Garden Brick/Breeze block wall

That's a lot of wall...it will need piers at regular intervals for extra support.

I'd think brick was better in the cold..but blocks are quick and you could render them..

I'm rather out of my field of expertise here...so I shall slip quietly away and watch that mouse hole for while.

Del

Dell, I know you like to comment on every new subject that appears, but do you have a Civil Eng/Builder (Bob, or anyone else) friend that can help with this ?

I am looking for a brief layout of how the wall should be.

Piers location

Foundations sizing

Frost problems

Thanks

First thing you need to do is go talk to your local building inspector. If you live in an area outside of a city or town, check with your county about code requirements (assuming you live in the U.S. or Canada). As has been stated in numerous other threads, they have a wealth of information on what you need.

Basically, you will need a foundation that extends below the frost line. This can actually be as simple as a 4" - 6" wide trench filled with concrete, widened at the top to extend at least 2" beyond the width of your masonry units (brick or block). The top of it needs to be level along both the length and width. You will need a way to tie the block to this foundation, your local building supply stores can help with this.

For best results, check with local talent. You might be able to get an out of work mason to do the labor fairly cheaply, with you supplying the materials.

Good luck with your project!

Charlie

You might be able to use blocks and cover them in brick. There are some houses in my area that used a thin brick to cover block. To look at them you would never know that they were not full bricks. I am sorry, I do not remember the name for this type of brick. I have also seen them used to cover concrete walkways to get the look of brick without changing the height of the walkway very much.

How to do it depends on soil type, frost depth and wind pressure. If the soil is a firm to stiff clay and the frost penetration is not more than four feet, you could use 12" diameter x 12' deep drilled concrete piles spaced at about 8' centers with a concrete beam spanning between piles. The top of beam should be a little above grade, perhaps four or six inches. Place four inch thick "Geospan" (or similar void former) under the grade beam to absorb frost heave and prevent wall damage.

Pile reinforcement must be capable of resisting the cantilever moment due to wind pressure on the wall. The hollow blocks over the piles should be reinforced vertically and filled with concrete to form piers. A horizontal bond beam, reinforced with steel should be built along the top of wall and connected to each vertical pier. It should be covered with a waterproof cap to shed the rain and possibly add to the aesthetic qualities of the wall.

PLEASE ADD SODIUM SILICATE OF DESIRED PH VALUE IN YOUR EXISITING FORMULA WHETHER THE LOCATION MAY HOT OR COOL.

Contact EP-Henry https://www.ephenry.com/home.asp . They have a wealth of free information on these kinds of walls and materials. I've built several types of walls using their products and free services.

MR JHON

YOU ANSWER IS NOT A SOLUTION OF QUESTION RAISED IN CR4 THREAD FORUM.

It is if his looking for EXPERT advise.

By the way its John not Jhon, Jon, Juan, etc...

Mr. Shukla

DEAR MR BAKER JOHN,

PLEASE SAY SOME THING AS I AM ALSO GIVING YOU SOME HINT --WHERE POTASSIUM SILICATE IS COSTLY,ANY ONE CAN USE SODIUM SILICATE OF DESIRED PH VALUE WITH ANHYDROUS LIME INCLUDING POZZOLANIA ASH AND GREY PORTLAND CEMENT FOR STRONG BONDING.REST REPLY WILL BE OPEN FREE OF COST IN CR4 PORTFOLIO.

FOR CR4

GUEST IS ACTUALLY SHAILENDRA SHUKLA,WHO ADDRESSED TO MR BAKER JOHN.PLEASE CHANGE ACCORDINGLY.

The administrators of this forum are monitoring this thread, but are not about to change the names of people on posts.

Guest, if you are indeed Shailendra Shukla, please login and give us the courtesy of knowing who you are.

If you following the chain of events I was replying to Sal's statement not yours concerning the chemical additives to cement. I was referring him to EP because they have a great help line that is free to the public for determine what would be the best material to use for his wall whether its brick or block, for his situation since that is there business.

Dear Guest,

Are you Mr. SHAILENDRA SHUKLA ?

Thank you for your tip, but why should I use Sodium Silicate, and what is my desired PH value ?

What is this mixture for ?

Thank you in advance.

DEAR SAL

BLOCKS ARE MUCH BETTER IF YOU USE SUPPORT OF IRON THIN RODS IN CERTAIN INTERVALS.BLOCKS MADE UP BY POZZOLANIA ASH,CEMENT,SLAKED LIME,QUARTZ SILICA SAND/GRAVELS WITH ADDITION OF WATER GLASS SOLUTION (POTASSIUM IS BETTER IN PLACE OF SODIUM.IN ABSENCE YOU CAN USE SODIUM SILICATE.) OF DESIRED PH WILL SERVE YOUR LIFE LONG PURPOSE.YOU CAN USE ABOVE SAID MIX MADE HOLLOW/SOLID BLOCKS FOR COLD/HOT/WATERY LOCATION.YOU MAY ASK MUCH MORE IF FIND DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND THE ABOVE IN LAYERWISE.

Water glass is a silicate gel. When mixed into concrete it acts as a soluble source of silica to accelerate the formation of calcium silicates and aluminosilicates helping develop high-early strength. There is some speculation that it also helps develop greater strength in the concrete. The gel will reside in the voids reacting with other constituents over time to continue crystalizing CS and CAS , potentially increasing the strength over time. since it occupies the voids in the concrete in the interim, it displaces water, helping to form some heat resistance to the concrete. However, for typical applications it is an expensive additive to use in large quantities that is probably not worth the investment for a relatively simple masonry wall. It really is a question of aesthetics, if a few small shrinage cracks are a problem along joints, then you may want an additive. The structural steel is necessary though.

