circling.

Stage 3: Installation of the chimney

Arrangement of a chimney is one of the most critical stages in the construction of a fireplace, since the level of draft of the hearth will depend on the quality of this work and, therefore, the likelihood of carbon monoxide entering the heated room. Thus, a good chimney is a guarantee of your safety.

The chimney can be laid with clay mortar up to the roof, and cement mortar above. The inner walls of the structure must be treated with a liquid clay composition: take a rag, moisten it in the solution and wipe all the walls - this will get rid of cracks and get a smooth surface.

Brick fireplace with chimney

It is important to protect the structure from high temperatures in the overlap area. To do this, you can perform fluffing - a special expansion of the pipe. For maximum effect, it should be overlaid with felt, previously moistened with clay composition. And to protect the chimney from precipitation, over the roof you need to make an overflow - the so-called "otter".

If you want to facilitate the work of installing the chimney, use special pipes designed specifically for smoke shafts.

Finishing the fireplace

If the masonry is made with high quality, and the brick pleases with color and texture, it is absolutely not necessary to perform the finishing cladding - you can limit yourself only to careful processing of the joints with grout. But if you want to make your hearth even more perfect, pay attention to the most popular options for decorating it:

• decorative plaster;
• stone;
• concrete imitating natural wood;
• tile;
• decorative brick;
• tiles.

Fireplace made of bricks on wood

The choice of material for cladding directly depends on what you want to get as a result. For example, if you need a solid and sophisticated fireplace for a classic interior, choose expensive natural materials: travertine or marble - such facing will make your hearth not only attractive, but truly luxurious.

A simpler, but also stylish option is to decorate the fireplace with artificial stone or tiles with partially visible brickwork.

Of course, it is not necessary to stop at one cladding - it can be supplemented with all kinds of decorative glass, wood, metal or cast-iron sculptures.

We hope our instructions will help you make your dream - a wood-burning brick fireplace - a reality. Adhering to simple recommendations, you will definitely get a high-quality home, which will delight you with warmth, beauty and comfort for more than one year.

DIY brick fireplace: video

Construction of a brick fireplace: photo

Home improvement involves the implementation of many different works related to finishing, laying communications, arranging various systems, etc. There are a number of universal solutions that allow you to simultaneously perform several important tasks. And one of them is laying out a fireplace with your own hands. A well-built unit will become not only a source of heat, but also an excellent addition to the interior.

For self-laying of the fireplace, you need to use the highest quality materials as possible. They must be fireproof, so the process of choosing the necessary materials should be approached with the utmost responsibility.

Fireplaces are made of metal and brick. Metal structures are the easiest to arrange - you just need to buy the model you like and install it on a prepared base.

However, for all their ease of installation, metal fireplaces cause many inconveniences in the process of further operation, associated, first of all, with the safety of the residents of the house. The metal becomes very hot and can cause severe burns and other damage. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to refrain from installing such equipment where small children live.

With intensive use, metal products burn out rather quickly. On average, after a few years, such a fireplace becomes unusable. Therefore, it is better to approach the issue thoroughly and lay out a full-fledged brick fireplace.

Such a design will require the arrangement of an individual foundation. Masonry is performed using a special mortar, which will be discussed below.

Special attention should be paid to the choice of the main building material. Only fireclay bricks are suitable for laying a fireplace. The manufacturing technology of this material is such that, as a result of numerous treatments, its properties become similar to those of natural stone. The brick becomes maximally resistant to high temperature and its changes.

Before using, the product must be left in water for about three days. This will remove excess air from the bricks and get the highest quality masonry.

What to prepare a mortar for laying a fireplace?

The first step is choosing the clay. A small amount of elementary and widely available components is used to prepare the solution. The traditional option is an aqueous solution of clay. Special attention should be paid to the choice of the main component of the solution. In nature, this material can have different characteristics, according to which it is divided into normal, skinny and oily.

For the preparation of masonry mortar, only normal clay is suitable. In other cases, it will be necessary to include additional elements in the composition, which will not have the best effect on the final financial costs.

The second stage is preparing the clay for work. Take normal clay and soak it for 2-3 days in a large container of water.

The third stage is the preparation of the masonry mortar. Usually the solution is mixed with a shovel. If desired, this can be done with your feet, having previously put on high rubber shoes. Carefully monitor the condition of the solution and promptly remove various debris when it appears. If you can't find normal clay, you can take a skinny one and add oily to it. You cannot use greasy and skinny clay separately.

The fourth step is to check the readiness of the clay. Before use, the resulting mass must be checked for strength. To do this, make a couple of small balls. Place one of them in a dry, dark place to dry. Flatten the second into a cake and place next to the first product. After a couple of days, assess the condition of the cake and ball. If the material is covered with cracks, the solution is too greasy and you need to add some kind of astringent component to it, for example, cement. In the absence of cracks, the grout is normal or lean.

Skinny clay "in its pure form" is not suitable for use. To deal with this point, try smashing a clay ball on a table, floor, or other similar surface. If the ball breaks, the mortar is thin and some more greasy clay needs to be added to it. If the ball has not broken, you can start laying.

Step-by-step guide to DIY fireplace installation

The first stage is choosing a place to build a fireplace. First of all, remember that the fireplace must not be located in close proximity to flammable products. Examine the ceiling and roof of your home. To install a fireplace, you need to choose a place so that the chimney does not pass through beams and cuttings.

