Help - Freestanding, single skin garden brick wall. Specifications ?

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My neighbour intends to build a freestanding, single skin (4") brick wall. It will be 24m long and 1.8m high.
She tells me it will be built on suitable concrete foundations and there will be one and a half brick piers set at 2m centres (13 piers). These piers will be either 2 or 3 bricks higher than the wall (depending on the look).
The wall between each pier will be set central to the piers.
The soil is heavy clay and there are no trees close to the walled area.

Is the above described method safe and durable for a single skinned wall of that height and length ? She does not have the money to build a double skinned wall.

Any views are appreciated.
 
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Ok ... Cheers Tony....but I have to try and be diplomatic with her. What can my argument be against her proposed method and can you suggest what she should be doing.
 
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Ok ... Cheers Tony....but I have to try and be diplomatic with her. What can my argument be against her proposed method and can you suggest what she should be doing.
Ae that height, the wall is far too slender and will be susceptible to overturning in high winds, even with piers.
 
The piers are substantial, and will support the 800mm of wall either side of them no problem.
 
The piers are substantial, and will support the 800mm of wall either side of them no problem.
Hi Mr Arup;

assume the wind load from each panel is taken by the mass of the pier (the single-skin between each pier will collect wind load but will contribute very little to stability).

Quick back-of-envelope calcs show that the tension in the bed joint at the base of the pier caused by the overturning moment will well-exceed the maximum allowable tensile stress in the bottom mortar joint (this is assuming there is no flexible dpc which of course there shouldn't be in a free-standing wall).

Also, OP says the wall is 24m long, which will require at least two movement joints to avoid cracking - both of which will be a source of weakness.
A wall that height should be one-brick (215) thick, with 450 wide piers, projecting at least a half brick, at 2m centres.
 
Hi Mr Arup;

assume the wind load from each panel is taken by the mass of the pier (the single-skin between each pier will collect wind load but will contribute very little to stability).

Quick back-of-envelope calcs show that the tension in the bed joint at the base of the pier caused by the overturning moment will well-exceed the maximum allowable tensile stress in the bottom mortar joint (this is assuming there is no flexible dpc which of course there shouldn't be in a free-standing wall).

Also, OP says the wall is 24m long, which will require at least two movement joints to avoid cracking - both of which will be a source of weakness.
A wall that height should be one-brick (215) thick, with 450 wide piers, projecting at least a half brick, at 2m centres.

Far too negative Isambard, where's that pioneering spirit gone? How many have you built in the last 40 years? How many have blown down? We'll compare notes :p

Anyway all this talk of moments and tensile stress malarkey is far too technical, but if you are minded and able to, you can prove that this wall will comfortably deal with any stresses and loads, rather than try and prove that it wont.

Yes it must be built correctly, but those piers are substantial and will retain the walls bonded to them with ease.

As for joints, we use slip ties nowadays which tie the joint. And if you want to be really clever, put the joint within the pier so its hidden and tied and solid.

Or build it half brick thick, 2m high, no piers, no joints, no problemo :rolleyes:

crinkle_wall.jpg
 
Fine, OPs neighbour can build her wall, but I shouldn't let anyone sneeze near it.
 
Cheers everyone. All views and humour greatly received. I think I will try to persuade her to go to the two brick thickness method, but if that fails I will trust in Woody's assessment that the construction method is fine. (thanks Woody).
 

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