Brickie

Have you looked on OS map to see if there’s benchmark near you? Commonly found on Churches or other historic buildings-somewhere considered ‘permanent.’

Normally I would do the blockwork first BUT care needs to be taken when setting out the openings,especially if you’re getting handmade specials. It would really help to have a sample batch on site of say 20 or 30 so you can ‘dry bond’ around the building & see how your openings work to full bricks. It’s normally okay to move an opening 20mm or more from the drawing to avoid having cuts up the reveals,& also to play around a little with the opening sizes for same reason. It’s normal for an architect (if they’re any good) to design the openings & intermediate piers to brick sizes but if your special bricks come in 5mm longer or shorter than standard 215mm then all that’s out the window (excuse the pun.) Also the height of the brick will need to be known-if they’re 73mm or 78mm with a bed joint then allowance will need to be made in the block coursing (maybe with bed joint reinforcement if bigger) or an Abbey style sliding slot system for the cavity ties..Ties running down or up significantly in the cavity sounds alarm bells for whoever’s signing it off,as ties running I. To the building could potentially cause damp issues.

https://goo.gl/images/WZUXSp Here’s a plinth detail,though not on a pillar. Single course of plinth maybe looks better in your scenario. Care needs to be taken when setting out,that you’re setting out for the reduced wall above,& the courses up to plinth are built accordingly,or you can end up with massive or tight perps when you reduce. The mitres on the plinth also need care,unless you can get specials for the corners which look much better & make the job less hassle.

If you don’t want engineering bricks all the way up,why not make it wider by half a brick at the bottom & step it in with a plinth course & then facing brick? Looks nice on a pillar,IMO. The size you show would be 2.5 bricks square,the smallest dimension for true Flemish bond,if you wanted.

With the thin joint ststem I believe you can take it right up to wall plate but you should speak to a rep or someone before considering that. For s&c mortar,really the biggest consideration is safety. If you are having catnc style lintels then you can only go up to head of frame & rack back;if they’re separate lintels for inner & outer leaf then you could go up to first floor joist. I certainly wouldn’t put the joists on though without the outer leaf being up first though. Your enemy is going to be the wind-any work above 4-5 courses is going to need bracing to stop it being blown over.

If the height of the gullets etc is causing you an issue & you need to bring external ground level up to FFL or thereabouts,then you could have a Dpc wraparound detail (standard detail for level thresholds & wheelchair access,etc.) So,your Dpc goes on level with ffl as described & you then lay the first 3 courses on to a Dpc left flapping against the building. On top of the 3rd course this Dpc is folded back out onto the brickwork & the work goes up as normal. This gives you a barrier to any rainwater splash ups penetrating inside the building. Again,I’d explain your situation to the tf company & ask them to supply you with their standard detail. Level thresholds are commonplace now so by rights they should have one. Cavity trays used to be standard on tf,primarily to prevent a build up of mortar droppings around the frame sole plate. Years since I built one (hopefully years till I do again) and back then it was standard for the cavity to be left empty & ventilated. From what I’ve seen on here,that may not be the case now so,again,another one for the tf company to clarify for you. Dont feel like you’re being a nuisance to them-for their warranty to be worth anything they need to arm you with all the info necessary for you to build compliant with their system.

Ok,-forget the Dpc under b&b. An argument could be made that it’s unnecessary,but let’s not muddy things further. It’s there as a belt & braces approach,but is NOT & never will be anything to do with what we all refer to as your DPC height. Unless there’s a very good reason otherwise,it will be at your FFL. End of. :))

The pink gear may be B&Q/Homebase ‘just add water mortar.’ I had to do a patch job with it the other year when the client (a builder) hadn’t ordered any sand & cement for a Sunday job. Christ,it was awful. What part of the country are you in?

Last couple of jobs with Staff blues,I tried painting them with Linseed Oil immediately before laying. Comes up a treat,gets all over your gloves & tools though!

Or could you push the external walls out to keep your internal layout as it is planned? Never dealt with planners myself so have no idea.

