Table of Contents
Introduction
Without makeup or styling, the raw construction materials stand out for their plastic and functional qualities.
Generally, they are left natural as a construction and final finishing resource. There are many ways to use them, and all of them have considerable advantages, such as savings in materials, in execution times…, but also gains in simplicity and sustainability. What are you waiting for to meet them?
What would happen if you started to see the masonry material as an integral solution, in which there were no red lines between the construction and the final finish of walls or floors? For starters, find a way to upgrade it.
One possibility is to present the proposal within a studied aesthetic context. Look for innovative combinations with other more noble materials, relying on the plasticity provided by natural light and large volumes.
Exposed brick: How to recover or recreate it to decorate your home?
Brick, cement, planks, reinforced concrete, iron, vaults, prestressed beams, stone, those materials with which walls and floors are built can have, with an approach free of preconceived ties, other uses as a construction element and as a final finish at the same time.
The first advantage is the saving of money since coatings are eliminated. Second, you simplify and refine the performances, like when the original skin of an old wall is left exposed. Thirdly, it is a more sustainable solution because you use the same material for several work items without delay and generate less waste.
How to combine traditional and contemporary materials?
What can I do with a solid brick?
They are classified according to their obtaining, cooking, and application. For example, if you want to leave it exposed, you can usefacing bricks, which in turn can be perforated or solid. The former has greater advantages at the level of mortar adherence, which also allows for reducing the width of the joints of the mortar. These bricks can also be handcrafted and made by hand, so their faces will be rough and less flat, ideal, for example, for an industrial or rustic look. Such bricks are used in the construction of Park View City homes.
On the opposite side are those that are manufactured using mechanized processes and high-temperature firing, to give a regular and more resistant product, as is the case with clinker or vitrified brick, which can also be red, brown, or white, depending on the type of clay and firing temperature used in the ovens. They are also perfect for facades and pavements since they are less porous.
Brick outside and brick inside
With this solution, you make the most of the possibilities of solid brick. So, to have the same effect on the inside as on the façade, you can create a double sheet separated by a thermally insulated chamber. Then, you can leave it visible with a recessed or flush joint. The result is a wall, cladding, and decoration, all in a single intervention.
Don’t miss the rest of this house!
More ideas with solid brick
In this house, perforated solid brick was used in double-leaf load-bearing walls. This technique simplifies the technology, reduces auxiliary means, and speeds up execution work. The novelty is that the outer sheet was used with the brick placed vertically so that the perforations had, in addition to a formal component, an added utility as a ventilated façade.
In this sense, the possibility of using the hidden face of the perforated brick to create visual effects through the play of light and transparencies is an idea that can be extended to other uses, such as latticework to protect large windows or as a partition wall, so that the flow of light inside is not cut off.
Blocks and hollow bricks, can they be seen?
Everything is possible if its use is formally and aesthetically justified. The visible face of these ceramic blocks and bricks, formed by one or several holes in the horizontal direction, requires an excellent placement so that no lumps of mortar can be seen on the surface and so that it is well leveled.
However, if Thermoarcilla block is used, its particular way of laying, with the mortar applied only in the horizontal center of it, allows a careful assembly, which encourages you to take advantage of the plastic material and its striated texture. You can finish them with lime or plastic paint; in this way, you visually lower the proposal and do not darken the interior.
The exposed concrete also in the interior
If you take care of the elaboration, formwork, and stripping stage, you will obtain a surface that does not need any type of subsequent finish. In combination with warm construction materials like wood, for example, you make it less harsh.
It needs preferably spacious, diaphanous environments with good natural light; otherwise, it can be a bit heavy. You can leave bare beams, pillars, columns, slabs, stairs, walls, railings, chimneys, etc. In the choice of formwork pieces, completely smooth or textured surfaces can be achieved, for example, with a brushed wood effect. For a brighter finish, you can use white concrete.
Raw Construction Materials: How to apply them to bring warmth to an interior?
Concrete blocks
This house was built with a black concrete block with an exposed finish. It is a cheaper alternative to brick construction that, in this case, provides a solution to a double load-bearing wall structure with chamber insulation, which allows the block to be seen inside and on the façade.
Other possibilities of concrete
The ceiling in this example is part of a collaborating sheet metal slab, in which the concrete is poured onto a corrugated sheet metal that serves as formwork. When the concrete sets, it collaborates with it, absorbing the tensile stresses. It can be left natural or finished with enamel.
Forged in sight
In rehabilitation work, you can find very decorative surfaces of brick and wood or steel and canopy. If the house is new, play with the possibility of building it with ceramic vaults with a smooth, flat, or curved face so that they have a less coarse finish, which you can easily finish with paint.
Roofs under the tile
You can take advantage of the advantages of ceramic boards to build dry roofs, since they are placed with a tongue-and-groove system. Towards the interior, they offer a brick color that generates natural, healthy, and warm environments.
Sheet steel as a joining material
Sheet steel is a material that will help you create bonds between masonry materials and other pieces of furniture. The possibility of leaving it in a pure or oxidized state also puts it on the same expressive and realistic level that we are looking for with these ideas. You can use perforated sheet metal, for example, as a lattice, both in vertical panels and in pergolas. With the steel or galvanized sheet, you can build doors, cover an extractor hood, create furniture fronts, or cover backsplashes and countertops.
Do you like these proposals with raw materials? Which one would you stay with? Share your opinion in the comment section. You can also check out Capital Smart City for modern home designs.
I hope this article will help you to understand use of construction materials at home as a decorative resource. You may also want to see my other post from my Blog. If I have missed anything here, please let me know about that in the comment below this post.
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About Author
Mohammed Rubayet is a content writer who specializes in guest blogging and article writing. He loves to contribute articles in the field of construction and civil engineering.
His greatest dream is to make readers pause, smile, and be happy.
