Category: Brick and Stonework
Removing a Fireplace
There may be one of several reasons why you would want to remove your fireplace, from simply wanting to replace it with another to just wanting to get rid of a fireplace altogether to update the look of the room.
Laying Wall Foundations
Any wall not built on a solid surface must have a firm and level foundation. Standard wall foundations consist of a layer of concrete on a bed of hardcore, but if the ground is particularly firm, you can get away with just a thick bed of concrete.
Building a Brick Pier
Building a pier into a wall not only looks good, but it also adds to the structural strength of the wall as a whole, particularly on Half Brick Walls (walls which are only one brick thick).
Lintels
If you are planning to add a doorway or window to a load-bearing wall, you will almost always be required to support the load of the wall above the planned opening with a lintel.
Load-bearing Walls
Whenever you are planning on doing major work on the walls of your house, you need to know if they are load-bearing or not before you start. Load-bearing walls are holding up your house, and even slight alterations to their structure can cause big problems.
Building a Paver Path
There are several different ways to create garden paths, but one of the most attractive is to use pavers.
Home Improvement Safety Tips
These Home Improvement Safety Tips cover the very least you should think about before even opening your toolbox.
Understanding Internal Partition Walls
When you are planning DIY jobs which involve altering or fixing to internal partition walls, it is important to understand their construction. The type of internal partition wall you will find in your house is largely influenced by the age of the house, but also things like whether the house has been renovated or altered […]
Filling Gaps Around Window Frames
Gaps can appear around any type of window frame, on a house of any age. They may be caused by natural settling of the house cracking existing mortar or just by bad workmanship when the window was fitted.
Replacing a Cracked or Spalled Brick
If you live in an old brick built house, it is inevitable that at some point some of the bricks will need replacing. Assuming that the area to be replaced is not too large this is a relatively easy job.
Cutting Bricks and Blocks
Cutting bricks or blocks cleanly and accurately takes a little practice, but once you have the knack you should be able to chop them in half quickly and easily. There are many occasions when you may need to cut bricks or blocks in half or trim them to fit particular areas of a wall or […]
Building a Wall
Building a wall is a fairly easy task, building a wall well is a lot tougher. Bricklaying is a job that can only be mastered by practice. Building the odd wall here and there does not make you a bricklayer.
Building a Concrete Driveway
Adding a driveway to your property makes very good sense and if you have the room, this is a summer project you should really consider. Driveways are a good idea for several reasons, not least the added security they offer for your car.
Fitting an Airbrick
Too few or blocked airbricks can cause serious ventilation problems in the home (there should be one airbrick to every 2 meters of wall), but fitting a new one isn’t beyond the Diy-er.
Cleaning Brick and Stone
Before painting or treating the outside of your house, you need to make sure the stone or brickwork is clean and free from lichen, mould and Efflorescence.
Planning a Solid Block Wall
There are several reasons why you may want to build a partition wall from solid blocks, rather than the potentially easier and quicker stud partition wall. Solid walls will give far greater acoustic and thermal insulation than a stud wall (even if the stud wall has insulation fitted) and will certainly feel more solid.
Guide to Wall Construction
A complete guide to the many different types of wall construction you may encounter in your house.
Blocking Up Doorways in Brick Walls
When blocking up a doorway or entryway in a brick wall, it is important to make sure that the new section is tied into the existing wall. This can be done in a variety of ways, as we will show here.
Repointing Brick Walls
The natural action of wind and rain will cause mortar between the bricks of your house to loosen, crumble and wear down. This not only looks bad but can also allow water to penetrate the bricks.
Spanning Openings in Brick Walls
When planning on adding a doorway or window to a brick wall, you need to make sure that the wall does not lose its strength. Window and door frames are not designed to carry heavy loads so you should always support the opening with a lintel.
Building Block Partition Walls
Non-loadbearing Partition walls are usually constructed from wooden studs and plasterboard, and in many cases you will not need to look for another solution. If, however, you are planning to build a partition wall on a solid concrete floor, it is worth considering using concrete blocks for the construction.