I started on my garden wall on Saturday. It was the first brick I had ever laid in my life, so it's going to be a steep learning curve.
Got the 1st course down OK, and then started on the second using the 'Bricky' tool, which to me is invaluable as I would never me able to manually judge the thickness of mortar.
Anyway, after laying the 1st & last bricks of the course, I attached a tight string line to the 2 end bricks and started the laying in earnest.
I was dismayed to find after laying nearly the whole course true to the line that my 2nd course appeared to dip in the middle. I checked the end bricks and they hadn't moved, but the string had stretched. I moved one of the end bricks by almost 2 inches to get the line tight again, and had to take all the bricks up and start again
I will add that I was using string supplied in a 'Builders Line' kit from B&Q.
I can't believe that string can be so stretchy and in such a short time it stretched out. For the string experts out there, is there any type I should be using ?
what brickies normally do is build the corners first then use corner blocks and a nylon line seen here
YES the line does have to be a lot tauter than you would imagine
and BTW no one i know uses anything but white line
good luck and keep your bricks covered from the rain,wet brick are a no no
LLL
New string always needs a few stretches to get the excess elasticity out of it. You pull it taut and 5 mins later it's sagging. You need to keep checking it.
The same is true for wet or soggy string lines, regardless of how old the string may be.
Unlike LLL, I always preferred natural fibre lines. I always seemed to struggle with nylon or polypropylene. They slip on line pins when tied into a cow-hitch, they dig into your fingers when fastening a half-hitch, they are a bugger for untwisting unless the end is burned to a melt.
i use any kind of line,i just put a quick example up for the Op
but very few pros use coloured line
we often leave lines under tension overnight to get the stretch out of them
and probably once a fortnight i break a line through pulling it to hard *the line that is* :;):
for a garden wall if it is relatively short you may be better off using a straight edge
good luck
LLL
Dave_L wrote:Nice get-out sentence there Tony!!!!!!
not really a get out dave,i could use washing line if i had to IYKWIM
but the thing that i teach all young brickies
pull it tight!
i used to use natural fibre lines but they seem to fray quickly when using corner blocks
the new bricklayer at work has profiles and we have used them but i dont think the finish is as good with profiles as a level built corner
IMHO those brickies tools are a complete waste of space#
good luck with it paul,you WILL need it
i'm using about 100 / 150ft of line a week. I have to set a line on the bottom steel mat to set out my lateral runs, then i run a line carried by rebar bearers to get my main run direction and lay the bottom of my pipework to it. All the line is sacraficial as the pipework sits on it. ???
The Irish lad who does the demonstrations for that Brickie yoke at trade and DIY shows is an Olympic standard bullshitter.
I saw him at a DIY show some years back, and he assumed I was just a member of the public. The yoke itself would cause roofers to fall off the scaffolding in fits of laughter if you walked on site with it, but that's nothing compared to the hoots of derision that would be heard if he repeated his claim to have laid 8,000 bricks in a single day using the damned thing!
I realise that the Bricky tool has no place amongst professionals.
But what people with hardly any experience (like me!)who want to build simple structures like a small garden wall?
Thanks for your advise concerning string. I think I'll pre-stretch some before I next use it.
As for the Bricky Tool, like Bob I had never laid a brick in my life before and I doubt that I could have judged the tickness of mortar to spread without it. So for me, a complete amateur, it will be invaluable.
But I'm sure pros would be insulted at the mere thought of using one.
i had never laid bricks but grew up on building sites so had seen and carried for lots of brickies, its all in the wrist and the mix but doesnt take long to judge your beds
cornering up is far harder and spacing etc
Edited By GB_Groundworks on 1289396395
Giles
Groundworks and Equestrian specialists, prestige new builds and sports pitches. High Peak, Cheshire, South Yorkshire area.
I'd say if you want to build a BBQ or a garden seat from brick the brickie might be ok
but if you use it for a wall it will look cack,pants rubbish
any wet trade is a skill that must be learnt
you can take your time sawing a piece of wood or nailing some tiles on but a wet trade has an element of hand eye coordination
good luck
LLL
my parents neighbour built a "wall" once, took him 3 days and a week later it was knocked down and his wife paid a brickie to lay it and it only took him 4hrs. ???
