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This blog can be also found at this link, House brick base continues.
Welcome to our article,
Dear readers, in this article, we continue to build a house brick-base. In our last article, we have started to describe how to build a brick base on a sloping building site, we had reached the stage, where the bricklayers had set-up and built the southern wall high enough to lay some brick reinforcement and the damp course. Now, to keep our descriptions simple and accurate, we must assume that they are leaving an opening for a door, then continue to build this wall as high as the first brick on the concrete foundation at the highest corner. They need to do that, so, they can check and make sure that all the walls are level and there is no mistake in the level of the brickwork. Anyhow, once the bricklayers have done that, it starts to be easier for everyone to work on this brick base, since the whole house dimensions have been set-up, and everything is level.
Now let me make it clear, to start a house
base on a stepped foundation is not easy, and the bricklayers must be careful
and make no mistakes, especially on a sloping site and stepped foundations,
since the foundations may not be level, because of the extra difficulty that
the concreter encounter when laying the foundations on a sloping site.
Anyhow, when building every tradesman must
rely on their skills, they must make sure that what they are doing is the right
thing to do, they cannot blame somebody else for their own mistakes, therefore,
when they find a mistake from the previous tradesman, whether they are
concreters or other trades, whenever possible they should try to fix whatever
there is to fix themselves, when that cannot be done, their foreman can recall
the previous tradesman to fix their mistakes, before they go ahead and make the
mistake bigger and more costly to fix later.
That is why the bricklayer cannot trust
blindly the concreters. Anyhow, the bricklayers that are building this brick
base are doing the right thing. They have built the lower part of the brick
base level and they have made the first full course of bricks all around the
house base. Now they can relax a bit, as everything is in the right place at
the right level and there is no pig in the brickwork, as the last course of
bricks makes a full circle of the house and ends up level, so, there is no pig
in the brickwork, now, let us explain what is a pig in the brickwork and how it
can happen.
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Explaining a pig in the brickwork
Let me explain how a pig in the brickwork can
happen.
Here I need to say that this saying, can be a
local saying that explains; the brickwork is set in a way like a spring coil,
so it never ends.
Now let me explain how it can happen, and how
the bricklayer can create a pig in the brickwork. This mistake can happen on a sloping site,
like the sloping site we are working on now. It can happen when the brick-walls
are not exactly level, and the bricklayer ties the line on the wrong course of
bricks, when they start building the last wall.
Therefore, let us go back to build our brick
base, and let us assume that the bricklayer that is setting the wall on the
eastern side is having some difficulty in setting the wall exactly level,
because the foundation is not level, so, the bricklayer believe that he can make
the walls level, by making the bed joint
thicker before he reaches ground level; therefore, he lets his northern corner
be a couple of centimeters lower than his southern corner on the same course of
bricks, you see this is a long wall and if you only use the spirit level, you
can hardly see that it is not level, but with the proper level or water level
it will show the difference.
At the same time, the bricklayer that is
setting the western wall is having some difficulties too and for the same
reason is starting his wall and letting his northern corner be a couple of
centimeters higher that his southern corner on the same course of bricks, he
also believes that he can set everything right by making very small joint
before ground level is reached.
Now, there is a difference of four centimeters
at the northern wall, this is a problem, you see, four centimeters is more than
half a brick, therefore, the bricklayer can easily tie the line on the wrong
course; this is how a pig in the brickwork is created.
To make sure that there is no pig in it, the
bricklayer needs to make sure that the walls are started level from the start,
and then run a full course all around the entire building. The brick course
should be like a closed even ring, and make sure that the walls are level, this
is the only way to avoid mistakes. So, it is better to spend extra time at the
start and get it perfectly level. I hope I have explained it properly and
clearly, how a pig in the brickwork can be created.
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Building the rest of the
brick-base.
Let us assume that everything has been set
properly, so, all the brickwork around is level and at the right alignment. But
to make sure, we double check everything again by running a type measure and
seeing that it agrees with the plans measurement, this now is a very simple
job, because everything is set in hard cement and everything is level, so, if
there is any mistake in the measurements it will show up easily.
Having checked everything and found that
everything is right, we can proceed to complete the brick base. Anyhow, we have
built the lower part of the base one brick higher than the highest corner of
the concrete foundations.
