Brick fences can be considered the most secure fence as it is permanent and offers complete privacy. Not only that, they can also act as noise barriers if your house faces a busy road. However, it is very hard to construct and might require professional skills. The simplest brick fence that you can construct yourself is one that is as thick as the width of a brick.
- Setting the Template
The most crucial thing in building a brick fence is to ensure that it is straight. The easiest way to do this is by sticking two sticks at each end of the intended wall and to tie a piece of string to the sticks, stretching from one end to the other, ensuring that it is taut and suspended right above the ground in one straight line. This will ensure that you have a straight wall, instead of a crooked one (like the Great Wall of China). Besides that, it is also important that you lay your bricks almost at the same height. You can apply the same concept by cementing the bricks at both ends down first, and then by placing a movable brick on top of each of the brick at both ends (remember not to cement these bricks down!) with a string tied tautly from one movable brick to the other. This will provide you with a horizontal guideline to ensure that you lay your bricks at relatively the same height.
- Mixing the cement
For such a huge project such as a brick fence, it is important to get the cement mixture correct to ensure that your brick fence does not fall apart after it is done. As this is a DIY project, mix the concrete mixture in small batches to avoid wastage and also to ensure that the mixture is easy to handle. If you are making the concrete mix from scratch, the easiest mixture would require a ratio of 1 part cement and 2 parts sand. It would be advisable to follow the mixture recommendations written on most cement bags, although you can opt to omit gravel from the mixture for a smoother finish. The best sand to use for cement mixture is river sand as it is finer. You are now ready to begin constructing your brick fence.
- Laying the Bricks
This is the hard part: getting the lay of bricks correct. If not done correctly, you will end up with an ugly looking wall that is permanent, or a wall that might fall apart when the wind blows. First of all, spread out a thick layer of cement as the base. It is okay to be untidy for now as a wider base will ensure a more stable wall. However, ensure that you cover the entire area in which your wall is supposed to be erected and that the base is even. To do so, follow the instructions set out in step 1. For the first layer, lay the bricks end to end for a more secure foundation. Once again, remember to set out your template or you will end up with a crooked wall that is unstable. Once you\’ve set out your template, you can now begin to permanently secure the bricks in place by slapping cement onto the end of the first brick before arranging the next brick end-to-end. However, ensure that each brick is approximately 1.5 cm apart to ensure that there is enough cement in between to hold them together. Make sure that you scrape the excess cement which you have sandwiched for aesthetic purposes and safety purposes. This is to avoid unsightly jagged ages which are also sharp and rough.
- Building Up
For the second layer, lay the bricks at both ends first to set the horizontal guideline. The bricks should be laid with a gap of half a brick between each other. These gaps do not need to be filled with cement as they should be left empty. For the third layer onwards, each new brick laid should overlap a quarter each of the two bricks below. Therefore, slap cement only onto ends of the two bricks. It is okay to put a bit more, but remember to scrape them off once you have laid the brick. The top layer should also have the bricks laid end to end to for a smooth finish.
- Let it Dry
Once the brick fence has been erected, do not lean on it or put things against it as the cement might not have set. It takes about a whole day in the sun for the cement to dry. If it starts raining, put a big sheet of plastic over the brick fence or the rain might dilute the cement mix as well as wash the cement away. It is advisable to patch the holes up where the cement has been washed away by rain to ensure that your structure is stable.
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/takomabibelot/666011139/
