# Weekend Project



## tile9 (Aug 23, 2010)

This should probably be posted on the DIY Chatroom website, but I am not registered there and I didn't see a masonry topic, so I'll post here. :tt2:

I'm a tile man by trade and have done a few stone fireplaces in my day, but have very little brick masonry experience (but I've seen it done a million times, of course).

Anyways, going to build a small circular wall around the firepit in my yard with some free paver bricks I acquired from a friend (about 400). The firepit is quite deep, about 2 feet. The wall will have a 10 foot inside diameter and will be 3 rows of brick. My plan is as follows.

First, I will level out the ground as well as I can with a shovel and/or pick axe. Then, using rebar in the exact center of the pit and a 12' 2x4 (hole in the middle) I will mark out where all my stakes need to go make a form in which to pour my "footing". Thinking 3" should be plenty. Using a thin plywood (luan maybe) to make the curved forms with stakes every 1 to 2 feet. Pour the form, let it set up overnight (longer?).

Then, I will go about the brick laying with ready to mix mason's mix and tool the lines.

That's pretty much all I know to do. I'm sure I left out some important steps, and that's why I'm posting this. Any corrections to my plan or tips you may be able to give would be great.

Thanks in advance! :drink:


----------



## stuart45 (Oct 7, 2009)

You seem to be on the right track with your methods. A 4x2 is a bit bigger than you need for the trammel however. Here a picture that might help.







Pavers are not the best bricks to build a wall with. How high is it going?


----------



## tile9 (Aug 23, 2010)

Thanks for the pic. And yeah, the pavers are not ideal, but they were free. It's only 3 rows of brick. so 6-7 inches tall without the footing. Thats why I'm not concerned.

The wall is mostly aesthetic, not going for any retaining strength. Just kind of want to try my hand at the craft. At this point, my girlfriend is more experienced in brick (helped her dad build a true brick house), and we can't have that, now can we? :no:


----------



## tile9 (Aug 23, 2010)

*Day 1*

Got started on the project today. No work this week so I decided to do my firepit wall. 

Removed the crappy used bricks from the previous owners and leveled out the ground to a workable surface.

Next, put in my center post and rebar for the tramel and laid out the spikes for the inner and outer curved forms. Used 1/4 inch OSB with the slick side on the inside of the form and it curved very nicely. Used a level the entire way around and the thing is perfectly flat.

Using premix Quickrete, I poured the slab and screeded it off to have a nice base to brick on top of.

The last picture was taken before the final pouring of concrete and screeding as I was losing light fast.


Question: I have a bunch of leveling sand left over from the previous owners and was wondering if that was okay to use with portland for my brick mortar.

Pictures to follow...


----------



## tile9 (Aug 23, 2010)

the rest


----------



## CJKarl (Nov 21, 2006)

For a fire pit I would not worry about reusing the sand as long as there are no stones in it. You could screen it or just buy a little more. It's the cheapest material we work with.


----------



## tile9 (Aug 23, 2010)

Cool. I wouldn't be "reusing" it as its still in the bags, I was more worried about the size of the granules, as its leveling sand instead of masonry sand.


----------



## Midwest Madness (Nov 10, 2010)

Nice, that looks like a pretty easy project...


----------



## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

Fair warning, if you build any fires worthy of that size enclosure, the concrete is definitely going to crack. Never tried pavers for a fire ring, but I suspect they won't hold up all that well to good hot fires over the long run either.

Nevertheless, it's a worthy endeavor, and you should at least get a good couple of years' enjoyment out of it. :thumbsup:


----------



## bryans (Nov 1, 2010)

I always line the inside of my fire pits with fire brick. This will prolong the life of your free pavers.


----------



## tile9 (Aug 23, 2010)

*Couple of Clarifications*

First off, I must reiterate that I am not a mason, so I do not know the correct terminology to be accurate on what I call some of the material. But when I say pavers, I do not mean the cement based blocks that are colored to look like brick nor do I mean the things that are used in laying a sidewalk with the protruding edges to give correct spacing.

