Setting out heights for foundation brick levels?

[brightspark]

Water level...

Nothing much has changed since Egyptian times.

i have a laser but also have a nice set of water levels. good quality with all brass fittings 4 quid from an idiot at car bootsale he didnt know what they were or worth . you can get some cheap plastic ones from screwfix not the nicest looking things but perfectly accurate

 

[malcolm]

Sorted it. Put a reference brick in every 3.5m working from the length gauge and levelled with a spirit level and long bit of wood. Turned it around and checked again. That gave a short enough distance to lay the bricks inbetween with the string line.

Piers can snag the line so I left spaces for them and laid them after the length of bricks between reference bricks had been laid. Seems to work.

This is going to take me a while if I don't get a bit faster at it. Only a third of the first course in today.

 

[dobbslc]

Don't worry about the speed you're going at, it took me about 3 months to build this ....

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Don't worry about the speed you're going at, it took me about 3 months to build this ....
View attachment 285308

All of a sudden I don't feel so slow.
I did about 200 a day on this.

 

[gaz1]

if your cement is too dry you cant just bed it with your hand

wet the cement more so that you can just bed it by gently pushing the brick onto the cement by hand

1st layer is always a pain second and third layer gets easier

lay your bricks along the wall level with string line just tap the back end down if need be

only do the front after a good length just to keep the wall straight up

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Off the back of this thread I finally bought a detector for my laser. Been meaning to for years.

 

[mtt.tr]

This popped into my head earlier and is a trap for those unknowing

When running to a string leave a minute gap between the string and bricks you are laying, otherwise you push the line off

 

[Blue Chips]

Off the back of this thread I finally bought a detector for my laser. Been meaning to for years.

Good purchase! I've found a laser detector to be handy for lots of applications beyond masonry or other construction/remodeling work. Here's a snapshot of me (at right) setting up our rotating laser level at an archaeology site, with another bloke holding the detector mounted on a stadia rod to measure relative elevations of a series of "shovel test pits."

 

[S-Rail]

make yourself a course gauge stick... if you are matching to existing use that ... put the bottom of the stick on top of a brick and mark the top of every course.

if its all new the gauge is brick height plus 10mm per course ... so for a 63mm brick its 73mm..

To start I would suggest you lay 1 course level and straight as you can, it rarely goes 100% , this gives you an overall level to start off. If its well out use the second course to get it right.

Once you have that you can build up a corner and an end, staggered out... using your gauge stick. next day you can use a very tight string line, or if you are confident build a stack in the middle using the gauge stick then use that to help support the line mid span (pay attention to the perpendicular bond !!)

dont use a weak mix, it will end up needing redoing in no time

Don’t think I am picking fault with your comment but all brickwork is set to 75mm per course in mortar , no matter what the exact of the brick is . , it is so that it works with block work which is 225 including bed joint . So generally you end up with a 12mm bed joint give or take .

Most modern bricks are a few mm either side of 63 to 66mm but this is down to the kilning process .

it does however become a pain in the Ar$3 when using old bricks , but is doable with a thin bed joint .

 

[S-Rail]

I've got the foundations in for the garden wall. It's a 20m run with 2 steps. Already figured out I can't use a string level for heights as it droops half an inch in the middle and doesn't leave room for bricks.

I can prop up the string line on a brick with spacers using the level every 3m. That'll get me so far. But I've got piers and at some point they will catch my string line and move it sideways.

What do you normally do? Tempted to stick a few bricks in at the right height along the way before putting the piers in. I've got a brick gauge worked out so it should be possible to figure out where the end of the wall should be. Also tempted to put them in using a very weak mix so I can remove the bricks and clean them up and use them again.

View attachment 285039

If your having trouble with your line dropping , try 20 lb / pound fishing line , you can easily stretch it 20mm and get next to no sag , but you will need something god to anchor / tie it to . Also it barely deviates when there is a wind / breeze .

the usual practice would be to build up the corners a foot or so , then use line blocks which allow you to get good tension .

 

[mike os]

Don’t think I am picking fault with your comment but all brickwork is set to 75mm per course in mortar , no matter what the exact of the brick is . , it is so that it works with block work which is 225 including bed joint . So generally you end up with a 12mm bed joint give or take .

Most modern bricks are a few mm either side of 63 to 66mm but this is down to the kilning process .

it does however become a pain in the Ar$3 when using old bricks , but is doable with a thin bed joint .

Incorrect... if you have imperial or special sizes 75mm doesn't work... especially if the brick is 50 or 75mm .....

 

[Edward Teach]

i have a laser but also have a nice set of water levels. good quality with all brass fittings 4 quid from an idiot at car bootsale he didnt know what they were or worth . you can get some cheap plastic ones from screwfix not the nicest looking things but perfectly accurate

What are these water levels you speak of !
I tried Google ?
I use a spirit level regularly.

 

[Edward Teach]

Don’t think I am picking fault with your comment but all brickwork is set to 75mm per course in mortar , no matter what the exact of the brick is . , it is so that it works with block work which is 225 including bed joint . So generally you end up with a 12mm bed joint give or take .

Most modern bricks are a few mm either side of 63 to 66mm but this is down to the kilning process .

it does however become a pain in the Ar$3 when using old bricks , but is doable with a thin bed joint .

