I got a really good deal on some paving asphalt and we’re using it to lay the bricks on our house.
Alright, that’s a joke. This is black dyed mortar, and we had our mason make us a sample wall first to make sure we liked it.
So, to mix this mortar up- they use sand, water, and bags of type N black dyed mortar.
This stuff is jet black when it’s first mixed up, but it does lighten a little bit as it dries.
The bricks are laid on a 4” ledge in the foundation wall.
The weight from the brick is then transferred to the footings below.
Here you can see how the brick ledge steps to match the slope of the land.
This ledge will be covered once the final grading is done.
The masons nail wall ties to the framing so the brick will never pull away from the wall.
They use steel angle irons above all the openings, like windows and garage doors, to support the brick.
We chose to have the brick laid vertically above these openings- this is called a soldier course.
The soldiers are held out 3/8” from the other brick. This gives them definition, so they stand out.
We will also be using real stone and LP siding on this house. Let me know in the comments if you like the brick. @hausplans
#building #howto #construction #masonry #brick #diy #contractor