The second stage is preparation for the foundation. The fireplace is built on an individual foundation. First, a recess is prepared for pouring concrete. Add 100-150 mm on each side to the dimensions of the future fireplace, and you will get the optimal dimensions of the foundation.

The depth of the pit is selected individually. Traditionally, it is 300-500 mm. The specific value is determined in accordance with the characteristics of the soil composition. For example, if there is a lot of sand in the soil, a 30-centimeter depression will be enough. Otherwise, you have to dig a little deeper. First, the bottom of the pit is covered with a small layer of sand, which must be compacted. After that, a layer of crushed stone is poured.

The third stage is the preparation and pouring of the solution. For such a foundation, a simple cement mortar is suitable. Prepare it with some of the cement, the same volume of water and 3 times the amount of sand. Mix the ingredients thoroughly until a homogeneous mass is obtained and pour it into the prepared pit. Level the mortar with a trowel. Wait until the cement hardens, lay a waterproofing material over the fill (usually roofing material is used, it is laid in 2 layers) and start laying.

The fourth stage is the device of the formwork. At this stage, you need to install the formwork. Prepare wood planks, beams, plates and wedges. The wedges are placed under the wooden planks.

The fifth stage is the layout of the supporting parts. Mark the rows along the formwork, taking into account the thickness of the future joints. The fireplace will consist of an odd number of rows of masonry. The central brick is usually called the castle brick. It is installed vertically at a central point.

The sixth stage is the creation of a wedge-shaped lintel. This element must be laid on both sides in the direction of the castle bricks. Laying is done so that in the central part the lintel can be wedged with the center brick without difficulty. Use a cord to check if the seams are correct. Fasten it at the junction of the lintel with the side partitions.

The side walls must be of sufficient thickness and width, otherwise they simply cannot cope with the incoming loads. Where the wedge-shaped lintel is mated with the side partitions, you need to make screeds. Steel strips are used to create them. The ends of such strips should be bent upward.

The seventh stage is the arrangement of arch and bow-type lintels. The structure of these elements differs from the design of the wedge-shaped bulkhead. The surfaces of the bridges under consideration should form arcs with a certain radius. In the case of bow-type jumpers, their radius should be greater than half the distance between the side posts. The jumpers in question are evenly laid out on both sides. Pay attention to the seams - they should be wedge-shaped.

It is important to maintain the correct width of the seams: at the top, it should be about 2.4 cm, at the bottom - 0.3 cm.

Use a cord to check the accuracy of the brickwork and seams. Spread the lintel with a key brick.

The lintels must be allowed to stand in the formwork. Exposure will take different times. The specific period depends on the ambient temperature and the quality of the solution. For example, this may take 1-3 weeks in the summer. The colder it gets, the longer it will take.

The eighth stage - laying out the firebox. At this stage, special attention should be paid to the rear wall of the firebox. If it is planned to install screens in the wall, the laying is done according to the pattern. An edged board is suitable for making a pattern.

Select the appropriate shape and dimensions of the template in accordance with the existing drawing of the unit being erected.

Be extremely careful when laying the fireplace. Be guided by the available drawings. Mistakes when laying even a single brick will inevitably lead to a violation of the masonry of further rows, and it will not be possible to correct defects in all situations. Therefore, it is better to do everything right away as the technology requires.

Finishing the unit

Consider finishing issues in advance. If desired, the fireplace can not be finished at all, but it is better to decorate the structure with tiles, or at least treat it with plaster.

The design made with the use of decorative bricks looks beautiful. However, for the device of such a cladding, certain skills and experience are required, therefore, beginners are not recommended to undertake its implementation. Even the slightest mistakes can lead to damage to the decor and simply a waste of money.

Tiles decoration is very beautiful and simple in its execution. It is not recommended to use tiles for facing the fireplace. Temperature changes will gradually destroy even the highest quality glue. It is recommended to pay attention to this option only if you are ready to periodically carry out repairs and restoration of the finish.

The chimney is traditionally 1.5x1 brick in size. To improve and stabilize traction, it is recommended to use additional devices. For example, using weather vans and deflectors, the chimney can be protected from precipitation and all sorts of debris.

Thus, self-laying of the fireplace is possible. Take the time to study the theoretical part, be patient and follow the recommendations received at each stage. Your efforts will be rewarded with a reliable, beautiful, efficient and durable fireplace, in front of which you can gather with your family, friends or relax alone.

Happy work!

Video - How to lay out a fireplace with your own hands

The fireplace was the first specially designed heating device known to mankind. In the industrial era, it acquired a more decorative and prestigious value, but nowadays interest in fireplaces, which are not only beautiful, but also warm, is reviving. As the main heating device, the fireplace has no particular prospects, but as an additional or alternative it can significantly save on utility costs, and a neat home craftsman of an average hand can make it with his own hands.

On modern types of slowly burning eco-friendly (pellets, biofuels), a properly made fireplace can show efficiency no worse than or. However, the cost of a brick fireplace in terms of material consumption is two to three times, and the money is three to four times less than for the same thermal power.

This article will provide descriptions, diagrams and drawings of several homemade fireplaces and industrial designs. But a significant amount of material is devoted to what is most often mentioned in other sources, if at all, then in passing. Conventionally, this information can be called the basics of fireplace science.

It would seem, why be distracted? But, performing even a very good product in steps according to the instructions, we will get it again, and hardly better than the one made by the author. And nobody canceled or will cancel the decorative function of the fireplace, and technically it is not so simple as it looks. To build a beautiful, cozy and useful fireplace for yourself, you first need to figure out what it actually is, how it works, what it is good for and what it is not for.

