Period Garden Wall Coping

[RBailey]

You wall is looking good Malcom.


I thought I would trim our front hedge this weekend, that turned into removing a bit of Ivy.


I HATE IVV !!!!!

That turned into needing to re-cement the capping :roll:


Re-pointing also required but the capping was urgent as the wall is one a public footpath.

Cheers,
Richard B.

 

[overlander matt]

Looks like it is coming along well Malcolm. Out of interest, how many bricks are you laying a day? Do you find there is lots of faffing around finding the right brick? I've just finished a 5-day bricklaying basics course very and now feel confident to tackle the garden wall projects that await in due course but I'm keen to see how others are getting on with their wall rebuilds. How do you normally point/finish the joints in your brickwork?

Keep up the good work!

Matt

 

[a twig]

For me personally the right brick is usually whichever one happens to be the nearest.

Finishing wise, I slightly “over mortar” so you get a good “squish” out the sides. Whip the excess off with the edge of the trowel, then use a brick jointer once the mortar has stiffened a bit to get a nice finish.

Once I’ve finished for the day I’ll take any excess mortar and go back over pointing in any holes or cockups. That’s usually just using the jointer to shove it in off a trowel.

I’ll freely admit I’m very slow, most I’ve done in a day is probably 40-50 (no labourer and mixing up by hand) - caveated with I’ve never had a long straight wall I could set up a line for etc so each one has been spirit levelled. Under ideal conditions I could maybe do 70-80?

 

[stuart45]

There are over 20 different types of joint finishes, but I think the worst is the Weeping joint sometimes used in the USA. Looks like the inside of a poorly built cavity wall.

 

[malcolm]

Looks like it is coming along well Malcolm. Out of interest, how many bricks are you laying a day? Do you find there is lots of faffing around finding the right brick? I've just finished a 5-day bricklaying basics course very and now feel confident to tackle the garden wall projects that await in due course but I'm keen to see how others are getting on with their wall rebuilds. How do you normally point/finish the joints in your brickwork?

Keep up the good work!

Matt

I'm ramping up on speed, but my current best is 120 bricks in 8 hours. That's reduced most days with cutting bricks for piers, cleaning bricks with bits of lime still on the faces, preparing the old wall to join into etc. My average is about 80 bricks per day.

No messing around finding the right brick - I don't have enough of them so they are all going in. I am checking the height and length of the bricks used as headers as occasionally I find a very long or very short one which messes up the back of the wall.

I flush point, then leave the mortar to dry for a couple of hours, hit it with a masonry cleaning brush, then brush it lightly. That exposes the corners of the bricks and leaves a textured finish with some aggregate from the sharp sand exposed. Normally there is more aggregate but the sharp sand I have doesn't seem to have many whites or larger stones.

 

[stuart45]

I think the flush joint is ideal for those bricks. Looks really good, 120 a day is good going.

 

[overlander matt]

Thanks for posting a few more details Malcolm. Looking forward to seeing more progress when the sun finally comes out again. It's looking good so far!

 

[malcolm]

Trying to get the garden wall finished before winter. That's going to be tight. I started in April and the wall has taken up all my time since then. It was intended to be a lockdown project but my work started again in February and it became a weekend job. I'm only averaging 65 bricks a day. The wall has near 4000 bricks in it. The quarter brick piers are a pain and the pointing takes time. It's to the original height and design.

Takes a while this stuff. It's very easy to underestimate the time for this or any sort of project. II don't have regrets. But there will need to be a champaign opening ceremony for when this thing gets finished. Could have had a fence up in a week. But a fence would not be nice.

 

[MatthewC]

That is looking really good - I admire your patience and skill!

 

[Gothichome]

My compliments on a great job. Give it a few years of weather it will look like it’s been there forever only straight. Now that your practiced, How would you like a trip to Canada? I pay only in beer and steak though.

Ron

 

[a twig]

How would you like a trip to Canada? I pay only in beer and steak though.

Ron

Now that’s an offer!

Echo the above - lovely work

 

[malcolm]

My compliments on a great job. Give it a few years of weather it will look like it’s been there forever only straight. Now that your practiced, How would you like a trip to Canada? I pay only in beer and steak though.

