The thickness of the brick wall: what does it depend on and what should it be?

The atmosphere of comfort in the house depends not only on the beautiful interior, but also on the optimal temperature in it. With good thermal insulation of the walls, a certain microclimate is created in the house, which is constantly maintained and allows a person to enjoy comfortable living conditions throughout the year. Therefore, during the construction of housing, special attention must be paid to such an indicator as the thickness of the external and internal floors.

Any construction of a building begins with the design and laying of the foundation. It is at this stage of the work that the correct calculations for laying out the walls, based on technological analysis, are required. One of the main parameters in construction is the thickness of the brick wall, since the following operational characteristics of the future object depend on it.

• Noise and heat insulation. The thicker the ceiling, the better the premises will be protected from external noise. In addition, the house will delight with warmth in the cold season and coolness in summer. To provide housing with a certain microclimate and save the family budget on the purchase of expensive building materials, it is enough to lay out walls of standard thickness and additionally insulate them.
• Stability and strength of the structure. Partitions should not only be resistant to the total weight of all floors, but also additional floors, extensions. In addition, it is necessary to have resistance to the adverse effects of the external environment. Therefore, the thickness of the walls in this case directly affects the durability of the building. Bearing floors should be made the thickest, since they bear the greatest load. As for the load-bearing partitions, they can be made with a minimum thickness using a cheaper material.

The thickness of the brick walls depends on many parameters, therefore, before starting the construction of housing on your own, you should calculate not only its total area, the load on the foundation, but also the operational characteristics of the material. For high and large rooms, the floors are made thick, as for the building material, in recent years brick is most often chosen for the construction of houses.

The load-bearing walls of buildings are usually laid out with bricks. It comes in many forms, each with a different structure and size. Therefore, the thickness of the floors depends on the features and quality of this material. For example, solid blocks, in comparison with perforated ones, are superior in thermal conductivity, strength and are expensive. Products with cavities inside are much cheaper, but their performance is lower.

The size of the brick can be single, one and a half and double. Single products are produced in standard sizes 250 × 120 × 65 mm, one and a half (thickened) - 250 × 120 × 88 mm and double - 250 × 120 × 138 mm. Considering the above dimensions, we can say that the building material is the same in length and width, the only difference is its thickness. It is from this last parameter that the thickness of the walls depends. Therefore, for the construction of massive structures, it is best to purchase double bricks, and lay out the bearing blocks and interior partitions in single or one-and-a-half blocks.

Today, for the construction of brick buildings, several masonry options are used, each of which depends on the design features of the object and determines the thickness of the walls. If you choose a masonry in half a brick, then the thickness of the floors will be 120 mm, in one brick - 259 mm, in two bricks - 510 mm (in addition to the blocks, 10 mm of cement mortar is taken into account, which fills the layers) and 2.5 bricks - 640 mm. To choose the type of masonry, you should take into account the design conditions of the building. For example, load-bearing walls can be laid out in several bricks, and simple partitions, which will not be subject to power loads, in one block.

The construction market is represented by a huge assortment of materials, but many of them are not universal, since they cannot meet all the requirements. Therefore, when it is planned to build a new house, experts recommend giving preference to brick. It has typical dimensions, which are 250 × 120 × 65 mm as standard and allow you to lay out walls of a certain thickness. For brickwork of residential buildings, it is important to take into account the loads on the frame and foundation, since their reliability and safety of operation depend on this.

The wall thickness of a brick house is considered one of the main parameters during construction, therefore it is regulated by GOST standards and must comply with all norms. Today, the standards GOST R 55338-2012 (for the construction of external structures) and GOST 2 4992-81 (for laying inter-apartment brick walls) are in force. According to regulatory requirements, the standard wall thickness can be from 0.12 to 0.64 m.The thinnest is 0.5 brick masonry, its thickness does not exceed 0.12 m.This is the optimal value that is most often chosen for the construction of interior partitions and small fences.

Since brick is a durable material, it is advisable to choose the optimal thickness of 38 cm for the construction of external structures. This is due to the fact that it is much more profitable to additionally insulate and strengthen the building than to increase the thickness of the partitions. Heavy structures significantly increase the load on the foundation and are much more expensive to purchase material. They, as a rule, are laid out in two bricks during the construction of large industrial facilities.

It is possible to compensate for the minimum thickness of the outer walls of 38 cm by additional installation of siding and facing insulation of the facade using plaster. In this case, brickwork is best done as a "well", due to which a layer of thermal insulation will be created between the two partitions.

The walls inside the house are designed to divide the total area into separate rooms and must perform the functions of heat and sound insulation. Therefore, internal structures that are not load-bearing can be made with a thickness of 12 cm. Bricks are laid out "edge-on". In addition, you can also perform a layout of 6.5 cm, in this case you will get a thin partition with insignificant sound and heat insulation, but it will save the family budget. To reduce the power load on walls with a thickness of 0.12 m, it is necessary to use silicate hollow or porous blocks, which can be further insulated.

Recently, many land owners prefer to build houses on their own, as this can significantly save finances. In order for the building to be durable and serve for more than a dozen years, it is necessary not only to correctly draw up a project, use high-quality building material, but also accurately calculate the thickness of the external and internal floors.

The following expert advice will help beginners with this.

• The thickness of the walls consists of the inner, middle and outer parts. Therefore, in order to properly lay out the partitions, you need to pay special attention to the corners. For this, the main point is selected and beacons are placed from it. The brick must be laid with a bandaging, using a certain scheme. After each laid out row, the walls should be checked for verticality. If this is not done, then curvature may appear in the plane and the thickness will not be the same.
• It is recommended to calculate the width of the supporting structures based on the characteristics of the climatic zone in which the house is planned to be located. Moreover, it cannot be less than 38 cm.In the northern regions, the thickness of the floors must be increased to 64 cm.
• To save material and obtain the optimal wall thickness, it is necessary to lay out the blocks in a "well". As a result, you will get two partitions, distant from each other, with a width of 140 to 270 cm. The space between them can be filled with sawdust, lightweight concrete or slag.
• Since the internal walls are made thinner than the external ones and do not require additional thermal insulation, they must be laid out at a minimum thickness of 25 cm.In order to distribute the loads on such structures evenly, the joints of the internal and external walls should be reinforced with special mesh or reinforcement every five rows of masonry. As for the walls, their thickness can be 51 cm and they are also reinforced. When laying 1.5 bricks, additional supports with a section of 38 × 38 cm are substituted.
• For interior partitions that are not load-bearing and only zone the space, you can select any thickness. For example, between the rooms and in the bathroom, you can make 0.5 brick masonry, and for the pantry and other auxiliary rooms, “ribbed” masonry with a thickness of 65 mm is suitable. Such structures should be reinforced with wire every 2-3 rows of masonry.If you increase the thickness of the masonry, then the room will acquire a higher heat and sound insulation, but at the same time, the cost of purchasing the material will increase.
• If the external walls are erected "for joining", then their aesthetic appearance will depend on the composition and quality of the cement mortar. The thickness of all seams in this case should be the same, therefore, all voids and cavities should be evenly poured with a solution. Since such structures are not very thick, insulating material and a good finish with the use of facing plates will help to increase their thermal performance.
• When building walls, it is also important to remember that any deviation in their thickness can provoke unpredictable consequences. Therefore, during masonry, it is impossible to allow changes in their height, as well as reduce the distance between the openings or increase their number.

You will learn about brickwork in a one-brick corner from the video below.