Types of fireplaces: aesthetics

The fireplace, as before, not only warms the room, but also gives it a special comfort. They build it in the shower of the house - in the living room. A fireplace that is technically effective, but unsightly and / or does not fit into the interior, deprives the house of its face. Therefore, before starting to make it, let's see what the face of the fireplace itself might look like. The choice is not that wide, since the fireplace should not only look, but also warm. Moreover, do not smoke, smoke and do not create the danger of intoxication. Choosing a suitable style, you can take on the construction.

Classic

The most common type of fireplace is English classic. Its appearance is shown in Fig. We will talk about its structure and technical features further, but one thing can be said about aesthetics: it will go anywhere, even in an art deco or fusion interior. Classics are therefore classics because everywhere they go. Everything that can somehow not stick together was eliminated in the process of centuries of evolution.

Dutch

A Dutch fireplace is, in essence, a fireplace stove. And not because it is faced with tiles, they may not be, as on the right pos. rice. below. But the presence of smoke flows is necessary: ​​the Dutch were forced to save on fuel back in the Middle Ages. Therefore, a Dutch fireplace, in fact, is not a fireplace at all.

A Dutch fireplace is laid out like a stove, only with an enlarged mouth of the firebox and a deaf, without blower, hearth. The firebox doors are either not there at all, or they are openwork, cast or forged, allowing air to pass freely. This follows from the peculiarities of the fireplace, about which see the next, technical section.

To build from scratch, a Dutch fireplace is difficult: both the masonry is not easy, and the finish needs high-quality. But, if it is necessary to make a fireplace from the stove, then the great-grandmother's Dutch woman in the wall or in the corner is a godsend. It is enough just to open the firebox wide open, close the blower - there you have a fireplace.

The second, already a little costly, but excellent in all qualities, option is to expand the crucible to fit a modern factory-made fireplace insert. We will return to them later, but for now we will note: a branded firebox can give a second life to a dilapidated Dutch woman. Instead of its scrapping and subsequent overhaul - cosmetic repairs and a fireplace in the house. There is probably no need to compare.

Rustic

Rustic in Latin means rustic, rural. Best of all, its meaning is conveyed by the Russian "dear!" However, rustic fireplaces look very good in country, colonial, rococo and even bourgeois interiors, see fig. Rustics are built from wild stone.

A special type of rustic fireplace is the Provence style fireplace, right pos. in fig. Provence style is, in essence, French country, only lighter and more sensual. Therefore, a light stone, warmer and softer goes to Provence fireplaces: yellowish limestone, sandstone, slate (not combustible!) does not receive and the fireplace has served for many years.

Rustic fireplaces are expensive in the first place. Natural stone cut to size is a building material of an elite class, regardless of its grade. Secondly, only a very experienced stove-maker can build a "rustic". The structure is heavy, requires a good foundation, and natural stone masonry is difficult to work with. Knowledge alone is not enough here, you also need a lot of experience.

Note: wild stone and natural stone are not the same thing. Wild - the way it was taken out - boulders, pebbles, chipped cobblestone. And the same stone, which has been processed on stone cutting equipment and meets certain size standards, will already be natural.

In the wall or near?

Classic and rustic fireplaces can be built in the following versions:

• Built-in (closed) - the throat of the firebox is flush with the wall; the portal (see below) is made right along the wall.
• Semi-open (see the figure on the right) - they are close to the wall or partially recessed into it.
• Open - there is free space between them and the walls on all sides.
• In the openings, two rooms are heated at once.

Built-in fireplaces require a special building design and are foreseen in its plan even at the design stage. Open spaces take up a lot of living space. Therefore, city fireplaces, with some exceptions (about which below), are most often performed half-open.

Alpine

Alpine, or Swiss fireplaces have come into fashion relatively recently. These, again, are not really fireplaces, but simple open hearths from Swiss chalets, on the left in Fig. The modern interest in them is most likely due to their democracy: the fire is visible from all sides, and you can sit around it in a circle.

English and Dutch fireplaces, on the contrary, are authoritarian: only the patriarch was supposed to bask in the evening by the fire with a pipe. An inattentive son / granddaughter reaching for the fire risked getting a hefty kick or slap without any explanation.

A Swiss fireplace can be laid out without much difficulty by yourself, but only in non-residential premises. In permanently inhabited premises, their independent erection is prohibited by fire legislation - open fire, after all. In city apartments up to business class, inclusive, "Swiss" cannot be done at all, but in elite apartments it is possible only with the special permission of the fire inspection and the presence of a fire certificate for the product.

There are no exception rules for individual country houses. A fire in a house with people in a village or in a cottage community is even more dangerous than in a high-rise building: the Emergencies Ministry will not arrive quickly. But it is quite possible to build an alpine fireplace in the country without asking anyone and without risking any fines. Country houses, by law, are non-residential premises.

Modern

Modern design styles have not been spared, it would seem, such archaic fireplaces. The reason is that almost all modern design styles, with external coldness and laconicism, are filled with latent energy. And the fireplace is a receptacle of the visible energy of fire, therefore, its framing does not have to be sophisticated and pretentious.

Modern

Modern is known as an all-accepting style. Designers, decorators, applied artists among themselves (in public, they are sophisticated aesthetes) say: "Yes, push whatever you want into modern." But Art Nouveau is by no means a disorderly dump. It requires a very developed taste and has many meanings.