These brick pavers are old school bricks that do not have the 3 or 4 holes in the middle that are usually meant for veneer work. These bricks are from the old Salisbury, NC factories that still make brick by hand, using workers to place the clay into the mold and put the molds into the ovens themselves. The same factory that made these bricks was featured on Discovery's Dirty Jobs a couple of years ago as being one of the last factories to hand make bricks.

Moving on, you guys bring up a couple of important points about the proximity of the fire. 

First off, the subject of fire bricks. I have noticed that in the fires that I've had here, the bricks that have fallen into the pit have become very brittle. However, I'm talking about bricks being within the coals and subject to extreme heat. Do you think that bricks that are a good 3 feet away from the flames would fail due to the heat? The wall has a 5 foot radius and I just can't fathom a fire big enough to subject these bricks to too much heat to the point of breakage, especially when encapsulated in mortar.

Secondly, the mortar failing. I have never heard (nor seen) of mortar cracking due to heat. Obviously mason's use fire brick in a fire place, but what do they use for mortar? Is there a special additive I can add to my mix to make the mortar more resistant to heat?

Third, and this has not been asked, but it must be acknowledged due to my own ignorance, but should I add lime to my mortar mix? I had planned on using a mix of simply sand, portland, and water. But I know a lot of masonry work recommends or even requires lime in the mix as well. In my application, what should I do? I would even more like to know what are the exact ratios I should use. Excluding the lime, I've heard of using 3:1 sand to portland and 6:1 sand to portland, which is correct?


Thanks for all the helpful comments. And yes, this is a pretty easy project and that is what makes it so fun. I love learning knew things and especially doing them correctly the first time. Trial and error can get expensive.


----------



## CJKarl (Nov 21, 2006)

You can use the following proportions;
3 sand- 1 portland- 1 hydrated lime


----------



## Tscarborough (Feb 25, 2006)

An even better mix for the firepit brick is: 1 portland, 1 fireclay, 1 lime, 3 parts fine silica sand by volume of the total of cementious materials. Common brick are usually fine for firepits, ovens, and fireplaces, but you will get some spalling.


----------



## stuart45 (Oct 7, 2009)

The job's coming on well tile9. How thick is the wall going to be, 4inch or 9 inch? Are you going to render it, or have it as facework?


----------



## tile9 (Aug 23, 2010)

Not sure what you are asking, stuart. I don't know the masonry lingo. But... The bricks are 7 3/4" long, 2" tall, and I forget the depth. The footing is 3" tall, and will have 3 rows of brick on top. The bricks will be laid flat so that the short end will be facing the fire. Basically the bricks will be laid beside each other, not end to end. So that makes the wall 7 3/4" wide and 10" wall with the footing. Though I plan to grade the ground or add some ground covering to hide the footing. Easier that way than digging out the ground for the footing.

And thanks, I'm thinking by the end of it all, I'll be in for less than $100. Not too shabby. No work today though, its been raining most of the day with more to come. Got the bricks tarped so tomorrow its good to go.


----------



## Tscarborough (Feb 25, 2006)

You should alternate the way you lay the brick per layer. Side by side one course, end to end the next, and then finish with them side by side. That will eliminate a lot of joint cracking.


----------



## tile9 (Aug 23, 2010)

That sounds good, I had planned to stagger the rows, but still all side by side. When I get to the next step I'll look into what you said ts. Thanks.

Assuming I don't go play golf instead, should have some pics up tomorrow evening.


----------



## Tscarborough (Feb 25, 2006)

Stuart is asking how many rows of brick, i.e. how wide the wall is, and are you going to stucco the outside. It is double wythe wide three courses tall from what I can tell.


----------



## stuart45 (Oct 7, 2009)

Thanks Tscarborough, that's just what I meant. Lucky you are bilingual:laughing:
I guess you are talking about building it in Olde English Bond, which as you said is stronger than header bond.


----------



## tile9 (Aug 23, 2010)

*Done*

Finished this the next day or two after my last post, but never got around to posting pictures. But, here they are...


----------