Well said,
We are all here to learn

 

[Morrisman]

What are these water levels you speak of !
I tried Google ?
I use a spirit level regularly.

I made mine using a long length of clear 3/8 flexible hose, filled with water and each end tied to a 1 metre stick. Mark the water levels on each stick, when the bottom ends are on the ground, and you know that wherever you put the sticks the bottoms are dead level to each other when the water is on the marks. I fix one stick firm in the middle of where I’m working, at the level I want the bricks, concrete, whatever, and the other I can move around checking the level.

To be fair, I’ve only ever done it once myself, when building my block garage a decade or two ago, but i’ve seen them in use a lot.

 

[gaz1]

What are these water levels you speak of !
I tried Google ?
I use a spirit level regularly.

Essentials Water Level Kit 15m - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Flexible hose with graduated sight tubes and vent caps. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

www.screwfix.com

 

[S-Rail]

Incorrect... if you have imperial or special sizes 75mm doesn't work... especially if the brick is 50 or 75mm .....

Of course it wouldn’t work with imperial brick as per jointing work but can be made to work depending on the brick , as given imp is larger , ie 70 plus mm . the joints end up tighter if you want to maintain with

if you read my point , it was pointing out you don’t just add 10mm to a brick , that’s not how modern brickwork is done . If you did , brickwork wouldn’t work with the block coursing / wall ties and insulation . Two stories up you’ll be bending wall ties up or down and then risk damp transmitting to the internal skins and ripping them through the insulation which is a no no .

99% of bricks purchased now are metric with the exception of special orders to match an existing / original brick style where you have to juggle the joint to work .

go into to merchants and ask for an imperial brick , and they’ll hand you a couple of brick selections out of hundreds which are metric .

If you are talking about the old solid clay bricks they are random in size and a pain an no change of coursing anywhere near 75mm but the perforated clay , it is achievable using a thin joint , which is close to how they would of originally been laid using a lime paste mortar .

like I said , I wasn’t picking a fight , just helping the OP with setting out modern standard brickwork

cheers Sam

 

[mike os]

Of course it wouldn’t work with imperial brick as per jointing work but can be made to work depending on the brick , as given imp is larger , ie 70 plus mm . the joints end up tighter if you want to maintain with

if you read my point , it was pointing out you don’t just add 10mm to a brick , that’s not how modern brickwork is done . If you did , brickwork wouldn’t work with the block coursing / wall ties and insulation . Two stories up you’ll be bending wall ties up or down and then risk damp transmitting to the internal skins and ripping them through the insulation which is a no no .

99% of bricks purchased now are metric with the exception of special orders to match an existing / original brick style where you have to juggle the joint to work .

go into to merchants and ask for an imperial brick , and they’ll hand you a couple of brick selections out of hundreds which are metric .

If you are talking about the old solid clay bricks they are random in size and a pain an no change of coursing anywhere near 75mm but the perforated clay , it is achievable using a thin joint , which is close to how they would of originally been laid using a lime paste mortar .

like I said , I wasn’t picking a fight , just helping the OP with setting out modern standard brickwork

cheers Sam

I have worked in construction for over 35 years...

 

[Morrisman]

Of course it wouldn’t work with imperial brick as per jointing work but can be made to work depending on the brick , as given imp is larger , ie 70 plus mm . the joints end up tighter if you want to maintain with

if you read my point , it was pointing out you don’t just add 10mm to a brick , that’s not how modern brickwork is done . If you did , brickwork wouldn’t work with the block coursing / wall ties and insulation . Two stories up you’ll be bending wall ties up or down and then risk damp transmitting to the internal skins and ripping them through the insulation which is a no no .

99% of bricks purchased now are metric with the exception of special orders to match an existing / original brick style where you have to juggle the joint to work .

go into to merchants and ask for an imperial brick , and they’ll hand you a couple of brick selections out of hundreds which are metric .

If you are talking about the old solid clay bricks they are random in size and a pain an no change of coursing anywhere near 75mm but the perforated clay , it is achievable using a thin joint , which is close to how they would of originally been laid using a lime paste mortar .

like I said , I wasn’t picking a fight , just helping the OP with setting out modern standard brickwork

cheers Sam

A house round my way had a big extension on the side, and the brickie managed to get the coursing slightly different to the house brickwork, so as well as being the wrong colour brick, it just looks plain odd.

 

[malcolm]

My bricks are 72mm. Bought a whole load to mix in that were advertised as 73mm but turned out to be closer to 75mm. Slightly longer too. It's a pain as I'm continuing existing brickwork that had narrowish 8mm mortar gaps. Worked out the gauging for length to accommodate both sizes, but height is where I might have trouble. Using the same lime as the rest of the house which should help blend it in.

Got things set out and started on the second course where the wall steps down. Getting a lot easier when I can just string a line between bricks.

PS - red wine is good for water levels. Less sticky than water but leaves a stain inside the tubes.

 

[VeryFEDUP]

One good thing about my job. I always have any amount of top end survey kit about my person.

I think I must be one of the few people to use a £20000 robotic total station to make sure his compost roof was draining nicely towards the water butts!