One of them is important in the fireplace business: a modern fireplace that fully meets the criteria of style and does not in any way violate its aesthetics can be made of light modern materials WITHOUT FOUNDATION, middle and right poses. in fig. A fireplace without a foundation - what is it like? At least for savings on construction work.

Mini

The minimalist style no longer likes anything hanging. It is purely grounded and spread over the surfaces. In mini interiors, even built-in lamps are recommended.

For fireplaces, minimalism has its pluses and minuses. Minus - an open or semi-open fireplace does not fit into the interior of the mini. If the walls are thin and it is impossible to drown the fireplace in them, you have to enclose it with some kind of box, imitating "built-in", as in the left pos. rice.

But the plus of mini-fireplaces is more significant: the minimum frame in combination with a modern firebox allows you to make a mobile mini-fireplace, on the right in fig. Indeed, a branded 12 kW firebox weighs about 100 kg (see below), and a purely decorative one on biofuel - up to 20 kg. Framed - about 30 kg. It is by no means a bogatyr who can carry it within the premises.

High tech

The basis of the hi-tech style is known to be smooth colored or metallic, often shiny surfaces, smooth or smoothly curved. From the point of view of a fireplace, this means that it can be made both with a ready-made factory firebox (the first and third positions on the left in the figure), or with any of the classic designs, but made of modern materials, the second and last positions. However, it is undesirable to make a high-tech mini-fireplace (third position from the left) mobile. In theory, elements of a high-tech interior can be displaced from their places no more than transistor valves in a computer chip.

Bionic style

The bionic style is, roughly speaking, back to nature using high technology. Bionic interiors are not very common. The reason is their extreme high cost. We need natural materials, an experienced, bionic-specializing (and appropriately paid) designer, and super-elite craftsmen who can bring the fruit of his quest to life. Following the example in Fig. you can imagine what a fireplace alone will cost in a bionic interior.

Street

Outdoor fireplaces are also a trend of modernity. Frankly speaking, there is no special meaning in them: what a whim it is to sit by a fire in the open air in bad weather? And the fireplace will not get wet and cold all the time, so the materials for it are especially resistant and, accordingly, expensive.

However, for a picnic with barbecue in the country or, especially, in a suburban entertainment establishment, a street fireplace still makes some sense. Therefore, let's figure out briefly what and how to build it, so as not to redo it in a year or two.

The most obvious solution is a collapsible outdoor barbecue oven, the first on the left in the top row in Fig. You cannot do this yourself without production facilities with the necessary equipment, but the prices for branded ones are acceptable. They weigh a little, can be carried together by two. They disassemble and hide for the winter.

In the middle, in the top row, there is the same BBQ fireplace, but made of dense wild stone: granite, gabbro, diabase, etc. It will withstand any bad weather for an indefinitely long time, does not require accelerating furnaces after the autumn-winter slush, because moisture absorption of the material is negligible.

However, the cost is prohibitive. The material is also, as they say, flowers. But work is already juicy berries. Are there many stove-makers who will undertake to bring a solid vault out of the "savage"? And whoever takes it and really knows how, he will have to sort out tons of stone in order to select pieces for keys and wings. And the wings themselves also need to be folded from nothing at all. And you can't do without adjusting the pieces, but adjust the granite so that the outside view does not deteriorate - it's not for you to hang up the bricks with a butt, the diamond circle in the grinder will not have to be changed alone.

But the upper right at the top of the metal option for DIYers is just right. The design is clear from the drawing, one person drags it back and forth without difficulty. Already with the firewood laid in the opening of the shell for drying, the look is quite natural. And if you lay out the upper cheek with flat stones on a cement-sand mortar with polymer additives, then a real "Swiss" will come out. True, two of you will have to wear one.

Finally (bottom left in the figure), an ordinary brazier will go for a Swiss fireplace in the open air. By the way, it is more capable of cooking kebabs on it than on the previous version.

If you certainly want a fireplace, both in the wild, and homemade and brick, then it must be erected in the gazebo, on the bottom right in Fig. Celestial moisture and a device with a flame inside made of a porous hygroscopic material on a clay solution are incompatible things. After winter, from the accelerating firebox it can simply fall apart. An example of a stove-fireplace-barbecue suitable for a gazebo will be given below.

Fireplace types: appliances

The Swiss fireplace has no scientific and technical features. This is a simple hearth, a bonfire at the deepening of a pedestal made of non-combustible material. But here is also very ancient, English classical - the device is already quite interesting.

Note: there are known images and models of classical fireplaces, which archaeologists attribute to the pre-Roman Celts and Picts. That already at the time of William the Conqueror was a hoary antiquity.

Rustic and Provencal fireplaces are the same classic ones, only decorated in a different way. Dutch in principle of operation and device is no different from the Dutch oven. Modern fireplaces with improvements will be considered, but let's start, as usual, with the classics.

Classic and Rumford

Diagrams of the device of a classic English-type fireplace are shown in Fig. on right. A classic fireplace differs from a simple hearth under a smoke collector in only two details: an infrared (thermal) reflector; reflective surface, and a smoke tooth. But these two details give a lot.

The highlight of the fireplace is the smoke tooth. It limits the throughput of the chimney due to the formation of a slow vortex of flue gases under it. If you flood an English fireplace with damp wood, then, until they ignite, a smoke ball in the furnace is clearly visible, which does not go into the chimney and does not spread out.

