Between Projects: In Praise of General Contractors

4 Helpful DIY Bricklaying Tips

Every experienced DIY enthusiast started when he or she did not have any experience. Thus, your inexperience in bricklaying may not be a big hindrance if you would like to build a brick retaining wall in your home on a budget. This article discusses some helpful tips that will enable you to construct that retaining wall.

Have Some Practice

Do not start working on the actual brick retaining wall until you have built a practice wall. Pick a location close to where you want the retaining wall and build a small wall that is several bricks high and several bricks long. This practice wall will give you an idea of how to ensure that the bricks are arranged well. You can use a mixture of sand and water only as the "mortar" for this practice wall. This will avoid wasting cement and other ingredients that you may not be able to reuse once you tear down the practice wall. Clean the bricks you used on the practice wall as soon as you finish building that wall and you are sure that you have the hang of how to build a straight wall. Use those retrieved bricks on the actual retaining wall that you intend to build. The sand can also be used as you mix the actual mortar that you will use to build the retaining wall.

Watch the Volume of Water in the Mix

Pay very close attention to the instructions for mixing the mortar. Those instructions may be on the cement package. Avoid adding too much water into the mortar mix. The force of gravity can easily cause a very watery mortar mix to flow down the sides of the bricks. You may need to add more cement and sand to a mortar mix if you notice that it is too wet.

Use a Plasticiser

A plasticiser is a substance that you can buy from a hardware shop near you. Add it to the mortar mix according to the instructions on the package. The plasticiser helps to prevent the mortar from cracking once it dries. It also makes the mortar adhere more effectively to the bricks. The plasticiser also makes the mortar more workable so you will find it easy to trowel as you work.

Mix Small Amounts of Mortar

Mortar can easily dry out if you mix a large amount that you cannot use quickly. It is therefore advisable that you mix as much mortar as you can use during an hour of your bricklaying project. You can estimate how much work you can do in an hour based on how long it took you to build the practice wall described in the first bricklaying tip above. Alternatively, seek for advice from an experienced bricklayer. He or she will tell you how much mortar you should mix based on the prevailing weather in your area.

Always tie a string from one end of a wall to the other end as you are bricklaying. That string will guide you on how to keep the wall straight during the bricklaying process. This will enable you to build a wall that will stand the test of time. If finances allow, hire a bricklayer and work alongside him or her so that you learn from that skilled individual.