Garden Wall Project - help required

[Mursal]

We wouldn't use anything, just cover if you think there may be frost, but highly unlikely in this weather.

Looks proper tidy, by the way ............

 

[spiidey]

Thanks for the replies.

So once I've poured the concrete as the infill behind each riser, I'm going to leave it until next weekend before I then mortar the treads on top of the concrete infill / risers, to give the concrete time to get a good way through the curing process.

One further question - should I use a product to seal the concrete? If so at what point should I use the sealing agent? If I seal the concrete, will this affect the bonding ability of the mortar that will then go on top of the concrete / underneath the riser?

 

[denso13]

No, it doesn't need any sealer

 

[r896neo]

I wouldn't worry too much about letting the concrete cure for a week. You can lay the tread the next day.

Personally I put sbr in the mortar on step treads as it helps it bond but its not necessary and certainly not worth buying a tub just for that. Just make the mortar good and wet.

 

[spiidey]

Thanks r896neo. Is there any particular "wet" consistency you would aim for with the mortar on the underside of the tread?

Is there anything we need to worry about at this particular time of year - i.e. As it starts to drop towards zero degrees overnight (which it is predicted to do here in Edinburgh on Wednesday night / Thursday morning) to protect the mortar / concrete that's been laid?

We've covered the area with a tarp but that's all.

 

[Andyc84]

A tarp is a good start.

Try some hessian sacking under the tarp to help provide additional protection if needed.

 

[spiidey]

A tarp is a good start.

Try some hessian sacking under the tarp to help provide additional protection if needed.

Thanks - will give that a go. I still need to lay the mortar for underneath the treads. Should I give this a go at this time of year or would it be inadvisable to do it?

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We hired a stihl saw to cut our paving slabs (which worked perfectly), but also needed to cut the croft stone walling bricks too.

However, having done this, it has left the cut looking like it does in the first picture below (i.e. with a whole series of different coloured grains exposed). This is for the top set of bricks on the wall therefore the cut will be visible. Is there any other way to get the "smooth" and perfectly sandy coloured cut that the bricks come in? For some reason, cutting the brick by hand didn't seem to have as drastically bad an effect. However, the line of the cut (by hand) wasn't perfectly straight as it is doing the cut with a Stihl saw.

Sthil Saw Cut Block - Side

Original Block - Side

Original Block - Bottom

 

[r896neo]

Go ahead with the mortar but put something over it overnight. Some old carpet or sheets of card board followed by a tarp will do.

As for the cut it can not be disguised so your best bet is to use an original side or face if at all possible. Where is this cut for so we can suggest a work around?

 

[spiidey]

Go ahead with the mortar but put something over it overnight. Some old carpet or sheets of card board followed by a tarp will do.

As for the cut it can not be disguised so your best bet is to use an original side or face if at all possible. Where is this cut for so we can suggest a work around?

We've not done the mortar for the treads yet - just the mortar for the bedding for the risers (done on Saturday) and the concrete infill behind the risers (Sunday). Should we still put some old carpet or sheets of cardboard over that, or is it only once we've done the mortar for the underside of the treads that we should do that?

The cut is to replace the two dummy blocks (the two smaller blocks) in the attached picture (circled red). So the side of each brick is visible given that each brick is wider/longer at the front than it is at the back.

Grateful for any advice on a workaround as I'm completely stumped!!!

 

[spiidey]

Anyone able to help?

 

[Andyc84]

if you do any concrete/mortar work and expect a frost, protect it with the covers as this will stop the water in the wet mortar/concrete freezing and damaging the final product.

As for the block... why is the side on show, I took that you are replacing the two dummy blocks with a whole cut block. surely the cut will be in the wall and not on the front face?

 

[spiidey]

if you do any concrete/mortar work and expect a frost, protect it with the covers as this will stop the water in the wet mortar/concrete freezing and damaging the final product.

As for the block... why is the side on show, I took that you are replacing the two dummy blocks with a whole cut block. surely the cut will be in the wall and not on the front face?

Thanks. How long after carrying out mortar or concrete works should we protect the setting mortar/concrete from frost (i.e. should this be the first few nights afterwards or for a month?)?

 

[spiidey]

As for the cut it can not be disguised so your best bet is to use an original side or face if at all possible. Where is this cut for so we can suggest a work around?

A bit more detail on the "cut" issue:-

The first picture shows the current size of the gap we're trying to fill (260mm approx) against the size of the brick we're trying to fit in (300mm approx), hence the need to cut the brick (we couldn't just put a full brick in there and shunt everything along as the staggering pattern against the bricks on the course below would be visibly off and look horrendous).

The second picture shows the side of the brick pre-cutting on the bottom (i.e. as it comes from the manufacturer), and post-cutting on the top (i.e. after using a stihl saw).

Hope that helps make a bit more sense.

 

[wrathkeg]

Are you really worrying about a cut that will be all but concealed by the blocks either side, and in any case only visible from the back, and even then only if you don't bring soil or plants etc up to the back of the blocks?

 

[spiidey]

Are you really worrying about a cut that will be all but concealed by the blocks either side, and in any case only visible from the back, and even then only if you don't bring soil or plants etc up to the back of the blocks?

Yes on the basis that the cut will also be visible from the sides as the end of each block tapers inwards from front to back, creating the "V" shape between blocks that means both sides of each and every block are visible.

The cut isn't visible from the back as it is only one side of a brick that is getting cut - we're shortening it length ways, not reducing the depth. The wall is half way down the garden though (as we're tiering the garden) therefore the cut is visible from a number of places in the garden!