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Mr-Skill loves recycling because it avoids over-filling our tips, and it saves on the pocket too, when there is no need to buy new bricks. Assuming your bricks are re-usable after demolishing your old wall, he also suggests that they will make for a rustic and creative effect as you build a new wall. 
All it needs is an investment of time and the application of a little elbow-grease – imagine the feeling of accomplishment when it all comes together. If you don’t have the skills to lay bricks, you can still make a positive contribution by preparing the old bricks for re-use, while you find a bricklayer here on Mr-Skill.
Old for New
Set up a production line in a quiet spot in your yard. Then, examine each broken brick piece and decide which ones to keep, and those destined for the rubble pile. For those that are re-usable, it is a case of tidying up the broken face so that all sides are reasonably flat for the re-building job.
Using a pencil, mark up where you plan to cut out the damaged part of the old brick. Carry your marked line around all four faces to facilitate a flat face for the section you are about to level. Now you can go to work with your chisel, working methodically and safely – don’t forget the goggles and gloves!
Laying out the New Course
If you have decided this bit is not for you, you will have to get a bricklaying quote – remember to ask for some discount because of all the preparation work you have already done. If you are going ahead yourself:
- Spread out the prepared mortar evenly along the foundations of the new wall using a trowel.
- Spread a decent layer of mortar on either side of the brick before laying it on the foundation – you could do this in your hand or once the brick’s laid in position, making sure to anchor the bricks firmly in the mortar.
- Continue along the new brick course until you have completed a row, and so on. One of our London bricklayer chuckles that the beauty of using old bricks is that you can trim them to all sorts of shapes and sizes to fit all the nooks and crannies.
Mr-Skill adds that if you have reached this far without fuss, then you are a natural bricklayer, and you should look to joining up as a member!
Tags: anchor, brick, bricklaying quote, broken, chisel, demolishing, discount, find a bricklayer, foundation, gloves, goggles, investment, london bricklaying, mortar, recycling, rubble, safety, trowel, wall, work
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Posted in Bricklaying on Sep 14
Mr-Skill simply loves brickwork, and particularly the way it can enhance an area or even become a feature in its own right. When it comes to garden walls, brick can provide more privacy when used as a boundary separator, or it can define flowerbeds in your garden with a bit of imaginative use. There are many different uses for a brick garden wall, and in this article, we will talk about three options.  
Laying bricks correctly is an acquired skill and takes much practice and careful planning. Bricklaying is also a recognised trade, which not only requires training, but demands that – to earn the title of a bricklayer – means passing various trade tests too. Find a bricklaying specialist here on Mr-Skill, and rest easy knowing that a decent job is on the way.
The Pierced Effect
Essentially, a pierced brick wall is the same as the solid brick version, except it has regular gaps in its design. It can make a marvellous feature in your garden, and it certainly allows in light and promotes air movement too. You could even consider incorporating feature windows in your design, when you get a bricklaying quote from one of our registered members here on Mr-Skill.
One of the many advantages of this type of wall is that it enables your neighbours to catch a glimpse of your manicured private garden, while at the same time it ornately defines your property and garden zones.
Water-Feature in a Brick Wall 
Fountains are great fun and can have a soothing and cooling effect on a hot summer’s day. One of our regular London Bricklaying experts has completed many-a-fountain-feature in his time, and he says that there is nothing to beat the tinkling sound of gurgling water.
Several of his customers have made their fountains-in-brick popular relaxation spots in their gardens – somewhere to observe the passing of time in privacy! Don’t stop at a fountain necessarily – you could also create a wonderful water feature into which the fountain tumbles before being recirculated. Why not go the whole hog and add some fish and aquatic plants.
Practical Retaining Walls
These walls are not only a functional feature in holding soil, or preventing erosion and subsidence, they also provide another dimension to your garden. The possibilities are open-ended when you design your low retaining wall to provide a terraced effect, as one flowerbed slopes down to the next and so on. Low retainer walls make for easier gardening around them too. They make useful seats for your guests to enjoy, as do Mr-Skill’s, when he entertains!
Tags: acquatic, boundary, bricklaying quote, brickwork, cooling, customers, find a bricklaying specialist, flowerbed, fountain, Garden, gurgling, london bricklaying expert, neighbours, ornate, popular, relaxation, retaining wall, soothing, terraced, tinkling
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Posted in Bricklaying on Jun 25
A neatly laid pathway can complement any garden. You can even choose to leave rustic grass patches between the pavers, or you may prefer the fully-paved look. Using the right tools, the average homeowner can construct their own dry sub-structure using sand, or go for a wet mortar finish. If you are not practical when it comes to DIY, rather find a bricklayer on Mr-Skill and let them do the job expertly for you. 