Thus, the air in the firebox made several revolutions, in contact with the burning fuel, until it gradually went into the chimney. This achieved the following:

1. The gradual release of oxygen by air made it possible to organize an energetically efficient slow combustion of even very energetic fuels - pine wood, anthracite - without the danger of carbon monoxide formation.
2. The oxygen of the air was used more fully, which, with high-quality fuel, excluded the formation of waste at any position of the view.
3. The air was very hot and immediately gave off heat to the body of the fireplace, which, in turn, radiated it into the room.
4. The time constant of the vortex in the furnace was 2-7 minutes, which made the combustion process self-regulating.
5. As a result, with the same fuel loading, it is possible to fearlessly adjust the heating intensity in a manner that is extremely dangerous in furnaces: by partially sliding the view.

Let's give an explanation. The formation of carbon monoxide CO is an endothermic process, i.e. energetically disadvantageous. Figuratively speaking, when there is a lack of oxygen, burning fuel tends to pull up more energy carrier - oxygen - before being partially oxidized, as a result of which CO is formed.

In the fireplace, access to outside air is basically free; there are no doors on the mouth of the firebox. But the vortex created by it in the furnace prevents the fuel from getting enough oxygen. If the oxidizer becomes too small, the combustion dies out, the vortex weakens, the flow of outside air increases, the fuel flares up, the vortex intensifies again, and rotates until all the oxygen from it is consumed, and then the process will be repeated again and again.

However, it is impossible to organize such combustion in a chamber that is deaf from above. The fact is that the volume of flue gases in a vortex continuously increases as it develops, both due to thermal expansion and due to the formation of products of thermochemical reactions. If you close the view tightly, the vortex will come out (the fireplace will smoke, like the stove), the whole process will go off the mode, and the fireplace will burn just like a fire.

Note: as a result, the view of an English fireplace is made with an idle hole, as in the throttle valve of an automobile carburetor. Its area is approximately 10% of the cross-sectional area of ​​the chimney. This opening does not reduce the efficiency of the fireplace, see below.

Further, the hot whirlwind heats the body of the fireplace well, and it heats the room just as well. Only the excess of already cooled flue gases are emitted into the chimney, which additionally give their heat to the fireplace in the chimney. The efficiency of an English fireplace for such a simple device is unusually high: up to 46% for Cornish coal and more than 50% for pellets.

Note: from the above it is clear that it is impossible to make a smoke tooth in the form of a simple brick protrusion. Here aerodynamics are already working, the tooth must be profiled. Varieties of English fireplaces and differ from each other mainly in the shape of the tooth.

True, in a modern city apartment such indicators cannot be achieved: measurements were carried out in old English castles, for fireplaces with a smoke hood 4.5-5.5 m high and a total chimney height of 12-17 m.But all the same, even with ceilings of normal height the fireplace will heat no worse than the Dutch woman, and it is technically easier to build it. Alas, only technically, see below.

The described principle of operation gives an important consequence for practice: the heat of the flue gases after the smoke tooth, in the smoke hood is waste, it can be used as you like: make air vents and additionally heat the air, integrate a hot water register into the hood, etc. This is not the case in stoves with smoke flows - the internal energy balance must be strictly observed and the paths of energy circulation must not be disturbed, otherwise the stove will go out of mode, smoke, and its efficiency will drop sharply.

In the fireplace, the heat generation zone (HRT) is concentrated in the space from the hearth to the smoke tooth. Below there is nothing to take, but above - take at least everything, no one will notice. It is precisely in this that an English fireplace differs from stoves, and not in that it warms with radiation, as they often write. The stove also radiates heat. In the fireplace, HRT is also combined with the zone of the technological process (ZTP), combustion, but also in the same.

Under the fireplace insert

Initially, in English fireplaces, the furnaces were made really deaf, laid out of stone with a slight outward slope. Without tilting, the fireplace itself will never enter the internal circulation of gases during kindling. The direction of rotation of the vortex in such fireplaces was opposite to that shown in Fig. above.

They worked as it should be, but could be dangerous: large burning pieces often rolled out. That is absolutely useless in the castle with the stone floor of the banquet hall: there are also carpets, furniture, magnificent robes of a great "succumbing" company.

Therefore, already in the Middle Ages, they began to make fireplace inserts with grates and a very low blower designed only for kindling. When the fuel flared up and the flame began to draw into the chimney, the blower was closed. A sudden jolt of excess energy excited a vortex, and - order!

Nowadays, for the sake of saving on metal fittings and simplifying the work, underneath is often made deaf stone, moreover, horizontal or even with a small slope inward. The reason is kindling with high-energy flammable liquids and, especially, ignition gels. They by themselves provide an excess of energy necessary for the formation of a vortex, and then - everything is in the old fashioned way.

Curious

Filmmakers / TV men, filming something about old England, right up to Sherlock Holmes, will certainly look for a castle or at least an old cottage with a "real" fireplace, in which there is a stone fireplace under the firebox. And the owners of such households make good money on renting them out for filming. Meanwhile, already at the time of the dissolute Hugo, who by his mad sinfulness gave birth to the dog of the Baskervilles, fireplaces with a grate and a low "starting" blower were in common use.

Rumford fireplace

A diagram of the Rumford fireplace (in the former transcription - Rumford, Rumford) is shown in Fig. on right. The working process in the Rumford fireplace is exactly the same as in the classic one, but the delay of flue gases instead of a smoke tooth is provided by a throat with a hyperbolic profile, the so-called. Rumford neck. By the way, it is widely used in technology in general, not only in fireplaces.

