I am including an arched window in my design, and will use an arched
lintel and cavity tray
such as from Harvey Lintels. Arch may be full semi-circle or a
segmental arch, i.e. not a full
semi. Anyone done such a thing. Where's the best place to get tapered
bricks for this ?
Simon.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I am including an arched window in my design, and will use an arched
lintel and cavity tray
such as from Harvey Lintels. Arch may be full semi-circle or a
segmental arch, i.e. not a full
semi. Anyone done such a thing. Where's the best place to get tapered
bricks for this ?
Simon.


Very much doubt if you can obtain taperd bricks for a brick arch, maybe you
might be able to get them from a reclaim yard.
The normal way to brick a arch is by standing the brick vertical on end or
vertical end on, making the taper with a slightly wider joint at the top of
the vertical joint

In article , Keith_765 wrote:
The normal way to brick a arch is by standing the brick vertical on end or
vertical end on, making the taper with a slightly wider joint at the top of
the vertical joint

That's the cheaper way of doing it. Gauged arches have the bricks cut to fit.

See http://www.keystone-lintels.co.uk/archsets/ or
http://www.mgbrickcutters.co.uk/Arch_Information.htm for firms who do this.

--
Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk
Free SEDBUK boiler database browser http://www.sda.co.uk/qsedbuk.htm
[Latest version QSEDBUK 1.10 released 4 April 2005]

just cut them ... hire a wet diamond saw and cut them as you fit ...
it's easy enough.

The traditional way was to use 'rubbers' - these are soft bricks that
can be shaped by rubbing them against a coarse surface. If you look at
most arches .. the amount of rubbing down requiredis quite small apart
form the centre key brick (or stone)

wrote:
I am including an arched window in my design, and will use an arched
lintel and cavity tray
such as from Harvey Lintels. Arch may be full semi-circle or a
segmental arch, i.e. not a full
semi. Anyone done such a thing. Where's the best place to get tapered
bricks for this ?
Simon.

If you put the lintel above the arch, the arch need only support
itself, or if its steep, plus a few rows.

Really the requirement for lintels with arches makes not a lot of
sense, since an arch does the job of the lintel anyway. (The exception
being very shallow arches.) Millions of houses have supporting arches
with no lintel.

NT

wrote:
I am including an arched window in my design, and will use an arched
lintel and cavity tray
such as from Harvey Lintels. Arch may be full semi-circle or a
segmental arch, i.e. not a full
semi. Anyone done such a thing. Where's the best place to get tapered
bricks for this ?
Simon.

You would use normal bricks and design the arch at such a segment that
the bricks can go around it in one or two rings without the need for
special shaped voussoir bricks.

Most of the arch formers available from the merchants are of limited
rise and so you can form the arch in normal bricks

Most brick suppliers will make voussoirs to order, but the cost is
prohibitive for one-offs. Some may be able to supply ready made ones if
they are already making some for another client and could make one
extra from the mould.

The talk of soft bricks for sanding or rubbing is from the 1950s' and
these are rarely available in todays market.

dg

If you put the lintel above the arch, the arch need only support
itself, or if its steep, plus a few rows.

Really the requirement for lintels with arches makes not a lot of
sense, since an arch does the job of the lintel anyway. (The exception
being very shallow arches.) Millions of houses have supporting arches
with no lintel.

Really, it wasn't the issue of the lintel alone, as my original idea
was to have a
normal lintel above the arch. It's that if I have an arched lintel, the
brickwork does
not have to be self-supporting and BCO much happier, since I am a
novice brick-layer.
Also, if you have a straight lintel above, how and where do you close
the cavity, as
usually the lintel would close the cavity and frame the opening ? And
although the
infill area is small, is this solid / have a cavity itself etc. ?
The arched lintels I was looking at also have a square cavity tray, so
they do the
whole lot and again happy BCO (that's important !).
I still wonder about having, um, *another* straight lintel above ...
Simon.