Old garden walls

[Flyfisher]

It's certainly better than my 80-ish a day, but only the end result really matters. No one can look at a wall and tell how long it took to build

 

[stuart45]

Taken to the limit in the USA. The winner normally needs to lay in excess of 900 bricks in an hour to get the pick up.

 

[overlander matt]

Thanks for the comments on the wall. It's not been the most productive week but now 1000 bricks in after 10 days of work. I'm not sure I will get the productivity much above 120 a day with the general work involved in preparing bricks. I appreciate the description as 'steady'!

A I being too selective with the bricks? Maybe... The ones on the back are certainly not as good. The piers aren't as uniform as I would like given the variations in the bricks but compared to what was there before it is a big improvement. Hopefully I won't run out of decent bricks.

Covering the barrow up has certain helped. It has been warm over the past few weeks.

I'm not sure I'll be adding a falling soldier detail mind you.

 

[stuart45]

The brickwork you've done is really good, especially considering you've only done a 5 day course. Most apprentices are nowhere near that standard after a couple of months. It shows the difference between an adult wanting to learn, and a teenager who probably resents being at work.
Some key points in bricklaying are being able to lay a level bed, and for corners and piers being able to lay the bricks level and plumb without having to knock them around to get them right.
A common mistake made by pro bricklayers when building small, tall piers around 1.5 or 2 bricks is to plumb both sides of the pier. You often find when this is done, the cross joints start off at 10mm and finish around 20mm at the top.

 

[overlander matt]

Thanks Stuart. The garden side is certainly neater than the field side but I'm being selective with the bricks. I'll post some more photos as the wall progresses.

This is my first go at building a proper wall but I did build the raised beds last summer as a practice project.

Compared to laying with cement on the beginners course, I've found a few extra challenges with the lime. Getting the mix as workable and laying a consistent bed is something I'm still working on. The pointing is also a bit more challenging with the lime mortar and its larger aggregates. Each course is getting easier with practice though.

That's an interesting point you make about the piers... After 10 courses of 2 bricks, the centre joint for two stretchers is starting to open up... Should I just plumb one side of the pier? The bricks are of variable lengths...

Another question if I may concerns a thinner brick (8mm thinner) that has been used on the wall previously. Should I just try to lose these in the wall at random or try to lay an entire of the odd size? There are quite a few of them so might not be able to stick them all in the back of the wall!

 

[stuart45]

I'd plumb just one side of the pier, and measure the other. Using a level to plumb up will always be slightly out. NHBC guidance is +/- 8m in 2500mm.
Plumbing both sides usually means big cross joints at the top.
With thinner bricks, either use the all in one complete course, or maybe use them as the headers. When using bricks of varying thickness, don't use the thinner ones for the corners, as you won't get the thicker ones down to the line.

 

[overlander matt]

I thought I would include a couple of other views of the wall. The field side is taking the rougher bricks and the replacements.

I've chosen to build the wall in two stages - I have yet to dismantle the far end as there are little owls that nest in the old tree and the wall gets used by the fledglings when they learn to fly. They'll be gone in a few weeks time so hopefully I can continue the far end and corner then.

I have a new pier to add to the wall at the far end but need to pour a small foundation for it first...



The arch is going to be interesting. I made a template of the old one and will make a former when the time comes... There's still a lot to do before I get to that point.

I've not decided what to do with the gate. It's just a recent addition. Any thoughts?

 

[Stevers]

As 'wrought iron' goes, it's a bit naff, but it's blocking the hole, gives a lovely view out and isn't doing any harm.

We inherited a similar sort of 'wrought iron' gate that allowed a view into our main garden from the pavement, so I replaced that with a used timber ledged and braced door (probably from a farm outbuilding) that just happened to exactly fit. Someone took our old one away and was very happy with it.

That's a splendid job on the brickwork! By the time I've picked through my pile of ugly stones and mixed the mortar by hand, I reckon to manage just 0.5m2 of random stone retaining wall in a short day. 100 bricks laid in a 9" wall is (I may have miscalculated) >0.8m2.

 

[stuart45]

Half a metre of random stonework sounds good progress to me.
I've found that working without a labourer does break up your rthym when bricklaying. The best time is for me is normally between about 11am and 1pm.

 

[Flyfisher]

I've not decided what to do with the gate. It's just a recent addition. Any thoughts?

If the view through the gate wasn't so lovely I'd be inclined to fit a suitably rustic oak door with heavy ironwork and leave it weather to a silver/grey. Perhaps even construct an oak door frame to exactly match the arched opening . . . I'm thinking of something like an old church door. Not a trivial job, but could be very satisfying.

However, if you want to keep the view then a similar but more 'blacksmithy' gate might be more appropriate.

The real problem, of course, is that there is a perfectly serviceable gate already in place so, if you're anything like me, that would stay while I consider the other options and meanwhile get on with one of the million other things on the to-do list!

 

[overlander matt]

If the view through the gate wasn't so lovely I'd be inclined to fit a suitably rustic oak door with heavy ironwork and leave it weather to a silver/grey. Perhaps even construct an oak door frame to exactly match the arched opening . . . I'm thinking of something like an old church door. Not a trivial job, but could be very satisfying.

However, if you want to keep the view then a similar but more 'blacksmithy' gate might be more appropriate.

