Bricklaying - adding a new wall at right-angles to an existing one

[Mortimer]

A friend has a compost heap in her garden. It is surrounded by 3-foot-high brick walls on three sides and a breeze-block wall at the back. It's on a concrete base.

She wants to add a dividing brick wall within it to separate it into two halves.

What is the best way of tying this wall into the existing ones so it doesn't fall over. Is it necessary to dig out some of the exisiting mortar to insert metal "butterfly" ties and then re-mortar around them, and then incorporate those ties into the new courses of bricks?

(view in a fixed-pitch font)

============T========== T | | | T ============T==========

= existing brickwork

- new brickwork T butterfly tie

[jloomis]

I would simplify the compost heap construction. Not use brick. Use 2 angle irons say from an old bed frame, and bolt those with concrete screws to the brick. space them about 1 1/2" apart or the size of a 2x12. Stack 2x12 for the separation. In many compost bins you will find this construction since you can stack as you fill and unstack as you use the compost. jloomis

[tmurf.1]

Some simple wall ties installed with masonry nails or tapcons should do a fine job. You can drive the masonry nails into the existing mortar joints with a good sized hammer or drill the tapcons into the joints through the wallties for a perfectly good tie in.