Long garden wall with no piers

[newbuild]

I need to build a new approx. 2m-high 20m-long brick wall (one-brick thick) in a London garden.

Ideally, I would like it to be flush. Am I able to get away with building such a wall without piers or other protruding reinforcements? Are there any workarounds or "hacks"?

I've attached a few reference images of what I would like to achieve.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

[nod]

You won’t get away with it with a single skin

The ones in the photo are double skin 

[gravelrash]

You could drop I beams vertically in to concrete and build panels in between...but would look crap.  Either double or Pillars.. Remember- you have criminal not just civil liability for defective construction if it falls and injures someone.

[newbuild]

56 minutes ago, nod said:

You won’t get away with it with a single skin

The ones in the photo are double skin 

 

11 minutes ago, gravelrash said:

You could drop I beams vertically in to concrete and build panels in between...but would look crap.  Either double or Pillars.. Remember- you have criminal not just civil liability for defective construction if it falls and injures someone.

 

Thanks for the advice. So, if I constructed in a similar style to the illustration attached I would be OK?

[markc]

The one above is ideal, the other thing you need to consider is stability - does it turn a corner at the ends? will it be subject to high wind loads? likelihood of crowds or groups of people leaning on it? 20m and 2m high is a big surface to catch wind and will need something to stop it falling over as one big slab

[newbuild]

21 minutes ago, markc said:

The one above is ideal, the other thing you need to consider is stability - does it turn a corner at the ends? will it be subject to high wind loads? likelihood of crowds or groups of people leaning on it? 20m and 2m high is a big surface to catch wind and will need something to stop it falling over as one big slab

 

It's in a relatively sheltered setting, so wind shouldn't be too much of a concern. And groups of people leaning on it definitely won't be.

Do you think it will still require piers or supports of some kind? I don't like the look of piers, but obviously don't want it falling down!

[Bitpipe]

Just now, newbuild said:

 

It's in a relatively sheltered setting, so wind shouldn't be too much of a concern. And groups of people leaning on it definitely won't be.

Do you think it will still require piers or supports of some kind? I don't like the look of piers, but obviously don't want it falling down!

 

Ask a SE for advice.

[Temp]

[Brickie]

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/20/fences_gates_and_garden_walls/2

 

Note-wall thickness of half brick is single skin,and then multiples thereof. 

[MortarThePoint]

Think caref6about the damp layer as well. Your first picture uses two layers on non perforated blue engineering bricks. Using plastic doc can create a real weak spot for walls like this.

 

If you're making a 9" wall and it only has to look good on one side I can imagine  you incorporating 100mm X 100mm reinforced concrete posts built in to one face. The posts would be buried a couple of feet down and lend a fair amount of strength. Would need to be confident that the posts wouldn't 'rot'.

Edited June 12, 2021 by MortarThePoint

[newbuild]

2 hours ago, Brickie said:

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/20/fences_gates_and_garden_walls/2

 

Note-wall thickness of half brick is single skin,and then multiples thereof. 

 

This is very helpful, thank you.

 

Interestingly, the advice in it differs from another guide I found from the Brick Development Association on freestanding walls https://www.brick.org.uk/admin/resources/s-free-standing-walls.pdf. They advise a 215mm wall can be up to 1950mm high, while Planning Portal advise a maximum height of 1450mm, though this may be because the latter do not make a distinction between "exposed" and "sheltered" locations.

 

As it's a reasonably long wall, I think a 325/327mm thick wall would be the safest option.

[newbuild]

2 hours ago, MortarThePoint said:

Think caref6about the damp layer as well. Your first picture uses two layers on non perforated blue engineering bricks. Using plastic doc can create a real weak spot for walls like this.

 

If you're making a 9" wall and it only has to look good on one side I can imagine  you incorporating 100mm X 100mm reinforced concrete posts built in to one face. The posts would be buried a couple of feet down and lend a fair amount of strength. Would need to be confident that the posts wouldn't 'rot'.

 

Thanks for the tip!

[Declan52]

11 minutes ago, newbuild said:

 

This is very helpful, thank you.

 

Interestingly, the advice in it differs from another guide I found from the Brick Development Association on freestanding walls https://www.brick.org.uk/admin/resources/s-free-standing-walls.pdf. They advise a 215mm wall can be up to 1950mm high, while Planning Portal advise a maximum height of 1450mm, though this may be because the latter do not make a distinction between "exposed" and "sheltered" locations.

 

As it's a reasonably long wall, I think a 325/327mm thick wall would be the safest option.

A double skin wall with a pier every 5m would be much cheaper. So a pier at both ends and at 5m,10m and 15m.

[Brickie]

+1. 
If one side is more on show than the other (e.g. if the garden side will have bushes,shrubs or whatever in front of it) then you could just have piers that side (so 327mm piers on a 215mm wall,flush to one side.)