DO IT YOURSELF

BUILD A RETAINING WALL

Tools:
Bricklayer's Trowel
Mason's String
Mason's Hand Level
2' and 4' Hand Levels
Framing Square
Mason's Pointing Tool
Wooden Float

Materials:
1310 Brick 3 3/4" x 2 1/4" x 8" per 100 square feet of wall
4.4 Brick 3 3/4" x 2 1/4" x 8" per foot of wall length
20 Cubic Feet of Mortar per 100 square feet of wall
2.33 Cubic Feet of Concrete per foot of wall length
3/8" Steel Reinforcing Bars, 52" long, bent 9" from one end at 90 degree angle one for every 3 1/2 feet of wall length
2 10' Pieces of Prefabricated Joint Reinforcement for 8" wide wall for every 9
1/2 feet of wall length
3/8" Steel Reinforcing Bars, 18" long, one for every 3 1/2 feet of wall length
1/2" Steel Bars for length of footing (allow 10" lapping splice)
Plastic Tubing
Small Amount of Asphalt
1 cu.ft. of coarse gravel per 4 feet of wall length

Have Handy:
Shovel
Wheelbarrow
Garden Hose
Garden Rake
Hammer
Old Broom (short, stiff bristles)

Brick retaining walls protect your property while enhancing its appearance. When a cut
is made in a hillside, escaping moisture will eventually erode it into a slope. Retaining
walls prevent this erosion by holding moisture in the ground.
This is an ambitious project and calls for particularly good workmanship. Remember to
comply with local building codes. This wall is to be built no more than 3 feet high.
Study the diagram and refer to it frequently.

Dig excavation as indicated. Use some loose brick to lay the bottom reinforcing bars on.
Wire the vertical bar to the bottom bar and prop in place. Insert remaining bars in the
top of the footing as the concrete is poured.
The concrete footing should be allowed to season for at least a week. Lay up the brick,
using your best workmanship and shoved joints, inserting prefabricated steel joint
reinforcement where indicated. Some brick must be cut for the insertion of "weep holes"
of plastic tubing 1 inch in diameter every 4 feet along the wall as shown
Before capping the wall with a solid row of brick laid on edge, pour grout in the gap
between the brick to bond the reinforcing bars. Grout is mortar to which water has been
added until it is thin enough to pour.
When the wall is completed, brush asphalt coating on the earth side to make it
watertight. A "French drain" of gravel should be placed behind the wall down to the
weep hole.
BUILD A BARBECUE
Tools
Hammer
Mason's String
Trowel
Hand Level
Brick Chisel
Chalk
Wooden Float
Hand Brush

Materials

450 Cored Brick Units, 3 3/4" x 2 1/4" x 8"

75 Solid Brick Units, same dimensions
6 Cubic Feet of Mortar
27 Cubic Feet Concrete for Hearthslab
1 2/3 Cubic Feet Concrete for Hearthslab
20 Reinforcing Bars 3/8" in Diameter:
o 50 bars 18 inches long
o 3 bars 32 inches long
o 12 bars 4 inches long

Sitting a barbecue is a matter of convenience to the cook. It is wise, however, to take

notice of prevailing winds: you don't want smoke to blow directly into your windows or
those of a neighbor.

Sand-finish brick is a good choice for reducing cleanup work after

the job because mortar won't stick or smear, although crumbs will
still have to be brushed away.
Excavate and pour the concrete foundation to the dimensions
indicated, placing reinforcing bars as shown. Crisscross the bars in a
grid pattern and prop them up with brick units so that they lay
approximately in the center. If you prefer, they can be wired together
and handled as a unit.
Draw the outline of the barbecue on the foundation slab, leaving at
least 2 inches all around. Lay out the first two courses of brick to see
if the pattern works, allowing 1/2 inch for where the mortar joints will be.
Build the corners first, going three or four courses high, then filling in the wall from
corner to corner. The bottom course should be bonded to the slab with mortar. Use a
hand level frequently to keep the wall plumb and the rows of brick level.
Excess mortar may be clipped off with the trowel two or three rows at a time. As soon
as the mortar is "thumbprint" hard, use a mason's pointing tool to shape and compress
the mortar between brick.
Use solid brick units for the top of the barbecue walls.
Excess crumbs of mortar which remain when the wall is finished may be brushed away
with a soft fiber hand brush.
Courtesy of the Brick Institute of America