WHEN YOU WILL FIX PH VALUE OF WATER GLASS YOU WILL SEE THAT HOW CHEAPER IT IS.

FOR EXAMPLE YOU CAN MIX 1KG OF WATER GLASS IN ONE GALLON OF WATER. THIS RATIO SHOULD BE FIXED ACCORDING THE QUALITY OF CEMENT .

YOU CAN USE ONE WT.50 KG .BAG OF ORDINARY PORTLAND CEMENT FOR ABOVE.

SHAILENDRA SHUKLA AS GUEST.

Off topic a little bit could you explain what CHMM and CPESC stand for so we have some understanding of you level of understanding and expertise in retaining structures, it is always helpful. Thank you.

CHMM Certified Hazardous Material Manager

CPESC Certified Professional in Erosion and Sedimentation Control

I also have my CPSWQ Certified Storm Water Manager one of only three in PA, if you are truly interested I can send you my resume, showing all my certificates and licenses.

I'm a Environmental Manager for one of the countries largest cement and aggregate producers where I use all sorts of block materials for retaining purposes. I've been in the business for 13 years prior work expertise includes running several concert plants and mining/asphalt facilities.

My suggestion was to contact EP, again because they are the experts in the brick/block field plus the service is free kind of like here, but they would be able to tailor to Sal's needs.

Wow, alot of certifications, I do not have that many certifications. I used to have ACI Field Tech Cert and ICBO reinforced Concrete and Masonry Special Inspection certs, but let those lapse as I have a PE now and don't really need them for inspection much any more. While I do not have the depth of certificates I would provide one suggestion, as indicated previously check local building and planning standards and practices. A 6 ft high wall in some areas exceeds planning standards, and in many areas exceeds the limit for non-engineered aesthetic walls. If you must have an engineer design it, he would be responsible for performance and make the recommendations regarding the structure. The problem with manufacturing and distribution is that you must be able to distinguish when they are telling you something useful from when they are BSing you to promote a product, and since many of these marketing efforts a meant to try convince contractors and engineers to the value of the product (with out actually having to create an improved product in many cases), it can be hard to distill the facts you need.

True in my area of PA the require special reenforcement for anything over three feet. Last year I put a 50 ft by 4.5ft high wall using non cementing garden blocks it looks great. I had to dig a two foot deep trench with 1 foot of 2A mod another 3 inches of sand then the first row of blocks. It survived its first winter no heaving plus my property is pretty open and we get gust of wind up to 70 mph.

I got the blocks from a local brick place; went on line with EP. I gave them my dimensions and type of blocks I planed on using and they designed the wall system for me. Had it checked out by the Township in two days had my approval. Next weekend put up the wall by hand no problems ever since.

My problem is that here EP doesn't exist, do they ?

Walls can be raised up to 2m high without any planning permission if the wall is not facing any public way/building.

Otherwise I just have to inform my neighbours that I am going to build the wall (which already exists but in wood pannels and the wind is getting nasty up here lately).

UK Civil Engs. any ideas ??

Planning is always the fluffy requirements to keep the community pretty, as determined by some politicians and bureaucrats. The real question is the building code requirements, how high before you must engineer the structure. Most building codes have a maximum non-engineered height for masonry walls at about 4 to 6 feet. Masonry is heavy, so as previously indicated you will need some foundational support like piles and grade beam, or special designed footing.

Sal

I found something that might be of interest for you.

http://www.gardeningdata.co.uk/construction/party_wall_act.php

Its about the Party Wall Act of 1996 something to look into.

I found another Company that handles both bricks and assorted types of blocks the companies name is Hanson.

Explore before talking. Do you have any better ideas than John ?

At least he gave an interesting website about walls building.

Nice website John, DWG, data sheets, etc. Shows all kinds of wall except the brick walls.

where I live (Scotland) all the area is made from brick wall, so I don't want to be different.

Thank you.

Well, if you don't want to be different, why don't you simply ask your neighbors what they did?

In my neighborhood (central Alberta, Canada), frost penetrates six feet or more in open areas. Here, for a masonry wall of that height, you would need piles, grade beam, piers and a horizontal bond beam at the top. But then, I have said that all before, haven't I? (Post #4). If you do that, it really doesn't matter whether the wall is brick or block. Either of those can span that short distance quite easily and will not be damaged if there is a frost cushion below the grade beam.

Another option is to use a frost wall built out of concrete with reinforcement projecting into the piers. The frost wall has to extend below the depth of frost penetration. You have not told us how much that is. Are you a highlander or a lowlander? What kind of soil do you have? Is the soil wet or dry? Come on, Sal, spring with a bit of information.

Ok to save you some time i will give you the basic common sense answer here that everyone with even rudimentary knowledge should be aware of without discussion. Hire a Licensed Civil Engineer with some local experience to aid you through the entire process, if you do not know the basics, because-

a) you may be legally required to have engineered plans;

b) He will have some understanding of the planning requirements, building codes, and local conditions;

c) He can use his knowledge to design what you need up front, thus not adding a ton of extra cost in change orders on the back end because of unanticipated conditions or regulations;

d) He will be insured.

Pretty easy, when you don't know and need some expertise, you never go to the internet, you hire an expert who will actually perfrom the design calulcations and not just talk some common sense (or shit whichever you prefer, same thing without the design calculations supporting it).