Does the cost of building a natural stone wall bring tears to your eyes? These instructions explain step by step how to plan a brick wall correctly and how to make it yourself cheaply. This is how the construction of your garden wall becomes a successful project.

The experienced do-it-yourselfer can build a garden wall himself with a little skill

Preparatory work and list of materials - How to plan correctly

This guide explains how to build a freestanding, mortared garden wall yourself. The more precisely you plan the construction, the smoother the work will go. It is important to note that you consult the regional laws for building law and neighborhood law in advance. In addition, proof of stability by a structural engineer is generally required from a height of 200 cm. The following materials and tools are required to build a brick wall 0.80 m high, 0.20 cm wide and 10 m long:

  • 82 bricks (20x25x50)
  • 31 capstones (5x33x50)
  • 40 kg concrete screed
  • Masonry mortar with trass
  • silicone
  • Gravel or crushed stone with a grit between 0 and 32

Also required: wheelbarrow, wooden pegs, string, gloves, spade, pickaxe, shovel, folding rule, spirit level, plumb bob, rubber mallet, mason's and caulking trowel. A stone cutter and concrete mixer as well as a vibrating plate (499.00 €) can be borrowed cheaply in many hardware stores.

tips

When planning your garden wall, please consider in good time whether a passage is required. Creating a gate or opening afterwards involves a great deal of effort and unnecessarily increases costs.

Create a strip foundation - this is how it works

When you lay the foundation, first mark out the course of the garden wall with a plumb line and wooden pegs. Please make sure that the cord runs perfectly horizontally, because you will always use it as a guide later on. Making a concrete foundation yourself works like this:

  • Dig a trench 30 cm wide and 80 cm deep
  • Compact the subsoil with the vibrating plate
  • Secure sandy soil with board boarding
  • Fill in gravel or crushed stone to a height of 40 cm as a frost protection layer and shake off
  • Check that this layer is straight with a spirit level
  • Mix concrete, pour into the trench to the level of the earth's surface and tap with the shovel

The foundation now needs to harden completely and set for about 2 to 3 weeks. Cover the concrete with a tarp to protect it from rain. During hot summer periods, water the concrete strip a little every 2 days to prevent cracking.

Raise Wall - How to set bricks in offset

When the foundation has hardened, you can start laying the bricks. Mix the mortar in a large bucket or cement mixer according to the manufacturer's instructions. How to place the bricks correctly:

  • Lay down an even, 5 to 10 cm thick layer of mortar with the trowel
  • Put the first row of bricks on top with a joint width of at least 3-5 mm
  • Check the horizontal and vertical alignment with the spirit level and plumb bob
  • Start the second row with half a brick to brick in an offset
  • Avoid stabilizing cross joints when building
  • Create transverse joints as straight as possible

Immediately wipe off any mortar that oozes out with a bricklayer's trowel. The trowel handle is also perfect for setting individual stones in the right position. Start every second row with a half brick, you will achieve the ideal interlocking of the garden wall for reliable stability.

Cut bricks to fit - this is how it works

With a stone cracker you can cut bricks with little effort, dirt and noise. Straight edges are the be-all and end-all for proper masonry. Therefore, please mark each individual cutting edge and do not rely on your sense of proportion. However, a brick breaker is not suitable for very thick bricks of more than 110-140 mm in height. In this case you cannot avoid a cut-off and angle grinder.

Finish the garden wall - grout cheaply

If you build a wall yourself, it should have a decorative crown. We therefore recommend setting beautifully shaped capstones as the last row. Thanks to its height of 80 cm and a shapely crown, the garden wall described in these instructions is ideal for delimiting your front garden. How to proceed professionally:

  • Place capstones with a joint width of 5 mm on a bed of mortar
  • Do not fill the gaps with mortar, but with water-repellent silicone

The self-built garden wall is now finished in its simplest version. To give the masonry the finishing touch, you can plaster or clad the brick wall. You can also do this work yourself with a little manual skill.

tips

With an imaginative design, you can give your garden wall an individual, natural touch. When building the walls, integrate one or the other hollow concrete block between the bricks. In this way you create space for planting bags to green the stone bulwark.

Category:

Garden design