The efficiency of the Rumford fireplace on the same fuel is exactly the same as that of the classic one. But, as you can see from the picture, its design is much simpler, cheaper and lighter. The Rumford fireplace can also be built in a block high-rise building: the required depth of the firebox is one and a half times less than that of the classic one, and a foam concrete or vermiculite slab will go to the foundation.

Only one "but" - the profile of the throat must be maintained accurately enough; the permissible deviation from the hyperbola is plus / minus 5% along the normal at this point. It is the ignorance of this circumstance that explains most of the failures of those who tried to build it self-made.

About reflectors

Many craftsmen, knowing that the fireplace heats mainly IR from the firebox, build in a metal reflector or even an expensive mirror made of heat-resistant glass with titanium-niobium amalgam. An example of a design of this kind and its dimensions (by the way, the typical dimensions of a classic fireplace for a modern living room) are shown in Fig. It is recommended to clean the reflector to a mirror finish before each firebox.

All these complications, generally speaking, do not hurt. But they won't improve anything in the fireplace either. The thing is that black-looking soot and soot (fine amorphous carbon) reflects infrared rays very well. In much the same way as unglazed earthenware is visible light.

Therefore, physicists do not make models of an absolutely black body out of soot, which often causes bewilderment among high school students and students. What a complete absorption here, if in IR it almost shines! So "bothering" with reflectors when building a fireplace is a waste of time. It will be smoked - it will shine by the heat by itself.

Versatile in the corner

An English type fireplace can be not only frontal. Generally, it is believed that the fireplace in the corner should be built in Dutch, but this is just a prejudice. A corner fireplace, which works quite in English, is easy to fold, knowing how to work with fireclay bricks, see the masonry diagram in Fig. on right. The structure is quite massive and is suitable only for private households. But on the other hand, it can also be used as a barbecue, and it is easy to equip hot smoking in a smoke hood.

Video: the process of building a corner fireplace

With a water heater

As it is already clear, it is not difficult to build a water-heating register into an English fireplace. You just need to remember that you won't take much heat. A fireplace with a thermal power of 20 kW per tooth produces hardly 4-5 with an extremely intense firebox. Enough for DHW with a storage tank, but not for central heating.

The heat exchanger itself, since the temperature behind the tooth is low, it is better to make from 2-4 rows of thin-walled metal tubes, 3 tubes in a row, staggered. And it's easier to work - you don't need to disassemble the hood, just drill holes in it - and the heat transfer will be good.

Modern with fireboxes

When they say "fireplace with a firebox", it often causes bewilderment: a fireplace without a firebox, how is it? Some kind of electronic 3D simulated fire?

There are also such, although it is immediately obvious that it is a fake. But in this case, we will talk about a fireplace with a special factory-made firebox. An example is a domestically produced "Optima" firebox, see fig.

Fireplace insert "Optima"

In such inserts, the classic fireplace heat cycle is simulated and optimized on computers. The products themselves are made from modern materials; special alloys, organosilicon and composites are widely used.

Therefore, a modern fireplace insert is not heavy, compact, and almost does not give off heat where it is not needed, it can even be built into furniture, see fig. on right. The chimney is made of ordinary thin-walled metal-corrugated metal, and the firebox door is made of heat-resistant glass freely transmitting IR. The decoration of the fireplace "with a firebox" can be any, according to the taste of the customer and the skill of the master. In addition, the "fire-place" fireplace gives considerable additional opportunities.

More about water heaters

Fireplace inserts are also available with a built-in hot water circuit. Thanks to precise computer calculations, a fireplace with a water circuit in a special firebox is already a full-fledged heating device that continuously supplies hot water not only to the kitchen with a bathroom, but also to the central heating. A diagram of its device and connection is shown in Fig. It is clear that they do not do this on their own.

Air heating

The framing of the firebox of a modern fireplace can be, as already mentioned, anything. This allows you to make a fireplace with air heating, the diagram of which is shown in Fig. The pedestal of the firebox does not have to be made of stone, it can be at least from the same drywall. But, alas, this does not add joy to a home-builder. Why - it will be seen from what follows.

About bio fireplaces

Before moving on from things that are interesting to any techie, in matters, frankly, rather dreary, you should linger a little on biofireplaces. In fact, it has already been mentioned about them: without exception, all mobile minicines run on biofuel. And the furnaces around which they are "stitched" are also special, designed for biofuel.

Biofuels are produced by bacterial decomposition of human and animal waste. It sounds disgusting, the fuel itself is extremely clean: it is based on ethanol, and any conceivable combustion mode produces only carbon dioxide and water in the exhaust.

Biofuels should not be confused with absolutely environmentally friendly, and long-known, gas hydrates, "dry alcohol". Gas hydrate dry fuel is highly energetic, it gives a lot of heat. And ethanol is also known to everyone (and to many - to the pain of the soul, headache and throughout the body) ethyl alcohol. In biofuels, it is in a bound state, so it is not suitable for ingestion. And for the price - it is easier to redeem in cognac.

Alcohol, as you know, always burns out completely, but gives very little heat. Whoever tried to boil at least a 200 ml teapot (glass) on an alcohol lamp knows that ethanol as a heat generator is none. But as a fuel component for decorative mini-fireplaces, it is ideal: it does not spill, because is part of a semi-solid or jelly-like mass. There is biofuel that looks like firewood. But outside a special firebox, they immediately go out, so you can not be afraid and knock the fireplace over on the carpet.

