-
Welcome to out blog, Menfranco general blog
and this post, Getting ready to lay bricks
-
Bricklayer trowel showing position of how to cut mortar to keep the face of the bricks clean.
A bricklayer laying bricks on a double wall, using a header course and a stretcher bond course
Getting ready
to lay bricks
As we have already said in our previous articles, the first
thing that is necessary to do on a building site is to set up a profile, in
order to make sure that the house is set where the house plan says it should
be, therefore a profile should already be there and if it is not, then one
should be erected prior to commencing to lay bricks. Now just to make things a
bit easier let us assume that the profile are in place, and also that there are
no other previous works done on the house, therefore there is no set fix height
of the finished brickwork take or leave one brick thickness.
So now let me explain the procedure when we start working on
this brick base of the house; first of all, we bricklayers go to the profiles
and tie the end of the brickies line where it says it should be, and this is
the outside alignment of the house, then walk to the opposite side while
unrolling the line and tie it again where it should be on the marked profile;
here I need to point out to the DIY for the first time that the line must be stretched
very tight, so that it stays in a straight line even if there is a wind
blowing. Now that we have set the first line, we are going to set another line
right across the first line and where these two lines meet is the very first
corner of the brick wall of the house.
Now with a plump bob or a spirit level mark on to the foundation
where the outside corner of the first brick is going to be laid, and you are
ready to lay the first brick. Of course it is necessary to repeat this
procedure for every corner of the house. It is also necessary or perhaps
helpful when the foundation of the house is not level to mark all the steps, so
that you know that the wall is being built exactly in the right place; you see
to start laying bricks in the foundation is a very hard and demanding job for
the bricklayers, let us just imagine that you have to lay bricks below where
you are standing, and where you are standing is uneven ground and if you are
unlucky it might even be wet. So if you can make everything easier by marking
all the critical points it would help. This of course is only step one and step
two is about levels, so let us see how that can be done.
--------------------------------
Making sure
that we start the brickwork level
Now that we have marked all the corners and everywhere else, so
that we can start building this brick base on the right alignment we need to
start also thinking about the levels; you see 99% of the bricks must be laid
level and plumb, unless there is a specific reason for the walls to be leaning
and this reason must be well understood, before we start laying bricks for this
special sort of job and we have to say that this does not happen when we build
houses.
Anyhow, in order to start the brickwork level, we need to know
if the two opposite corner are exactly level, and if not what is the difference
between them, so that we will be able to start the brick walls at the right
level. With short walls it is enough to use the spirit level to do everything,
but with longer walls we need to use other sophisticated levels. Therefore it
is necessary to mark the levels on every corner, so that the difference is
known to the bricklayers before he starts laying bricks, because most of the
difference must be rectified well below ground level and if possible on the
first course of bricks that we lay on the foundation.
Today there are a few types of level that we can use, some of
these levels are very expansive like surveyors level and other types, they also
need an expert to use them and a helper at the other end to mark when
instructed to do so, therefore it is very helpful if one of these levels is
being used on the site to mark all the levels around the house base for all the
trades that are working on the house, but there are times when the bricklayers
are left to their own devises, and they have to work out their own levels.
Now the bricklayers have already so many tools to carry around
including the mixer and wheelbarrows, therefore they try to avoid carrying
expansive levels with themselves even when they know how to use them. So, some
bricklayers use even today the water level, because it is most simple and cheep
level, as it is only a clear hose filled up with water and it is very easy to
use, all you have to do is to fill up this hose with clean water and at the
same time make sure that there are no air bubbles in it and you have a very
accurate level ready to use. Let me explain how it works, if there are no air
bubbles in the hose filled up with water, the water in the two ends of the hose
are always level, whether they are beside each other (and this is the way to
check it out if it is working properly) or when they are far apart. So if you
mark the top of a brick on a corner that you have already built you can mark
this same level on the other corner, and therefore you know that this two
marked points are level; then, you should stretch a brickies line between these
two points making sure that the line sits exactly on the mark that you have
made; now all the level below this line can be worked out easily from the
bricklayer, using a type measure or a gauge rod.
The bricklayer can work out what to do if there is any
difference on the foundation, and also make sure that it is the same course of
bricks by running a full course of bricks between these two marked points, at
this stage the bricklayer not only has to take care of the levels, but he also
needs to make sure about the bond, therefore he needs to start from the lowest
corner and lay a full course of bricks until he reaches the other corner, this
will make sure that the brickwork is started level and with the right bond.
This procedure should now be repeated also on the other walls until all the
walls are set up, if everything is done properly we should end up with the last
wall being the easiest to start, since we have already set both corner to build
the other walls, but be careful here that there is not a pig in it, which
sometimes can even happen when we are not careful enough and the line is set on
the wrong course of the bricks.
Explaining what is meant that there is a pig in the brickwork
and how to make sure that everything is set right from the very beginning. To
make 100% sure that everything is level and that there is no pig in the
brickwork, it is necessary that you run a full course of bricks all around the
building at the same level, if that can be done and there is no brick sticking
out it is okay. I hope that I have explained it clear enough. Now let us see
how this can be avoided when we are working on a sloping site and the
foundations have several steps in it, because this is the most likely place
that this mistake can be made.
------------------------------------------
Menfranco general blog
Getting ready to lay bricks
IS GOING TO BE CONTINUED;
Next time with, Laying bricks
on a sloping site
---------------------------------------
Yola.com
No comments:
Post a Comment