The real problem, of course, is that there is a perfectly serviceable gate already in place so, if you're anything like me, that would stay while I consider the other options and meanwhile get on with one of the million other things on the to-do list!

Yes, who am I trying to fool? The gate will no doubt stay for now being more trouble than it is worth to change.

The view with the wall down is wonderful. Tempting not to rebuild the wall in many ways...

 

[overlander matt]

As 'wrought iron' goes, it's a bit naff, but it's blocking the hole, gives a lovely view out and isn't doing any harm.

We inherited a similar sort of 'wrought iron' gate that allowed a view into our main garden from the pavement, so I replaced that with a used timber ledged and braced door (probably from a farm outbuilding) that just happened to exactly fit. Someone took our old one away and was very happy with it.

That's a splendid job on the brickwork! By the time I've picked through my pile of ugly stones and mixed the mortar by hand, I reckon to manage just 0.5m2 of random stone retaining wall in a short day. 100 bricks laid in a 9" wall is (I may have miscalculated) >0.8m2.

We'll no doubt do nothing regarding the gate. It's a bit lightweight but allows a view of the fields.

 

[overlander matt]

An update on the wall progress... It's now up to course 21 with 5 more to go. It's time consuming but satisfying.



The left hand side has a corner that meets an existing wall. It's a bit complicated as the existing wall I want to join onto is in a bit of a state... There's also an old tree growing through the wall. This was it before I took the corner down - there had been a cement repair job and the two leaves of brickwork were not tied together. I'm wondering how to go about this repair.





The old tree has to stay for now although it makes me nervous! The farmer tells me it has looked like this for 20 years. On the left side of the tree is a new brick and cement wall that I need my wall to connect onto once the oder section to the right is taken down. Sadly the corner is not square and the adjoining wall is dog legged by the tree.

Any suggestions on how to blend the new wall I am building with the tree wall would be greatly appreciated. This is where I got to today. There are lots of bricks to clean up before I start laying again!



The little owls have been monitoring progress and seem to like the new wall.

 

[Cubist]

The little owls have been monitoring progress and seem to like the new wall.

Dammit, I've been wondering where Twoo and Twit had gone, they've been awol for a few weeks now.

 

[overlander matt]

Dammit, I've been wondering where Twoo and Twit had gone, they've been awol for a few weeks now.

They've been monitoring progress here and pooing all over any tools I've left out overnight!

 

[stuart45]

Any suggestions on how to blend the new wall I am building with the tree wall would be greatly appreciated. This is where I got to today. There are lots of bricks to clean up before I start laying again!

View attachment 16889

The little owls have been monitoring progress and seem to like the new wall.

View attachment 16885

By blending in, do you mean something like changing the footprint of the tree wall to go round it in a semi circle serpentine style?
New foundations are always a bit of an issue near trees. Sometimes a wide strip foundation can help, as they don't need the same depth as a standard strip foundation.

 

[Cubist]

They've been monitoring progress here and pooing all over any tools I've left out overnight!

Sorry about that.... house training was not in my brief.

 

[overlander matt]

By blending in, do you mean something like changing the footprint of the tree wall to go round it in a semi circle serpentine style?
New foundations are always a bit of an issue near trees. Sometimes a wide strip foundation can help, as they don't need the same depth as a standard strip foundation.

A good question! The tree wall was 80% rebuilt with new bricks but the last 20% at the tree end was cobbled together and not straight... The corner was a total mess it helped by the tree.


I could either just rebuild this section on the original bricks from ground level up or try to straighten it up with a new foundation. I'll probably look to build a shed in that corner in due course but that might mean 5 years at the current rate of progress! It's just a matter of making it look good for now. A rounded wall sounds good but might be a lot of work for a unskilled brickie like me!

Thanks!

 

[Cubist]

I've been struggling to identify the species of that tree, perhaps because it's smothered in ivy? If that's right then the ivy is responsible for much of the of the damage to the wall and, unless its throughly eradicated it will repeat that trick. The tree itself looks to be an an old and gnarly example of whatever it is and its roots will be large and extensive. Any excavations nearby for new footings will be severely hindered and perhaps risky to the tree, Also, should you deliberately or inadvertently kill it that would introduce the risk of subsidence as the larger root structures decay and collapse.

 

[overlander matt]

I've been struggling to identify the species of that tree, perhaps because it's smothered in ivy? If that's right then the ivy is responsible for much of the of the damage to the wall and, unless its throughly eradicated it will repeat that trick. The tree itself looks to be an an old and gnarly example of whatever it is and its roots will be large and extensive. Any excavations nearby for new footings will be severely hindered and perhaps risky to the tree, Also, should you deliberately or inadvertently kill it that would introduce the risk of subsidence as the larger root structures decay and collapse.

It's a walnut tree. A right gnarly old specimen that has lost a number of limbs over the years given the diameter of the trunk and current branches. If it were on my land, I would probably have looked to lop some of the longer branches to take some weight off the remains of the trunk.

I should probably pull off the ivy again from the tree. Once the owls are finished with their chicks soon. It's a constant battle here. The walls suffered massively from the ivy over the years. The wall I have taken down had ivy growing up between the two skins of brickwork and all over. It's remarkable the damage caused over time. The thickness of the ivy underground that has tracked along the whole length of the wall is incredible. Hopefully, I've dug up enough to disrupt it's return...

I have to expect a few issues in future from the trees near the wall. Hopefully the wall won't be knocked down after all this effort!