What You’ll Need
If you don’t already have them, buying what you require for this job could end up costing far more than getting a bricklaying quote from Mr-Skill in the first place. Now is a good time too, with some sizzling special offers around! If you are going ahead yourself, you will need:
- Wheelbarrow
- Building shovel
- Spirit level
- Plastic ribbon
- Edging stakes
- Builder’s sand
- Rubber mallet
- Hose
- Compactor – probably best to hire this
- Paving stones for your new path
Planning
Start out by laying out your pathway, as you feel led. Now, hammer the stakes into the ground at the starting point. Follow with stakes placed about four feet apart down the one side of your path. To ensure consistent width, use the plastic ribbon to measure across the path for the stakes on the opposite side. 
You are now ready to start excavating the soil and grass between the stakes. Use your shovel to do so, clearing to a depth of around 6 inches. Remove the surplus soil and grass using your wheelbarrow.
Check your levels within the newly excavated area, remembering to slope the path away from your house to avoid water pools forming when it rains.
Compacting
Now you are ready to compact the newly marked and excavated path. Continue using the compactor until the sub-soil is firm. You now need to cover the excavated area with a 2-inch bed of gravel. The path is now ready to have another-2 inch topping of builder’s sand which will need wetting before final compaction.
Finishing With Paving Stones
Position the pavers in your desired pattern and tap each new stone into place with your mallet. Aim to get neighbouring pavers tightly up against those already laid. Throw a final covering of the builder’s sand over your new pathway, and gently wash this into the gaps between your pavers.
One of our regular London bricklayers tells us that he gets a kick out of laying a meandering pathway. Curves are much better than straight lines, and this also makes your new path that bit more inviting too.
Tags: bricklaying quote, builder's sand, compacting, compactor, curves, Excavation, find a bricklayer, garden path, grass, gravel, level surface, london bricklayer, mortar, pavers, paving blocks, paving stones, sand, soil, stakes, surplus soil
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Posted in Bricklaying on Apr 09
Perhaps you are planning your first DIY bricklaying project and are not sure how many bricks to order. Begin by drawing a brick grid on a piece of board to make life easier, and ensure a professional brick course later. Brick grids are like a template for the correct alignment of one brick upon the other, and form an important part of the planning process before you start building.
Things You’ll Need
- Poster board
- Marker pen
- Ruler
If this sounds like too much hard work, why not consider getting a bricklaying quote from one of our many “brickies” right here on Mr-Skill.
Step 1 
Choose a pattern for your brick grid – you can select from one of many. The most popular is the running bond pattern, which results in a row of bricks all pointing in the same direction. Start laying the next row across half-the-brick length it is covering, as this achieves strength as well as unity.
The regular basket weave pattern is also quite popular. This involves placing two bricks adjacently to form a small square. Every other square laid in a given row, comprises two more bricks laid at right angles to the previous set. This results in a row consisting of alternate vertical and horizontal patterns. Keep in mind though that we are simply drawing the brick grid and not actually building the wall yet.
Step 2
First, sketch the outline of the proposed wall. You will need to use a scale that suits your board size. Now, draw a rectangle – which represents a similarly scaled brick at one bottom corner of your posterboard – don’t forget to use your ruler to connect the lines. In the UK, the standard brick size is 8½ inches by 4 inches by 2½ inches, and you’ll need to allow for the mortar too. Some people simply trace the outline around a scale-brick instead. 
Step 3
Continue outlining more bricks, moving across and upwards from your starting point. Keep in mind the grid pattern you have selected, and don’t forget to leave the appropriate gap for the mortar between each brick. When you’ve filled up all the available space, you can check to find out how many bricks you need to buy.
Expert Help
Even the best London bricklayer is charging lower rates these days because of the economic downturn. Why not save yourself a heap of trouble and find a bricklayer on Mr-Skill to do the job for you instead. They can buy the bricks a whole lot cheaper and could have the job done in a matter of days – while you get on with other things that you prefer.
Tags: basket weave, brick grid, brick size, bricklaying quote, find a bricklayer, gap, grid, london bricklayer, mortar, right angle, running bond, standard brick, template, UK brick size
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Posted in Bricklaying on Mar 12
Bricklaying is an art as well as a science. Don’t go it alone. Get a bricklaying quote by clicking on this link to Mr-Skill, where you will find bricklaying experts. It’s not just about the vertical and horizontal dimensions. A good bricklayer will also be checking joint widths, mortar consistency and brick-course levels continuously.