It’s common practice to lay s Dpc under b& b but,confusingly,this isn’t your actual Dpc height. Noramally-Dpc will be level with your finished floor. Internally there will be a Dpc under the sole plate of the tf & I’m guessing your membrane will lap into that,creating a continuous barrier. Externally,it’s common to have anything between 2-6 courses of face brickwork off your trench block to Dpc. If there is a level threshold detail then additional Dpc will be needed 150mm above,extending 1m past the rise & lapped with the Dpc running right round. Ask your tf supplier for a typical Dpc & membrane detail for the design you have.

@pdf27 the only issue I have with those figures is when people lay the blocks flat,as was suggested further up the thread. If you stand a block upright,as it is laid in a 100mm wall,& smash it with with a club hammer on the top,it takes a hell of a lot before you break it. Indeed,lumps will start to come off at the point of impact rather than the whole block failing. Try the same with a block laid flat-2 hits tops & it’s cracked. For this reason,when I’m doing 9” blockwork I always double up the coursing I.e. 2 courses are laid to the same bond & then the next two half bond & so on. Or,a method called ‘block & flat’-2 flat laid to the same bond as just mentioned & then 1 course laid half bond & upright. Need a brickie to be able to lay from both sides for this method though. Ive been on jobs where it was forbidden to lay flat,where the wall was carrying a precast floor for example.

You could upgrade to a 140mm wall if your heart’s set on it,would save a lot of mortar compared to a 215mm wall.

What’s the local norm in your location? In some places it’s common to have a rendered plinth up to Dpc,meaning it can be built in concrete blocks & sulphate resistant mortar. Ps nice to see you back @JSHarris,coming in & blowing me away with your knowledge of my trade! We should really have learned a bit more at college regarding history of bricks etc,but then I guess a lot of 18 yr old apprentices would just zone out if we went too deep.

I’m stuck with what’s there as the beam & block is already in. Only going to be a bloody pub as well!!

For a TF a system scaffold is ideal. Working through the lifts on an already erected scaffold is a PITA.

No scope for wider cavity as the job’s up to block & beam already. I’ll just have to put such an astronomical surcharge in the price for fitting boards that the economic argument might prevail :))

Looks like a maximum of 8 courses before the brick on edge ties the top in,which is acceptable (max vertical spacing 600mm.) We put them in at 6 courses (450mm) on cavity walking as that matches two courses of block.

Thanks for your replies. I agree that the ‘real world’ installation of this system is never going to achieve the u-value it should on paper & the beads would give a more accurate figure of what you would actually get. My problem is that the client has no technical background & isn’t confident to challenge the architect for a revision.

Is your concern purely aesthetic? The quality of the work doesn’t look fantastic,but a touch up with some brick acid would help a lot. Structurally,as you’re next to a canal I’d want to see a sign-off from an SE,saying that the existing wall has the structural integrity to carry the additional load imposed by the new masonry.

Hi all, Has anyone done (or knows of) a cost/performance comparison of blown in beads against Rigid board cavity insulation? Been asked to price a job with a wall make up if 100mm aerated block/100mm cavity with 90mm Kingspan or similar/100mm face brick. For many reasons it’s gping to be an absolute pain to use this system (not least a lot of 327mm piers) so I’m trying to talk the client round. Tia, Brickie

Love the improvised corner block! :))

Sorry for my late participation in this thread-was cruising South London basking in the envious glances at my 07 plate Transit Crew Cab whilst pre 1982 Simple Minds pumped out of the speakers. Okay,too far for me. My nephew is in Leighton B’stard & I have old friends in St Ives & St Neots who may be able to help-pm me if you want & Ill give you some numbers. Readymix-I’m not a fan. The colour issue can be solved by gauging your materials into the mixer with a bucket (6 buckets of sand to 1 cement or whatever your spec is.) Colour will always be the same no matter how many labourers you sack :)) Also-with Ready spread if the weather is worse than predicted you can end up with a load of unusable rock hard gear in the skip that you’ve paid for.

Until not so long ago,with the state of our post 2008 finances combined with ftb status & two young kids,that was the approximate value of our two vehicles combined :))

Can you do a soil stack in cast iron? If so,that would surely tick the conservation officer’s box (no pun intended-leave it @Nickfromwales!)