Small Masonry Walls

SMALL MASONRY WALLS can serve many purposes around the average home. Most of the materials available for the pur­pose fit exceptionally well in outdoor settings. Some materials tend to give a rustic appearance while others lend themselves better to formal construction. Treatment is also a factor. Walls of brick or masonry units, for example, can be either formal or rustic in appearance depending upon construction techniques. Used brick with deeply raked joints and "carefully careless" alignment will have a more natural feeling than wire-cut units with precise lines and a struck or flush joint treatment.

Combine beauty and utility with multipurpose masonry walls of stone, brick or concrete

The low wall around the elegant patio shown be­low is cut stone topped with flags. As well as being decorative, it provides extra seating. At right is a wall of masonry units, which resemble oversize bricks. They make good planter or retain­ing walls. A footing is required unless blocks are set on the edge of a patio slab as shown here.

Concrete footings for walls can usually be poured directly into trench in earth, but it necessary, simple forms can be made as below. At right is form for poured concrete wall with integral footing. Various ways of attractively topping a poured concrete wall are shown in the drawings above, right.

There are many types of masonry units from which to choose: those with a glazed, tile facing to those solid, split blocks with a facing texture quite similar to natural stone. Adobe block or brick, painted white and allowed to weather without constant mainte­nance, has the appearance of a wall you would expect to see at an old California mission. Even concrete lends itself to different treat­ments. Poured concrete can be formalized with sleek, trowled (or plastered) surfaces, or given a rustic appearance by exposing the aggregate with a hose-washing after the forms are removed.

Field stone, which you can find or buy, makes an attractive, natural-looking wall, or you can choose a cut stone which can be installed in an ashlar or other, more formal pattern.

Except for poured concrete, most materials (block, brick or stone) are easy to work with in that you can leave the job and come back to it the next day or the next week. Concrete work is best accomplished in one pour unless the project is just too large. Plan large jobs for separate pours with keyed-parti­tions established at joint lines. With a par­tition removed, the following pour forms a tongue to tie in with the groove left by the partition.

A durable low retaining wall can be constructed without a foundation if large stones are half buried in a trench dug at the base of the slope. The gaps are filled with mortar and smaller stones.

For large walls—a retaining wall more than 2 ft. high, a boundary wall taller than 3 ft. and similar projects—it's best to con­sult with the local building inspector as to size of footings and construction specifi­cations. This is really no trouble and actually a way of getting professional guidance for nothing. It's also a wise pre­caution, for you'll know that the job con­forms with local regulations.

A wall can have many purposes. A low brick wall can serve as a seat. A perimeter wall to outline a pool area can be topped with flagstone somewhat wider than the wall itself to provide more seating than your outdoor furniture—and wet bathing suits won't harm it. A wall can be the front of a planter topped by a screen made from other materials. It can be the sides of a small pool or a small curbing to outline a driveway or walk.

Concrete, when figured in terms of cost-per-foot, is a fairly economical material and actually, unless you plan on mixing it yourself, most of the work involved is in building the forms. If you utilize the local ready-mix company when the forms are finished, you'll have the fun of seeing the entire wall poured in less time than you could hand-mix a few wheelbarrows of concrete.

If the wall you are building does not re­quire enough concrete to justify the trip by a ready-mix truck, you might still be able to take advantage of this convenience by preparing other projects. It is usually not difficult to find enough jobs that, taken together, require the minimum load your local firm will deliver. You can, for ex­ample, lay out the forms for a walk or a patio in addition to a wall. Just be sure the total work isn't more than you can cope with at one time, and that you have suffici­ent help on hand to handle the combined chores if you need it.

The larger the wall, the more attention you'll have to give to the forms. Concrete has tremendous weight and the higher the wall the greater the force pushing against the forms. The answer, of course, is ade­quate bracing.

Tall adobe wall is attractive, provides privacy and helps deaden sounds coining from street. Antique appearance can be achieved by painting adobe block or brick white and just letting the wall weather.

Brick and Masonry Unit Walls

Brick has been, and probably will always be the home craftsman's favorite for proj­ects such as walls. Bricks are small, light and make for stop-and-go projects—im­portant for anyone who can devote only a few hours at a time to the job.

Brick walls much over l1/2 ft. tall should be two bricks thick, the equivalent of two single-line brick walls built up back to back with header courses to tie them to­gether. Of course a low wall can be two bricks thick if the extra thickness fits in with your plans. A header course can be used as the topping, or you can plan to use flags or a concrete coping.

When a brick wall is planned as a planter, it's a good idea to butter the rear of the wall with a waterproof mortar mix, sealer, or both so that water fed to the plants won't seep through the wall. If the wall is close to a house foundation and shallow-rooted plants are selected, it's possible to line the inside of the planter with a thin plastic sheeting (the same type used as a moisture barrier under a con­crete slab) so that water will not seep down through the soil and into or under the foundation. In all cases where a brick wall is backed up with soil that will be kept wet (as in a planter), be sure to specify a plastic, waterproof cement for use in the mortar mix.