 Foundations – This is the start point of any building project, and stability is paramount. Excessive ground moisture or insufficient compaction could lead to problems with the brick face, and that will not be the bricklayer’s fault. Keep in mind that lack of tensile strength between bricks and mortar inevitably results in cracks – and possible collapse too. Make sure your London bricklayer knows that the City sits on clay.
The Mortar is Too Dry – Mixing mortar correctly is not quite as simple as it looks, and the results of a poor mix could spell disaster. Too little water, and the mortar will not bond correctly between the bricks. The golden rule is that the slower the mortar mixture dries, the better the bond. One trick is to soak each brick in water before building. This method ensures that the mortar will dry slowly where it attaches to the brick. The end result – a stronger wall!
 Plumb or Dumb – A decent plumb line is essential when constructing a brick wall and the age-old trick of suspending a weight on a taught nylon string is hard to beat. The bottom line is that the side of your wall needs to be at right angles to the end. If it isn’t, then the bricks will not combine to form a single structure. The greater the angle of error in your brick wall, the more the pressure on the mortar and the risk of failure of the structure.
It’s far wiser to find a bricklayer on Mr-Skill because we’ve interviewed them personally and you can find out what our other customers think of them too.
How’s that for a good idea. And what’s more it’s completely free of charge to you!
Tags: bond, brick, brick laying, bricklayer, bricklaying, bricklaying quote, collapse, consistency, crack, dimension, expert, find a bricklayer, foundation, horizontal, joint, level, measure, moist, mortar, plumb, right angle, stability, strength, string, vertical, wet
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Posted in Bricklaying on Jan 09
Sometimes we come across customers trying to crack walnuts with large sledgehammers. By this, we mean people trying to turn a rowing boat into an ocean liner. Take simple brick paving jobs, for example. If it’s not a heavy traffic area you could even do the job yourself, thereby avoiding the  need for a London Bricklayer or other specialist.
- Obtain a supply of decent quality bricks. By this we mean a product that’s well baked through, reasonably rectangular, and of a pleasing appearance too. Don’t be put off if the colour varies though. In fact, variety can be a large part of the charm.
- Mark out the path or patio and excavate to twice the thickness of the bricks laid flat. Remove any roots you find. Lay a plastic sheet in the hole to discourage weeds. Mix dry cement powder with two-thirds of the soil dug out, in proportions of four parts earth to one part cement. DO NOT MOISTEN this mixture. Mother Nature will do it for you.
- Compact this mixture back into the hole until it is level, and one brick’s height below the ground. Sprinkle fine dry sand evenly over it to about half an inch thick. Lay the bricks in whatever pattern
 you prefer, tapping these down firmly with a rubber mallet, and adding / removing sand as necessary to create a level effect.
- Fill any gaps with brick pieces. Use a hammer and chisel NOT AN ANGLE GRINDER to cut these down to size, and remember to wear thick gloves. Finally, excavate a frame all around the paved area the width of a single brick. Mix all the remaining earth with dry cement powder – in a ratio of three parts to one this time – and tamp it back in. The mixture will harden naturally over time. Cut away any surplus plastic sheet.
How that for service from Mr-Skill? There’s no need to ask us for Bricklaying Quotes if you’d like to do a job like this yourself. Should you decide that you’ve got better things to do though, we can help you Find a Bricklayer working in your area, and We Won’t Charge you a Penny for this service either.
Tags: brick, bricklaying quotes, cement, chisel, colour, compact, depth, earth, find a bricklayer, ground, hammer, harden, height, job, london bricklayer, mallett, naturally, path, patio, paving, piece, plastic, proportion, root, sand, sheet, soil, tamp, thick, traffic, weed
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Posted in Bricklaying on Dec 20
Brick steps are lovely to behold, but they do tend to get a little grimy over time, as dirt collects and moss develops. I popped over to the local brickfield the other day, and picked up some tips I’ll gladly share with you here.  This is definitely not a job to take lightly though. In fact I’m inclined to suggest you Find a Bricklayer to do the job for you instead
- Remove any obvious blobs of cement or anything else using a metal or hard-wood scraper. The same goes for any paint runs too.
- Obtain a supply of hydrochloric acid from a hardware store. Dilute 1-part of acid to 20-parts of water for light-coloured bricks, and twice the strength for darker ones. Do not make the mixture any stronger, or you could harm your health!