Ron

It would cost a lot in beer and steak at the rate I go. Started in April when the light frosts were coming to an end and I'm not convinced I'll finish before the frosts this winter.

Part of the problem is I found some bricks that match almost perfectly so the wall can now be the height I want. I had been looking for bricks for a year and only found them by chance while looking for something else. I was looking for this very expensive reproduction corner coping brick.

 

[LadyArowana]

I had been looking for bricks for a year and only found them by chance while looking for something else. I was looking for this very expensive reproduction corner coping brick.

Always the way, I found our kitchen table when I was on a completely different mission. The wall is looking absolutely splendid, there should definitely be an opening ceremony with silver shears and red ribbon…… any excuse for a party.

 

[malcolm]

I'm at coping height now so can offer some conclusion to this thread. Thanks everyone for pointing me in a good direction. I did some experiments and found that modern flat creasing tiles don't provide an effective drip edge. I had to cut mine anyway as they were too short and have ended up with a 40mm overhang and a 1 in 8 slope. Water drips off nicely in very heavy rain. For lesser slopes the water drips in light application but jumps back to the wall with a higher flow of water. My bricks are very prone to spalling and they can't be turned around again so I'm playing it safe.

I think creasing tiles are a 20th century invention so maybe not appropriate for a wall that was probably originally built in the early 19th century. But there are plenty of other clues that the wall has been rebuilt so they are just confirmation. Maybe with modern materials and lime it will last a bit longer this time around.

 

[a twig]

Excellent work - good on you for testing it all out and can’t wait to see the finished product

 

[malcolm]

It's not quite finished but I'm not likely to completely finish it this year so photos anyway.

The shapes, angles and colours have worked out really well.

I'll get it finished on the public side this year, but I left a section at the back low so I could climb over rather than walk all the way around and that needs building up and I'll be busy in November.

The coping seems to work. The BBQ in the foreground is soaking but the wall is still dry.

I forgot the before photo. Main issue was a tree had pushed the wall over. But the bricks were badly spalled from cement pointing. I turned them around and used them again.

 

[Cubist]

Now thats what I call craftsmanship. Excellent example of how it should be done.

Shame about the weather, you deserve a couple of beers with a barbecued steak for that. More power to your elbow.

 

[LadyArowana]

Now thats what I call craftsmanship. Excellent example of how it should be done.

Shame about the weather, you deserve a couple of beers with a barbecued steak for that. More power to your elbow.

Couldn’t agree more, truly beautiful. Our apartment building was just re-pointed/ cleaned/ all manner of horrors ( I tried to stop them, was ignored ) and looking at it last weekend I said to his Lordship “Malcolm would never make something look like that dog’s breakfast” !

 

[Feltwell]

Excellent job - I trust you've had positive comments from the neighbours! Nice bit of workmanship there Malcolm, that would have taken me forever to do.

I would have liked to put a brick wall up between my house & next door in our back garden, I had to take a very large dead privet hedge out, it succumbed to honey fungus. Alas I have not got and cannot get enough bricks to match the house, it would look odd as a bad match, so I've put a featherboard fence up. Not as a nice as an old brick wall, or a hedge, but it'll have to do - it's very solidly built so putting some climbers up it will help soften it.

 

[malcolm]

Neighbours have given me a lot of compliments especially after the coping went in. It did take forever - I started in April and it'll probably end up near 60 days work. I probably build at a third of the rate of a professional bricklayer. Their 600 bricks a day are in cement and stretcher bond. Flemish bond adds time and pointing with my lime mix took more time than laying bricks. I initially estimated half the time.

The wall is mentioned in the conservation area document (I think it might have been appraised in a previous incarnation before it was ruined by cement, bad coping and a tree) and is quite visible. I chatted with the conservation officer a few years ago and he was happy with the idea of a substantial repair and suggested some nice half round coping on top.

We've had heavy rain over the last couple of days . This morning the wind was blowing in the right direction for the garden side of the wall to get wet and the wet bricks blended together a bit better in colour. It dried out again about an hour after the rain had stopped so hopefully my spalling prone bricks will no longer leave brick litter beside the wall. I like lime.