Brick walls are placed on a poured con­crete footing which should be a little wider than the wall thickness and at least 4-5 in. thick. Here again, check local codes. Foot­ing in areas with extreme climatic con­ditions will usually have to be deeper than those required in an area with more moderate weather.

Walls made of masonry units are sturdy, economical and will go up fast; especially if the big 8x8xl6-in. blocks are used. Con­struction methods are similar to those used in bricklaying, but the kind of units you select will have much bearing on this. Solid, split blocks are placed exactly like brick, while with cored blocks, the mortar beds are set on the solid rims.

Actually, there are so many types of masonry units that you can create interest­ing effects by combining different styles and/or different sizes. The chapter on concrete block illustrates different patterns you can use and describes the techniques of block laying. With cored blocks, the top course should always be sealed against moisture, either by filling the cores or by using a topping of some sort. This can be a wooden bench top, a course of brick, a layer of flagstone or a concrete coping.

Top course of this low brick planter wall juts forward slightly to give a finished look. The bricks interlock at the comer to provide strong joint (see left photo).

When long concrete wall can't be completed in one pour, tie in sections by forming key (below).

Low brick wall can be made as below. Top course is laid lengthwise over the bricks for solid top.

Various types of brick joints. The type used depends on the kind of brick and the effect desired.
FLUSH V-JOINT       WEATHERED RAKED RAKED 8 SHAPE!

Tall block walls are usually reinforced with horizontal ties and with vertical steel placed in the cores and encased with con­crete. With a low wall where the filling is not needed for strength, you can save much concrete by stuffing the cores with news­paper to about 3-4 in. from the top and finishing with concrete. Wooden tops can be tied to the blocks by imbedding anchor bolts in the concrete.

Footings are, of course, required for block walls and these should be 4-6 in. wider than the block and at least 4 in. thick for a low wall. Again, consult local codes for regulations governing this type of construction in your area.

For low embankments or border lines it's quite possible to simply place a line of blocks end to end on the ground. It is even possible to go two blocks high with this kind of "dry" wall, but above that, use a foundation and mortar joints.

Simple brick wall one brick thick is constructed as above. Note how the comer bricks interlock.

Stone Walls

Stone walls can be very gratifying to build, and they can also be a real challenge. They are very economical if you can pick up enough field stone; quite expensive if you go for fancy, precut stone. A "rubble" wall is constructed of natural unshaped stone (used as found) and requires some care in selection of mating stones. Gen­erally, the larger stones are used at the base to avoid a top-heavy look. If the wall is more than one stone wide, header stones are placed occasionally to interlock "front" and "back" just as you would use a header course in brickwork. The differ­ence is that the header course does not have to run full length in a single line. You can be more flexible with a rubble wall in keeping with the varied shapes and sizes of the stones you have to work with.

Field stone walls are often erected dry, stone on stone, sometimes without a foun­dation. Strength and durability are achieved with ample width at the base and careful placement to insure keying from stone to stone. Stone walls are often built against a bank, a single stone thick and with soil placed between stones. For dura­bility here, you must step back succeeding layers of stone so that, in effect, you make a series of small overlapping terraces, each with a suitable pitch backward to keep the soil between the stones from falling out. Plants set in the soil joints help to hold the soil and give an attractive over-all effect.

Except for informal dry construction walls, stone walls also require a founda­tion. The exception might be a low retainer wall where a single line of large stones is half imbedded in a trench dug at the base of the slope. Backfilling is done with damp­ened soil that can be tamped solidly. Spaces between the large stones are filled with mortar, a small aggregate concrete mix, or small stones set in a mortar mix.

STRUCK

SWEPT EXTRUDED RAISED

If house wall serves as planter, protect wood by removing siding; apply building paper, flashing, and waterproof mortar over wire or stucco grid.

Techniques for brick, solid masonry units are similar. Foundation first, then layer of mortar, first course of units. The line assures levelness.

DIG TRENCH FOR LARGE BOTTOM STONES

In building a wall, the corners are constructed first. Stretch line to keep brick level. Check with a level to make sure that the corners are plumb.

MORTAR JOINTS I—CEMENT l/2-FIRECLAY 3-SAND

MORTAR OR SHALL AGGREGATE CONCRETE MIX

This wall is two bricks thick. At corner every other brick is used as a header. Ample mortar is applied to insure complete filling of all joints.

Diagram of formal stone wall with footing and A well "buttered" brick is tapped firmly into mortar joints. Stones should be selected to mate. place. This is the stretcher bond brick pattern.

Foundationless stone wall is constructed as above, by digging a trench for a base of large stones.

Simple concrete block -wall (right). Footing can be entirely below grade; wall top can be flags, etc.

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