Can anyone build a brick wall?

yes and no, it's not hard but it is technical. you have to have patience and work fast. you're going to need a footing or dig a trench and set two courses under grade. keeping it level is the trick, get a good level that is at least 3'ft long. twine and steaks to snap a level line for your courses. mud the top of the block that's set and the back edge of the block you lay, tap level and remove the squeeze with the edge of the trowel. it takes a few blocks to get a pattern down and set a pace. you will get frustrated with the mud but resist the urge to make it too soupy, it needs to stand up a bit like whip cream. type S is best and if you exceed 3' you'll need to put in some rebar #3 should work. you'll notice the block is notched for the rebar, and block is also taper'd so that it has a bottom and top.

a good saw with a mason blade will help with cutting the block, the hammer is useful but don't use it to cut the block unless your good at it, another trick of the trade.

I used to lay block and brick 15yrs ago, hard labor.

it also helps to lay out the block in little groups of about 8 along the way before you start so that you have them on hand when your going along.

re-read your post again, for brick if you want to reinforce it, you can use fiberglass tape to keep courses together, looks like fishnet. you'll find it in the mason area of home depot etc..

I like block as it covers a greater area and you can face it with cultured stone, however you'll need to line the inside with fire brick to insure a longer life out of the brick in that kind of heated enviroment. I got lazy and used the granite and stone laying around the property and built a firepit with that. looks natural. i'll dig up a pic.

 

it comes down to what your going for, dirt floor? concrete? with brick I'd pour a footing for the walls and go from there, it will avoid any of those problems. for the footing tamp the soil to avoid shifting. use a form for the footing to avoid a real crappy looking footing. 2"x6"'s work great. if your pouring a concrete floor, provide drainage by leaving weep holes in the brick, it'll avoid a mucky swamp in the winter time. a saw is always a good idea becouse your almost always going to need to cut a brick, esp if you go for a decorative top, the miters will need to be cut.
oh and don't lay dry brick ever!!! it needs to be damp.

 

Check your local codes, too: you may need a building permit.

In which case, a contractor can be worth it, just for his connections with the local bureaucrats.

 

You may try and consult the Chinese.....
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When building a wall, the foundation is an important factor. You may want to check the building codes in your area. The main thing is to get below the frost line or else the frost will try to push it out of the ground, damaging the wall.

 

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/gr_lawns_landscaping/article/0,2029,DIY_13852_2404325,00.html

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/gr_lawns_landscaping/article/0,2029,DIY_13852_2404358,00.html

 

Oh I thought it was a wall you were after. I would not hesitate or worry at all about doing a fireplace. The one I have is 30 years old and still going strong. The three sides are 2 layers thick and it has a steel top for the chimney which also supports a layer of bricks. Trust me, this was built by no expert.

 

The two layers of bricks just have mortar between them. It sits on cinder blocks for a base above ground. Keeping the inside elevated above ground level helps keep everything dry inside. Do a dry run and layout the walls to check how it's going to work out first. If you get creative you won't have to do any cutting.

 

it's a chemical thing. mortar and cement use water to start the chemical process under which it will bond, a dry brick will absorb the water and the motor will set to fast and not bond correctly becoming dry and crumbly. another reason why adding too much water will also ruin the mortar/cement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water-cement_ratio

 

I have never seen anyone dampen bricks...ever. If anything, if you use wet bricks the mortar will leech into the brick and the mortar line looks terrible. Brick layers won't work in the rain either... Any moisture needed to bond the brick comes from the mortar mix. If you let it start to dry, and still use it, you will not get adhesion. You want the mortar wet enough to stick to an upside down brick...if it does, you are good.

Just slap some on a brick, and flip it upside down - if it sticks, you have the right "wetness."

 

Once you follow all the other advice on here on building your brick walled fire pit, PLEASE wait a month or so for the mortor to fully cure. I have be to two "incidents" in the last four years where happy new home owners fired up the month or so old fireplace, and after an hour of heating up or so the fireplace went BOOM. No one has been hurt yet, but a bear skin rug was put out of its misery.

 

No conflict. Just mentioning that I have not seen this done.

I have had 3 brick buildings put up over the last several years, and this was not done.

My neighbors McMansion was put up while the bricks were moist from rain, and they became very stained from the mortar. I remember him screaming at the brick layer afterwards, as did the builder...

 

As others have mentioned, the most important factor in building a patio, wall, house is the foundation. Make sure that the ground below is level and consists of the proper mixture of dirt/sand and is compacted. Perhaps renting a compaction machine would be helpful.

Examples of them: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/NTESearch?storeId=6970&in_dym=1&Nty=1&D=than&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&N=0&Ntk=All&Ntt=compaction%20equipment&cmnosearch=true&cm_ven=PPC&cm_cat=I-search%20(Google%20Adwords)&cm_pla=construction&cm_ite=compaction%20equipment

 

Stained, but stuck well

I'm guessing there is a balance between dead dry so they bugger the mortar and wet enough to leach the mortar.

Every tip Scott gave me about building block walls when I started my patio from h*ll a couple years turned out to be right.....now if I could just get him to stop out and show me how to stucco properly.....
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