brick laying

I’ve got a 1930s external garden wall which is very badly neglected. As it’s never gonna look pretty It seems like a perfect way to learn how to repoint a wall. One thing I’m concerned about though, in all the videos I’ve seen, people rake out about 20mm of the existing mortar, which usually...

Hi all I've got a brick wall in my garden with a large crack in the mortar, apparently caused by a buddleia that the previous owners let get out of control. I've cut the buddleia right back and plan on injecting remaining stems with concentrated weed killer but beyond repointing the crack is...

Hi all, Some advice would be highly appreciated. I have some spalled brickwork on the gable end of my house and there is some penetrative damp coming through in these areas. (Roof and guttering newly replaced so 100% sure it is the brickwork). I have since DPM'd internally and replaced blown...

Hi Just wondering if someone could give me some advice on how brick layers in the construction industry go about building a cavity wall. What I have been taught is to rack back corners then use a string line to fill in the middle of the wall with bricks. However I've seen a few different...

Hello, sorry if this isn’t the right place, it’s my first time posting. I have a couple of question, both things I’m a little uneasy about. I have a builder working on a loft conversion and it has a large steal going across the ridge, my concern is it looks like that steal is only supported on...

Hi all! I'm opening up a fireplace, ready to accept a wood burning stove. Property is 1918. It's clear it's been chopped about over the years. At some point it seems to have had some kind of large inset fire or similar installed. I haven't been able to quite figure out what it was (any...

Hi people, I have started to remove an internal, non-load bearing wall, on the first floor (only the loft above it). Where the internal wall meets the external wall there are staggered blocks that were part of the internal wall. Makes sense; so you couldn't just push the internal wall down, I...

Hi Experts, I need some guidance on covering an external beam which builders have installed for rear bifolds. The beam is 305x305 in the external cavity wall as shown in the attached pic. The beam is above the ceiling level of ground floor. The architect suggested that there should be a brick...

Hi, I have a breeze block out building that has a very substantial crack along the back wall. Big enough at points that you can actually see light through on the other side. My builder had suggested that because it was just a shed of sorts, that he could just 'brace' the wall with metal...

We are currently having a kitchen extension rebuilt. We asked the builder to keep the old brick and reuse it. He said some couldn’t be used and skipped them, however showed us some common brick samples and said he would use these and the existing bricks to blend them in. We were happy with this...

I've posted this in the plastering/rendering forum too but it's a broader question so I'm reposting here. I was planning to apply insulating render (the Bauwer Light system) to an internal wall. However, on removing the previous plaster, the brickwork is in bad shape. There are a few patches...

I’m creating an opening (Proposed 1700mm wide) in my rear external ex solid wall (it has been rebuilt using cavity with a width to match existing, 230mm, just in ground floor and half length of the wall). There is a small window and a 900mm door in that wall panel I want the opening in for the...

Hi All, Just wondering if anyone could tell me what style of brick this is please? And where I could possibly purchase this style in person or online. This will be for a low brick wall in my garden to complement my new garden paving. The picture of the bricks I like are below : I like...

I have a gap between my main house and double storey extension. Although I call it an extension I think it has been there since the house was built as every house on the street has the same layout. The gap is even all the way through and it is not wider at the top than the bottom. I wanted some...

Hi guys I am after some advice please?! We have a 30 year old house, brought it 6 years ago and had new Windows installed just after the purchase which included a bay window replaced and rebuilt. We started noticing small cracks on the inside bay wall about a year ago but thought they were...

Hi all, I just wanted to ask some advice please. I've recently had builders start on a single storey rear extension and they have just now started laying the bricks for DPC, however I'm a little bit concerned about the quality of the bricklaying as there appear to be many gaps in the mortar...

i want to build my own brick garage with a inner skin of block work. Which is the best way of attaching the block work to the brick nib. Do I tooth or use a wall starter? Thanks

Hi Can anyone give me any idea what would be best to change a door to a window. Its a old concrete house old pit house and the door is approx 3ft the old door was wood. Do I clover the gap with wood or brick with cavity?