Brick Accents 6 - Screen

Intro - Patio - Barbecue - Retaining Wall - Mortarless Paving - Screen - Sandbox - Lawn Edging and Stepping Stones - Planter - Pedestal - Steps

Tools:

• Bricklayer's Trowel
• Mason's String
• Mason's Hand Level
• 2' and 4' Hand Levels
• Framing Square
• Mason's Pointing Tool
• Broad-bladed Brick Chisel
• Wooden Float

 

Materials:

• Solid Brick Units 3 3/4" x 2 1/4" x 8", 4.4 units per square foot of screen; 6.55 units per square foot of solid wall (allow 5 to 25 percent for waste)
• Mortar
• .90 Cubic Feet of Concrete per lineal foot for 8" x 16" footing
• .66 Cubic Feet of Concrete per lineal foot for 8" x 12" footing

 

Have Handy:

• Shovel
• Wheelbarrow
• Garden Hose
• Garden Rake
• Hammer
• Old Broom (short, stiff bristles)
• Garden Hoe

 

Rent (optional):

• Brick Cutting Equipment

 

This attractive brick screen will dress up your yard and keep trash cans and installations out of sight.

Some local building regulations do not allow this kind of brick screen; check this when you ask how deep the concrete footing must be.

Study the diagram carefully; this is not a project to rush into. Have some experience behind you first on a less complicated project.

Excavate the footing, making sure it goes below the frost line and that the bottom of the trench is as level as possible. Check it with a straight 2 x 4, 8 feet long and with a 2 foot or 4 foot hand level. Dig out no more than the width of footing wanted. Use the sides of the trench for forming to avoid using extra materials.

Because the screen's corners must be built as plumb as possible, it's a good idea to begin by laying out the first three courses dry. This will give you a chance to insure a positive layout.

After establishing the solid wall portion, start the pierced-pattern portion at the corner by cutting a brick to a 6 inch length (A). Then cut a brick in half and lay in place, centered on the joint where two bricks come together, as shown (B). The cut portion will be visible only from the back side of the wall. Start the next course with a half unit (C), followed by a whole brick (D) spanning over to the middle of the cut brick on the course below. Continue these "stretcher" units for the rest of the course. Repeat the first pattern described after the stretcher course is in place.

Care should be taken during the construction process to avoid putting pressure on the screen - remember that it's only a little over half as heavy as a solid wall.

Courtesy of the Brick Institute of America

Intro - Patio - Barbecue - Retaining Wall - Mortarless Paving - Screen - Sandbox - Lawn Edging and Stepping Stones - Planter - Pedestal - Steps