Since the whole base has been set, the best
way is to build higher the northern wall, which is now the lowest wall, we want
to build it at least to above ground level, so that the trances can be back
filled and then it is easier for everybody to walk around the building site,
this is an easier job now since everything is in the right place at the right
level. So, we build this wall above ground level. Having built the northern
wall above ground level, now we must choose which wall to build next. But at
the same time, let us see what the bricklayer can use to speed up the
brickwork, like the bricklayer’s profiles, these are devises that can be
attached to the brick walls to help the bricklayers. So, let us explain the
bricklayer’s profiles.
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This photo is to show you, how bricklayers profile look like when attached to the walls. The bricklayers profile are very helpful, since you do not need to build the corners, so, you can lay more bricks, they are also very accurate, since the gauge is marked on them, so, you cannot make mistakes, once you know how to use them.
Bricklayer's profiles
Bricklayers’ profiles are helpful, because it
eliminates the process of building the corners first, it also helps to keep the
gauge easily, since the gauge is marked on the profile. I have always had a
profile with me when I was laying bricks. Some of these profiles can be bought,
but if there are not readily available on the market, and there is a lot of
brickwork that needs to be done, by using your own creativeness you can make
one yourself, all that is needed is a straight edge marked with the gauge that
you can fasten to the walls.
There are at least two types of profile that
the bricklayers can use to speed up his work, the main one is used for external
corners. This external corner profile needs to be supported both ways to be
effective, so, if you haven’t got one and you cannot buy one, you need to
configure a device that can be tighten both ways, when you are making your own
profile. You have to plan it in such a way that you can grab a brick from the
joint on one side and two bricks on the other side, so that a sort of triangle
is made, and balance can be kept.
The internal corner profile can be a lot
easier to make, and here I wonder why people don’t use it, since it is easier
to make. All what is needed is again a straight edge with a hole or a few holes
drilled in it and a special made up bolt or two that are thinner than the
brick’s joint; these special bolts need to be modified and instead of their normal
bolt head they should have a short cross say 30 to 40 mm welded at one end, and
at the other end treaded with a butterfly nut. All the bricklayer needs to do
now is to leave a hole in the bed joint near the corner, or clear the joint
with a plugging chisel, then he puts one of his bolts in the hole of his
straight edge; now he can push the bolt in the joint until the modified bolt
head reaches the other side of the brick, then he turns the whole bolt 90
degrees, so that the modified bolt head is now vertical, and then he can
tighten the bolt with his butterfly nut and at the same time make sure that the
profile is plumb and he can use this profile instead of building the corner
with his spirit level.
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What needs to be done to complete the brick base?
Let us now assume, that because the ground is
sloping the base of this house has been divided, in such a way that the lower
end can be used for garage laundry and utility room. To achieve that they have
dug up the ground level about half the length of the house, and then dug a
foundation to support a retaining wall and pillars to support the house above,
the rest of the ground under the house will be left the way it is, because it is too costly to dig it out.
Anyhow, let us complete this brick base, as
we have said above the lower side is now a certain height where the windows openings
should be started. The windows are going to be tied to the brickwork, so, they
need to be put in the right place and braced while the walls are being built.
The bricklayers need to be careful that the windows remain plumb and in the
right place while he attaches the window ties to the window and builds the tie
into the brickwork. Here I may have to point out that placing the windows on
the walls at the right height and at the right place, it’s one of those jobs
that in this part of the world there is no rule who has to do it, say if the
bricklayer is paid a fixed price for the amount of bricks he has laid, when he
is placing and fixing the window on the wall he might not be paid, therefore,
nobody is willing to do it, but there is no set rule and not much money for
doing it, therefore, everybody wants to pass the buck to the builder or other
trade people.
Having said that, now let us assume that
everything has been done according to trading practice and the windows have
been built into the brickwork accordingly. But here I want to point out that we
have not talked about the lower part of the brick base that is being built on
the higher part of the land, so, what needs to be done there?
The lower part of the brick base is built
together with the rest of the base, but because it is lower it can be just one
single brick thick with engaged piers under the house. These engaged piers may
have a double purpose, one is to strengthen the walls and they may be used to
carry the weight of the house if this part of the house is going to be a brick
veneer. In this part of the house because there are no windows the bricklayer
needs to leave some air vents, so that a minimum of ventilation is achieved.
All this is going to be done according to specifications, as there must be some
local rules and they may not be the same everywhere.
What we have written in this article is approximately what happens when we bricklayers build a brick base on a slopping piece of ground. Now that we have built our imaginary house brick base, we believe that we have said enough in this article. So, see you soon in our next article, Building a veneer house.
To see more click o9n this link, House brick base continues.
See you soon.
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