Brick cladding: modern facade decoration
Facade cladding panels for brick are today the most popular material in housing construction: both in private and multi-story buildings. They allow you to clad the exterior walls of the building as soon as possible, thereby reducing the cost of the object.
The brick imitation is so accurate that it’s not even possible to understand which material was used from the outside: facing brick or facade panels. In our article, we will compare these two finishes, talk about the types and properties of panels, as well as give instructions and video on installation.
The content of the article
Panels or bricks: which is better
Facing the external walls is not always done just for the sake of the beauty of the exterior of the building - most often, it requires insulation. But there are times when load-bearing walls need to be strengthened.
For example: old wooden house requires major repairs - in this case, brickwork is indispensable. Facing a bricked house in operation is a very time-consuming process and requires considerable financial costs.
So:
- The only, but very significant drawback of this type of finish is the solid weight of the material. Since it must rely on a concrete base, it is often necessary to dig a foundation, or to fill in a concrete blind area specially for this purpose - all this is a cost.
In addition, without the appropriate knowledge and skills, it is hardly possible to do the masonry with your own hands in a quality manner: it needs to be reinforced, tightly connected to the existing wall. - In a house under construction, this type of decoration is usually designed in advance, and is performed in the process of erecting walls. They call it well masonry, since the wells formed between the two walls are filled with loose insulation.
Decorative brick is one of the most beautiful options for facing, and it's hard to argue with that. But, it is used only in low-rise construction, and the reason for this, again, is the large weight of the masonry.
Facade cladding with panels under the brick can be performed even in a high-rise building, and solves all of the above problems inherent in brick finish. It remains to choose an option that will not only be more like it, but will fit into your budget at a cost.
So, a short review: facing facade panels for bricks, which are offered today by manufacturers of finishing materials.
| Panel Views | Properties and characteristics | Sizes and approximate price |
 Plastic cladding panels for brick | Plastic panels can be attributed to the budget option facade decoration. Having an extremely low coefficient of thermal conductivity, this material performs a purely decorative function. Along with this, PVC panels have many positive qualities.
In the production of facade cladding, not only polychlorovinide is used - there are options for panels made of foamed polyurethane and polypropylene. The service life of this material is up to 20 years. | Basement PVC siding usually has dimensions 1,168 * 0,448m, 17 mm thick Wall panels 1,13 * 0,48 Their cost varies from 410-550 rubles.
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 Thermopanels | The facing thermopanels under a brick, are composite material. They are a symbiosis of several types of raw materials.This can be a layer of insulation made of mineral wool, or expanded polystyrene, polyurethane, and a clinker tile imitating a spoon of brick.
There are options for panels having a third base layer, with which it adjoins the wall. Installation of this material can be done in two ways: glue and frame. The most significant advantage of thermal panels is the fact that they are also a heater for walls. | The thickness of the insulation for wall options of thermal panels is: 40; 60; 80 mm. Clinker thickness 12-15 cm. Standard overall dimensions 1000 * 0.486 * 70 mm Price 1700 - 2300 rubles., Depending on the type of insulation. Mineral wool is cheaper. For the plinth, the tile size is made larger, and the thickness of the insulation is less. |
 Fiber cement siding
| Fiber cement panels also belong to composite materials, only, unlike thermal panels, they are not multilayer, but monolithic. In the manufacturing process, cement, cellulose fiber, mineral fillers are mixed and pressed.
Products pass through autoclaves, after which their surface is covered with protective compounds: acrylic, hydrophilic, ceramic with silica gel. Some types of coatings, for example: photoceramics, have the ability to self-clean, which allows the facade to always look like it was just washed.
Absolutely non-combustible, and, besides, earthquake-resistant, the material has excellent soundproofing characteristics. | Standard size of fiber cement front panels: 3030 * 455 * 16 mm.
Products with acrylic coating of domestic production cost at least 1700 rubles. a piece.
