Tying a new brick wall into the ends of two existing brick walls

May 27, 2017 4 Replies

We have a C-shaped brick enclosure (back and two sides) which is about 3 feet high. It was probably once used as a compost heap.



We want to enclose it by adding a fourth wall, to make a raised flower bed. It so happens that we have some spare bricks, and can buy any additional ones if we need them.



What is the best way of tying in the new wall to the ends of the two side walls? Is the best way to drill holes in the existing mortar/bricks, mortar in pegs and then lay the new bricks so the pegs fit between the courses of new bricks in the same way that butterfly ties are used?



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I'm reluctant to start chiselling-out the old mortar to make room for proper butterfly ties, in case the mechanical shock fractures the mortar elsewhere.



It's only a low wall (probably about 10 rows of bricks) and the only load will be from the soil inside the enclosure. The bricks would be standing on a concrete base, not on bare earth, so they would be unlikely to settle over time.



Use something like these

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Your local builders merchant may have a variation on these. Drill, plug and screw the backplate to wall and arrange the tie in plates as required.

Richard

The best way is to remove the half bricks in the wall ends & mortar the new brickwork in making a seamless join. However that's obvious enough and you're not considering that, so presumably you want a quick easy way rather than the best way.

NT

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