Laying blocks - turning a corner with stretcher bond.

[David WE Roberts]

Stretcher bond with bricks turns a corner with full bricks but with the full brick coming to the corner on alternate layers (if you see what I mean). This in turn gives a half brick spacing on the rows where the brick does not go to the end. This in turn gives nice even spacing on both walls without having to cut any bricks, and fits nicely when you turn the next corner.

With 445 * 215 * 100 blocks the measurements just don't work the same. To get an even spacing you would have to chop 100mm off every other block on both walls at the corner. If you use full blocks you get the vertical join staggered by 100mm which does not look tidy, but on the other hand when you get to the next corner you can turn that one as well without cutting any blocks.

So which is the normal way, and are both ways valid?

Cheers

Dave R

[sm_jamieson]

You have to cut some blocks. I've seen both ways, best to cut block into the corner so bond equal all round. If its not to be seen, throw in some vertical bricks. Or it aircrete, easy to cut ! Either way, dont keep only 100mm bond all along the wall. The BCO may frown. Simon.

[JimK]

build the corners first then build up the wall between cutting as necess.

cheers jimk

[Bruce]

Some years ago I had a small outbuilding built with 100mm blocks and stretcher bond throughout. At the corners, the bricklayer cut 100mm long headers and used them to fill the holes. It looked pretty neat, but SWMBO insisted on having it rendered anyway. :-(

If it isn't vital to have a clear corner to the interior, you could cut the headers to 210mm long and make a corner pillar.

[Phil]

If you're fussy, you can get 100mm headers ready made just for this....

[Phil L]

You use full blocks and 100mm pieces, this (with the joints) amounts to

225mm, which is half a block

The normal way is to use 100mm pieces at the corners, giving a full bond, uoi will need one 100mm piece on each course at each corner. I've done a diagram:

[Bruce]

[Phil L]

I meant to draw it looking directly from the corner, but my drawing skills are crap, summat like this:

[Bruce]

[David WE Roberts]

[fred]

In article , David WE Roberts writes

C'mon Dave it's a trivial exercise to cut short blocks with any kind of cheap machine based cutting tool. How many 100 x 100s do you need for the whole job?

[Phil L]

Usually four per course - 1 on each corner, so if he's going 10 courses high, the usual height, he'll need 40 cuts, but he should get 4 out of one block, using a grinder, so that's 10 blocks to cut into 4, plus he'll no doubt need halves at window and door openings.

There's no need to cut them all at once though, it's unlikely that more than

3 courses per day will be laid as it tends to get unstable

[David WE Roberts]

More than 3 courses per day and I am likely to get unstable as well :-)

I note that you can hire block cutters - the hydraulic blade kind - which claim to cut concrete blocks and slabs. Max width 330mm; max height 120mm. So this would fit a 215mm * 100mm concrete block. I've previously thought that these are only good for paviours. Has anyone tried these with the dense blocks I am using?

If this does work then I could hire it for a day and cut a stock of 100mm blocks. Alternatively I could hire one of those big noisy toys for a day.

The 'groan' is because previous experience has shown that my ability to cut bricks and slabs cleanly is not of the highest. I think I will try to see how well I manage and look at alternatives if I start wasting too many blocks.

Door openings will be near the front corners so I will need 3/4 blocks for the outside of those (so one block should do a rear and front corner).

I may well have to do some trimming around the windows as it doesn't look as though they come is multiples of full blocks.

BTW if the pillar between the door and window openings is one block wide is it necessary (or even desirable) to alternate full blocks and half blocks up the side of the window or is it better just to go up with full blocks?

Truck loads of stuff arriving today so I am about to move from theory to practice.

Cheers

Dave R

[mike]

It really is dead easy to cut blocks with one of these (plus safety kit obvioulsy):

half a dozen blocks out, chalk up the cutting lines and whizz through them one after the other.

Lidl were selling these a while ago if you don't like angle grinders:

[David WE Roberts]

Lidl were selling these a while ago if you don't like angle grinders:

sure this is any good for sizes above a single brick. I am cutting along a line 215mm (8.5") long and the block is 100mm (4") deep. The picture shows it cutting a 'brick sizer' block.

[David WE Roberts]

while back. One is a US publication first published in 1951 and last updated in 1974 (Thid Edition). Bricklaying skill and practice by Robert Putman.

Aparrt from demonstrating that the US sometimes does things differently there were a whole load of illustrations of different ways of laying blocks in a 'decorative' manner. One struck a chord - it showed 'quarter bond' See

"in general bricks should be not less than quarter bonded" Just found this useful page when searching UK sites for 'quarter bond'.

So it does look as though quarter bond may be a valid way of laying blocks.

A lot of the US decorative 'bonds' didn't seem to be bonds at all all the mortar lines were straight up and across. I assume that this is because the book dealt with building using hollow blocks with vertical and/or horizontal reinforcing where necessary.

I have gone back to considering quarter bond for the back and sides but I will still have to do quite a bit of cutting for the front so I may not save much cutting - it just looks to be a sensible way of building corners and straight runs with blocks.

Cheers

Dave R