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All types of panels are equipped with additional corner elements, which allows not only to beautifully make the window zone, or the corner of the house, but also to highlight it with a different color, which we see in the example at the beginning of the article.
Installation of panels on the facade
Facade cladding brick panels, as such, do not require special knowledge and skills. Problems usually arise when the facade has architectural forms of varying complexity.
Apart from windows and doors, it can be curly cornices, arches, half columns, rotundas, and much more. Installation of all types of panels is carried out in the same way - but there are still some differences.
We will talk about how to clad a facade with thermal panels:
- Needless to say, the panels should be installed on a flat surface. This refers to the vertical deviation, and not potholes in the brick.
It is detected using the building level, and if the difference in marks does not exceed 1 cm, the wall, in principle, can be considered flat. In such cases, thermal panels are mounted on glue, and fixed with dowels directly to the wall. - If the deviation is 3-5 cm, the walls need to be properly prepared, that is, leveled. This is not about continuous alignment, which is performed indoors.
Simply, the tabs of the masonry should be cut down, the recesses should be plastered. But not every wall can do it.
How, for example, will you level a concrete or wooden surface? It is much easier, it happens, to make the crate, and install the panels on it.
- Then, wooden blocks or a rack-mount aluminum profile are vertically mounted on the wall.The step between them should be no more than 35-40 cm - it is necessary that the panel rests on the frame in several places.
Using bars, do not forget about antiseptic processing. Before installing the crate belts, you should determine the horizontal border for the first row of panels. - Usually, they are guided along the line of the protrusion of the base, but, such a protrusion may not be. Sometimes the surfaces of the walls and the base are flush - it all depends on the construction of the foundation.
Then, the installation line of the panels is drawn at a level of 25-30 cm from the ground. Below this mark, a basement cladding is usually mounted, a darker color. - But first, along this line, immediately around the entire perimeter of the house, a starting level-ebb is mounted. It will serve as a guide during installation, and subsequently, will contribute to spontaneous drainage of condensate. On top of the ebb, mount a masking profile.
- Panel installation always starts from the corners. Even if there are no ready-made corner elements, they can be done like this.
The panel is cut in half, following the line of seams between the tiles. At the place of the connector, at an angle of 45 degrees, the insulation is cut off, and then, when they are combined, a right angle (external) is formed.
- Mount them with support on the guide bar, on a special tile adhesive, which should be applied precisely: along the perimeter and in the center. Then, the panels are additionally fixed: in three places on each side, with such facade dowels 10 * 120 mm, as in the photo. These dowels are designed for installation on the wall, and fastening to the crate is carried out with self-tapping screws 4 * 70 mm.
- So, a punch and a screwdriver should always be at hand. By the way, embedded parts specially designed for fasteners, which should be made only at these points, are mounted in the thermal panel.
After you finish the first row, the cavities between the wall and the panel must be filled with mounting foam.
- It’s simpler further - the next panel is combined with the previous corner, and is also fixed. There are nine mounting points on the solid wall panel. Before proceeding with the installation of the next row, the previous one must be completely finished.
On the upper and lower perimeters, the cladding elements are connected using the groove and comb provided for in them.
- If the whole panel does not fit in a row, it falls into the opening, it is cut so that it can be docked with a door, window, or another corner element. The cutting of the panels is carried out by a grinder with a diamond disk, since clinker tiles are a fairly durable material. The insulation is cut with a hacksaw.
- After laying compatible elements, the formed joints are filled with foam. All the same, they will not be visible, since after installation the joints are grouted, as is done when facing with ceramic tiles. For this purpose, facade grouts of a similar or contrasting color are used.
Fiber cement panels can also be mounted not only on the frame, but also directly to the wall. But they have their own distinctive features.
Panels with a small thickness (14 mm) are fixed to the wall with hex screws. Options with a thickness of 16-18 mm are equipped with fixing metal plates.
But in the PVC panels there are lock joints, which allows them to be classified as siding. Therefore, facing the facade with plastic panels under the brick is performed only according to the system of insulated ventilated facades.