This is not an advertisement for biofuels, but the necessary information to understand a very important circumstance for self-made people, especially urban ones. Namely: for a fireplace with biofuel, no permits, registrations, approvals are required. If only the firebox was branded certified, and a fireplace with it can be built even in a wooden house. And invite firefighters to the first launch, without fear.

Fireplaces: something terrible

Not a fire, not a frenzy, not a tangle of poisonous snakes in a chimney, not a collapse down to a neighbor along with an overlap. Worse: paperwork. And without a permit for a fireplace, if it is not on biofuel, there is no way to do it - everyone understands what an open fire is in a living room. Firefighters certainly understand, and especially in the professional-sanctioned context.

The trouble is that there are no legislative acts regulating the device of fireplaces in the Russian Federation. SNiP 2.04.05-91 regulates the device of heating and cooking stoves, but it also clearly prohibits the installation of heating devices with an open firebox in residential premises. In Moscow, fireplaces seem to be allowed by the Moscow City Building Norms (MGSN) "Residential Buildings" 3.01-96, but only on the last floors (or on the penultimate, if the apartment is two-story), and the apartment must have only one owner. The technical logic can be seen here tightly, but the administrative and financial Luzhkov era is as clear as day: those who can afford to “roll back” can afford a fireplace.

So what can be done? Let's turn the saying inside out: in every barrel of ointment, if you strain it properly, there is a spoonful of honey. In this case - apartments with a smoke channel, which is separate from ventilation, which is included in the project. These are pre-revolutionary houses, Stalinks, brick Khrushchevs with gas water heaters and titans, modern open-plan apartments in monolithic houses. In them, even according to MGSN 3.01-96, heating devices on a flame can be installed on any floor.

Hence the following twist:

• We are starting an allegedly complex redevelopment with the transfer of heating devices (do not write in the application - central heating registers!). The procedure is extremely dreary, its description is a separate topic.
• On the sly, we obtain permission from the firemen for a fiery heater. The "trick" is that by default, according to SNiP, it will be understood as a stove, if you do not "go to the trouble" yourself and do not clarify. On paper, in words, in a familiar way, it is possible and necessary.
• We are building a fireplace.
• Suddenly what - here is a permission for redevelopment with the reconstruction of heating; here is a fiery heater. Here it is, the flame, look! Bake? What kind of oven is it? There is nothing in this paper about the oven! Oh, is it implied? Well, if the court accepts your meaning as a fact or a document - please!

However, such a sweet moment will likely never come. Firefighters know their business, and where there is no light, they will not go there. But you will have to worry about the papers:

1. We order a redevelopment project, "self-blown" will not work in any way. Advice: if you thought of attaching a balcony to a room, erecting a capital partition, combining / separating a bathroom, combining a kitchen with a living room - it is better to put everything in one package and work with a fireplace, it will take half the money and nerves;
2. We take in the DEZ, HOA, in short, in the organization operating the house, an opinion on its technical condition (technical opinion on the condition of the structures of the house, refueling complex). It should be noted in the refueling complex that the chimney is in good working order, and when it was revised; better - no earlier than six months;
3. We go to a company licensed by the Ministry of Emergency Situations that develops fire safety recommendations. In Moscow, St. Petersburg, the capitals of federal districts and in many large cities, these are branches of the VNIIPO Ministry of Emergency Situations (VNII Fire Protection);
4. There we listen carefully, nod our heads, take notes, but the main thing is to get their visa for the project. Without it, further is meaningless. They will demand to finalize or alter the project altogether - not a word in spite of it, we do as they said;
5. We go to the firemen, we get permission. They won't give it just like that, but with a VNIIPO visa the issue is "solved" (in VNIIPO, by the way, too), and without it - "wood grouse";
6. We go through all the ordeals of documentary registration of complex redevelopment, and - finally! - we are building!

I must say that if all this sadomasochistic-paper pleasure will cost no more than $ 2500 in the provinces and up to $ 4000 in the Mother See, then you are incredibly lucky. And it will take no less than six months for paperwork. So think about whether to order a fireplace in a special company after all? They have a track, it may turn out to be cheaper and faster on the whole.

Note: a seemingly simple fireplace for air heating from a factory firebox and drywall should definitely be ordered by the pros. Indeed, for all the material for him, including the last self-tapping screw, fire certificates will be needed, otherwise it is better not to approach VNIIPO. Nevertheless, to order this is the best option: materials and work are incomparable with masonry at a price, and you have to buy a firebox this way and that. Pros know exactly where to buy what, so that the firefighters "pass".

Private suburban homeowners are more fortunate: a good part of the paper hassle comes from coordination with the owners, building designers and urban architecture. If the house is your own, the architectural environment is a neighbor's cow on the pasture, then these stages disappear. And VNIIPO and firemen are not so picky about it: your house, you suddenly have something to burn.

Finally, then: construction!

So now we can already fold the fireplace. Take, for example, two classic types of construction: home and suburban. All the rest are technically either the same or simpler. How exactly is stated above. Or more difficult and inaccessible to the DIYer. And the documentary registration (again, except for biofireplaces, which do not require it at all) is the same everywhere.

Foundation

For all fireplaces, except for Rumford and some modern fireplaces, a solid concrete reinforced foundation is required flush with the flooring. Of course, the project should also include a calculation of the overall strength: the overlap should hold the weight of the foundation and the fireplace with a margin necessary according to SNiP. Incidentally, in brick Khrushchev, this condition is most often not met.

