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A composite lintel like yours is designed to have 3 courses of brickwork or 1 course of blocks before any point loads are on top. Having the plate will help spread the load and it might work, but technically it's the wrong lintel.

As noseall's pointed out, you need to get a non composite lintel if you want concrete.

Plastering sand is a fine sharp, as is silver sand which is a very fine sharp sand. Building sand looks the same as the photos of yours when the laitance has weathered back. It's not all fine grains. A well graded building sand contains a mixture of sizes. A rule of thumb is that the largest...

It depends what you mean by sharp sand. Nowadays if you ask for a bag of sharp sand you'll get a bag of coarse sharp flooring grade sand. However some fine sands are sharp sand. Sharp refers to the shape of the grains, compared to soft sand which has rounded grains.

When you finish the joints with a.metal tool it brings cement laitance to the surface, which is why you get that grey, Portland stone colour skin on top. When it weather's back, the colour of the aggregate starts to show, and the colour changes. A wooden tool tends to bring more aggregate to the...

Flush joints are one of the easist. Once the joints are filled there's a few methods of finishing. You can either hit them with a churn brush when green hard, rub them with a piece of sack cloth or.use a piece of timber like a wooden dowel. You can have them slightly recessed if you think it...

If it's done properly it can improve the looks of a wall, even if it's a bit rough. I was on a job in London years ago doing a repoint, and the Clerk of Works pulled up my mate because he was left handed, and was doing the perps the opposite way to me.

Looks good to me. A struck joint is done the opposite way. Very old fashioned method, easier method when working overhand. Double struck is done from both edges, sometimes called birds beak.

Weather struck is slightly different to weather struck and cut. With weather struck and cut the bottom of the bed joints overhang the brick below slightly. It's done with pointing trowels, straight edges and a bent knife called a Frenchman. By using a dark mortar with a black dye it's possible...

https://www.speedcrete.co.uk/brick.html?cat=160&p=1 I get most of my tools from hear. I know they are a bit pricey for DIY, but if you have a lot of pointing to do they produce a better finish. Rose are better than Marshaltown.

It's easier to render or clad without piers. Don't think it makes a lot of difference for just painting.

If you mean a 13inch wall in blockwork, build 2 courses flat with an upright course next to it. Next 2 flat courses go over the upright course, Half bond it.

I think what Hugh meant was to make sure the trap in the gully is on the outlet side. The inlet is slightly higher.

Piers will add strength inbetween the thickness. For example, a 102.5mm brick wall with 215mm piers won't be as strong as a 215mm solid wall, but stronger than a 102.5mm wall without the piers. The heights given in the charts are well within the safety side though, and even in a higher zone the...

1800mm is well above the recommended height for an unrestrained garden wall, built with 100mm blocks, even with piers. Have a look at charts online. There are different zones in the country, but even in the safest zone it's below that.

I've built 13 inch solid walls, but not on a standard modern house. However nowadays with people adding insulation to their walls you can't always be sure from measurements at the jambs. I'd say though that the figures you give are the most likely.

Damp down the brickwork before pointing, and then keep misting it for a week after. There are various tools you can use like pointing trowels, finger trowels and a hawk etc. Might be worth watching a video on utube.

There's a method in Germany called Stobluften where they open all the windows for about 20 minutes first thing in the morning. The idea is to get a massive blast of dry, fresh air into the house. I used to see all the windows open and duvets hanging out to air going to work at 6:30 in the...

It should look really good when you finish. I wish I had your computer skills to give customers an idea of the finished job. Then again, I might get problems if it didn't turn out like I showed them.

If it was crossing the cavity you'd probably notice damp inside. If the pointing has worn down a bit and is slightly recessed, that will tend to send more water into the bricks. We have been getting more driving rain in recent years as well. Also the bottom of the walls inside are usually a bit...