- Protect yourself and the adjacent areas from splashing, and saturate the area where you will be working with clean water. Minimum safety requirements are rubber gloves and safety glasses.
 Apply the hydrochloric acid dilution to a small area highest up the wall. Wait for between 3 and 6 minutes, and then scrub it down thoroughly. Work in small batches of no more than one square meter at a time, and rinse thoroughly as you go along.
- HINT For best results, London Bricklayers recommend rinsing light-coloured bricks with a bicarbonate or washing soda solution instead.
A messy job indeed, and one I’m not sure I’d care to tackle myself. In fact I can think of a dozen things I’d prefer to do. I reckon that’s where Mr-Skill comes in. You can get a Bricklayer Quote to do the job for you, just by clicking on the link. And there’s no charge at all for this superb quoting service either!
Tags: apply, bicarbonate, brick, bricklayer quote, cement, colour, dark, dilute, dirt, find a bricklayer, glasses, glove, goggles, grimy, hint, hydrochloric acid, light, london bricklayers, moss, paint, part, remove, rinse, safety, saturate, scrape, scrub, splash, step, tip, washing soda, water
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Posted in Bricklaying on Nov 25
We get queries from time to time from homeowners concerned about the efflorescence on their walls. Sometimes these walls have been rendered, while at other times they are raw masonry. In all cases the powder is caused by leeching salts contained in the raw materials. So there’s little point in trying to Find the Builder who built the wall –  although you could help avoid the problem by employing a professional bricklayer, such as those whose services we advertise here.
The ground salts are contained in natural products like sand, clay and stone. When water penetrates the material it carries the salts out to the surface. There the water evaporates leaving the characteristic white deposit behind. This can largely be avoided by preventing water intrusion and applying a surface sealer. When you get Bricklaying Quotes from Mr-Skill, you should discuss such matters and agree solutions.
• Brushing the efflorescence away is only a temporary solution, although theoretically all the ground salt will leech out in time.
• The permanent solution lies in preventing water from entering the material in the first place. If it is  intruding from the outside, then this is relatively easily cured. If the wall is a retaining one though then a big job lies ahead as every London Builder knows. That’s because a leak is only stopped at its source, and that’s behind the wall!
• If you are lucky, then the problem is the result of a permeable surface on the weather side. The solution in this case is to allow the wall to dry out, thoroughly brush the surface clean, and then apply a proprietary clear sealer.
The Bricklayers advertising on Mr-Skill are properly trained and know how to mitigate against irritating efflorescence. Their rates are generally lower too, because they compete among themselves for work. There is no charge for requesting quotes from us and no obligation to accept them either. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect consumer-driven solution you’ve been looking for?
Tags: bricklaying quotes, brush, clay, clean, deposit, dry, efflorescence, enter, evaporate, find a bricklayer, ground, intrusion, leech, london bricklayer, masonry, natural, outside, penetrate, permeable, powder, prevent, render, retain, salt, sand, seal, stone, wall, water, white
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Posted in Bricklaying on Nov 10
United Kingdom soil is always damp provided you dig down deep enough, and when it gets saturated, capillary action causes moisture to rise up to the surface.  If that happens and you rest a cardboard box upon the ground, the water dampens the cardboard too. Similarly, moisture naturally rises up through porous brick walls, and that’s what we call rising damp.
A damp course is a physical damp-proof barrier above the ground on which the walls of a building rest. It may also be a vertical barrier to prevent rainwater intrusion from outside, although this is less common. The earliest horizontal barriers were inserted using slate which being dense is impervious to water. These days cheaper plastic strips are more common.
If you are planning to Find a Builder outside of Mr-Skill we recommend that you carefully research the details of what they propose by way of damp courses. Should you source a tradesman through us though, there is no need to worry. That’s because all our craftsmen follow the practices of the best London Bricklayer Firms.
 A horizontal damp course should be laid between two brick courses at least six inches above the ground at the highest point, and it should never be covered afterwards by soil because this can counteract it. Should the brick course subsequently fail, then there is little point in getting Bricklaying Quotes. The only workable solution is to arrange expensive chemical injections.
This is why we always recommend employing qualified, Rated Bricklayers such as we provide at Mr-Skill. The pleasures of saving a few pounds on a bricklaying job through employing glorified handymen is easily forgotten, after you receive an expensive chemical injection repair bill.
Tags: barrier, brick, bricklaying quotes, capillary, chemical, course, damp, damp course, dig, earth, find a bricklayer, ground, horizontal, injection, intrusion, london bricklayer, moisture, plastic, rain, rise, rising damp, slate, soil, surface, vertical, water
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