When designing, it is in no way possible to transfer the weight load from the fireplace to the walls. Even if the fireplace will be located in the wall opening and, for example, heat both the living room and the bedroom. To violate this condition - cracks in the chimney will inevitably go, and with them the most English fireplace will burn out.

The dimensions of the foundation are with an offset of 100-110 mm in all directions. An iron sheet with a thickness of 1.5 mm or more is laid on the foundation. On an iron pad - waterproofing from two layers of roofing material. Modern high-performance waterproofers are not suitable for hot bedding. On the floor in front of the mouth of the furnace - also a fireproof sheet according to the requirements of the software (removal one meter forward and half a meter on the sides, galvanized on asbestos).

Note: fireplaces with a branded certified firebox do not need a fire-resistant blind area at all.

Season of work

Stoves and fireplaces are erected in the off-season (spring, autumn) at a temperature of 15-25 degrees and moderate humidity. It is generally impossible to build them in early spring, late autumn or winter. In the summer, in the very heat, it is permissible for an experienced stove-maker. On dry land, you need to humidify the air in the room with open wide containers of water.

Brick

In the overwhelming majority of cases, an ordinary red ceramic will go to the fireplace, because combustion in the furnace is not intense and the thermal loads on the structure are low. The front, beautiful and smooth brick, is suitable only for external cladding: its high decorative qualities are achieved due to poor firing, and, accordingly, poor heat resistance. In addition, polymer additives are introduced into the mass for facing bricks, the contact of which with fire is unacceptable for many obvious reasons.

The brick should be of high quality mass and burned thoroughly, but not excessively. Bricks - "loaves", swollen, noticeably warped, with deep cracks on the surface, are mercilessly discarded. Also - "iron ore" brick, burnt, with a dark core. Both the one and the other will soon crack from alternating thermal loads.

Subtype, i.e. bricks processed into a non-standard size / shape (untreated - full-bodied) for a fireplace are best done with a backbone, and not with a grinder with a circle. It's not about dust, it's about vibration. From it in a properly annealed brick, microcracks can go, which then turn into obvious ones.

Solution

- clay-sandy medium fat content. The proportion of sand to clay is 3: 1. Clay - purchased building clay. Sand - also purchased, river sand, washed and calcined. Cheap quarry sand is not good.

The solution is kneaded in water until sour cream or pancake dough is thick and checked for fat content: it should drain from the trowel dipped into it, remaining on the spatula with an even layer of 1.5-3 mm. Too fatty sticks in lumps, sand and water (a little!) Are added to it again to the desired consistency. Too skinny drains, exposing, in places or completely, the metal of the instrument. It is brought to the required fat content with the addition of clay and water.

The clay solution dries for a long time. Therefore, you need to prepare it slowly - not cement, and even more so not alabaster, will not grab. You can prepare for the future for all the work at once, this will save time. At night, a tub or trough with a solution is covered with a damp burlap, and in the morning before work, it is shoveled several times.

Masonry

The first row is always laid out on dry waterproofing, giving the solution only to the seams between the bricks. The thickness of the joints is 3-4 mm, the minimum allowable for clay masonry. Seams between ordinary bricks and fireclay bricks, as well as between any bricks and metal inserts - 6-13 mm. 13 mm joint is the maximum allowable for clay mortar. It is sometimes used in the laying of the body, if it is necessary to make an extension, a canopy or to give a fluff (broadening).

The masonry is continuously verified by a plumb line and a cord, especially for amateurs. The whole structure is narrow, tall, heavy, and its center of gravity is quite high. Forgivable for a brick fence or barn wall, a distortion or unevenness of the fireplace can lead to collapse.

Drying

Dry the finished structure for at least 20 days at room temperature. The windows must be wide open, but direct sunlight on the product is unacceptable. It is best to arrange temporary awnings over the windows for the drying period, at least from old sheets on sticks. As a last resort, tighten the windows with gauze.

Commissioning

After drying, the accelerating furnace is made with a half portion of the fuel. It is better to take it slowly burning - blacksmith coal, coal-"seed". If drying was carried out under optimal conditions, then three days after acceleration, you can start heating. Otherwise, the volume of fuel filling is increased in 2-3 steps from 3/4 of the norm to full.

DIY classics

Here in fig. - the ordering of the fireplace of the English type. The design has been simplified and modified so that less experienced bricklayers could fold it. The bottom line is that the firebox is flowing. Do not close the blower during the firebox! But the grate is small and is located at the very rear wall of the firebox, so the "English" vortex is created in part due to convection suction into the firebox from below. This made it possible to lay out the smoke tooth without any technical and technological difficulties, with a simple ledge. True, the efficiency on pellets is slightly over 40%

Video: the process of laying a fireplace

BBQ a-la English

This arbor (remember the promised?) Fireplace is a combined device. A single-burner stove is attached to a completely English fireplace on the side, see fig. A strict pedant from fireplaces, perhaps, will snort, but it is convenient in a country house.

Which to choose?

So what is the best fireplace? Custom-made with full funds - depending on the interior. With their incomplete income or credit "excess" - plasterboard with a branded firebox and an air circuit, if the apartment has heat meters, it will save a lot of "communal" in winter.

If you take up the fireplace yourself, then the best option is a biofuel mini. All expenses - for the furnace; finishing for the price in comparison with it is not felt. Well, if you want solid, prestigious classics - then English. Its powerful aesthetics and glorious virtues will make up for the financial and paper nightmare to some extent.

Video: project of a small fireplace for a country house