"Uno Hoo!" wrote in message
...
The usual advice when building a garden wall from either bricks or
pre-formed concrete blocks is:
Dig the footings
Prepare concrete foundations
Have the first course of bricks/blocks below ground level.

Now that may be ok with cheap housebricks but these pre-formed concrete
'Bradstone' blocks are not that cheap and to have a whole course of a long
wall beneath the ground seems an awful waste.

I cannot see the logic of it either. Surely the bond between the bottom
course and the rough surface of the concrete footings will be as strong as
the bond between the first and second course of bricks/blocks? If that is
the case, what is served by having a complete lower course below ground
level?

Kev

I'm guessing, but I think the footings need to be below the frost affected
layer,
so that automatically means that you'll need a layer of blocks on top of it
just
to reach the surface. Can you not economise by using breeze blocks as the
first course, as they will not be seen?

Andy.