I saw an ad for this on a cable channel the other day (see www.bricky.com).
It looks to me like a good idea and as i have a wall to repair would be
handy. Has anyone tried it or know of any alternatives that do not cost
£29.99?

Thanks,
Tom

On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:41:30 +0100, "Tom"
wrote:

I saw an ad for this on a cable channel the other day (see www.bricky.com).
It looks to me like a good idea and as i have a wall to repair would be
handy. Has anyone tried it or know of any alternatives that do not cost
£29.99?

Thanks,
Tom

They are useless for repair unless your existing thickness of mortar
is exactly the thickness of the bricky one.

make one from two pieces of wood the required thickness braced with a
batten across it at one end and plenty of screws to hold firm.

Mine was two pieces of architrave and a bit of floorboard.

On 28 Aug, 22:41, "Tom" wrote:
I saw an ad for this on a cable channel the other day (seewww.bricky.com)..
It looks to me like a good idea and as i have a wall to repair would be
handy. Has anyone tried it or know of any alternatives that do not cost
£29.99?

Thanks,
Tom

I've got one. Started using it for my extension, then changed to
normal bricklaying techniques, mainly due to pointing issues. It has
its uses, but the traditional methods are much more flexible. And a
wall repair is an ideal chance to learn the techniques.
There has been a few threads about these tools before, search the
archives using Google Groups.
Simon.

In message
,
sm_jamieson writes
On 28 Aug, 22:41, "Tom" wrote:
I saw an ad for this on a cable channel the other day (seewww.bricky.com).
It looks to me like a good idea and as i have a wall to repair would be
handy. Has anyone tried it or know of any alternatives that do not cost
£29.99?

Thanks,
Tom

I've got one. Started using it for my extension, then changed to
normal bricklaying techniques, mainly due to pointing issues. It has
its uses, but the traditional methods are much more flexible. And a
wall repair is an ideal chance to learn the techniques.

I made a 6mm one to avoid thick, wibbly courses when laying damp
membrane. The video cheats a bit in that the bricks are wet so don't
have much suction, the line is fitted afterward so you don't see if it
gets in the way and you have to wonder if there is any cement in the
mortar:-)

regards

--
Tim Lamb

On 29 Aug, 11:26, Tim Lamb wrote:
In message
,
sm_jamieson writes

On 28 Aug, 22:41, "Tom" wrote:
I saw an ad for this on a cable channel the other day (seewww.bricky.com).
It looks to me like a good idea and as i have a wall to repair would be
handy. Has anyone tried it or know of any alternatives that do not cost
£29.99?

Thanks,
Tom

I've got one. Started using it for my extension, then changed to
normal bricklaying techniques, mainly due to pointing issues. It has
its uses, but the traditional methods are much more flexible. And a
wall repair is an ideal chance to learn the techniques.

I made a 6mm one to avoid thick, wibbly courses when laying damp
membrane. The video cheats a bit in that the bricks are wet so don't
have much suction, the line is fitted afterward so you don't see if it
gets in the way and you have to wonder if there is any cement in the
mortar:-)

regards

--
Tim Lamb

Well I may do that for my DPC layer - its a good idea. Just to lay a
thin layer below the DPC. I know lots just lay them on dry, but that
seems bad practice.
Nowt wrong with using wet bricks though. The main reason for the trad
dry bricks and sloppy mortar is that its easy to bed in the sloppy,
but it dries a bit from suction to support other courses above. Very
little bedding is required with the bricky tool (2mm if I remember
correctly).
Surprisingly, this seems to be enough.
From using the bricky and watching the video though, I have to say, he
is an "expert in using the bricky" !
Simon.

sm_jamieson wrote:


Well I may do that for my DPC layer - its a good idea. Just to lay a
thin layer below the DPC. I know lots just lay them on dry, but that
seems bad practice.

It is bad practice, as is laying it on a full, flat bed, however thin - the
building simply slides off over the years, given that there is no bond here
and if it is completely flat, it's got no key.

on top of the course of brick below the DPC, IE where the DPC is to be
bedded, you need an uneven mortar bed.
The easiest way to do this is to put a little at the front and back edges of
the brick and none on the middle, so that the DPC is 'cupped', or the
opposite way, IE a thin line down the centre of the brick so that the DPC is
arched, but the best way is a mixture of both, say a few feet of one method
then a few feet of the other.
Once the DPC is bedded on, normal beds can be used, and don't lay the DPC
one day and start building the next - you need to lay it at the time of
building or you won't get the first (and subsequent) courses down.


HTH

On 29 Aug, 14:14, "Phil L" wrote:
sm_jamieson wrote:

Well I may do that for my DPC layer - its a good idea. Just to lay a
thin layer below the DPC. I know lots just lay them on dry, but that
seems bad practice.

It is bad practice, as is laying it on a full, flat bed, however thin - the
building simply slides off over the years, given that there is no bond here
and if it is completely flat, it's got no key.

on top of the course of brick below the DPC, IE where the DPC is to be
bedded, you need an uneven mortar bed.
The easiest way to do this is to put a little at the front and back edges of
the brick and none on the middle, so that the DPC is 'cupped', or the
opposite way, IE a thin line down the centre of the brick so that the DPC is
arched, but the best way is a mixture of both, say a few feet of one method
then a few feet of the other.
Once the DPC is bedded on, normal beds can be used, and don't lay the DPC
one day and start building the next - you need to lay it at the time of
building or you won't get the first (and subsequent) courses down.

HTH

Interesting. I asked about this ages ago, and the concensus was that
the DPC had a texture on it to help with friction, and that the weight
from above would be enough to stop the building sliding off, despite
there being very little bond. Arching the DPC seems a sensible extra
measure. Why have I never seen this documented anywhere ?
Simon.

In message
,
sm_jamieson writes

Well I may do that for my DPC layer - its a good idea. Just to lay a
thin layer below the DPC. I know lots just lay them on dry, but that
seems bad practice.
Nowt wrong with using wet bricks though. The main reason for the trad
dry bricks and sloppy mortar is that its easy to bed in the sloppy,
but it dries a bit from suction to support other courses above. Very
little bedding is required with the bricky tool (2mm if I remember
correctly).

My criticism was aimed at being able to lay out a 12mm thick mortar bed
along the full length of his wall and not having to worry about suction
from the course below while he buttered and laid the new bricks. I also
had doubts about using the buttering tool with the line in place.

Surprisingly, this seems to be enough.
From using the bricky and watching the video though, I have to say, he
is an "expert in using the bricky" !

Right:-)

regards

--
Tim Lamb

On 29 Aug, 21:31, Tim Lamb wrote:
In message
,
sm_jamieson writes

Well I may do that for my DPC layer - its a good idea. Just to lay a
thin layer below the DPC. I know lots just lay them on dry, but that
seems bad practice.
Nowt wrong with using wet bricks though. The main reason for the trad
dry bricks and sloppy mortar is that its easy to bed in the sloppy,
but it dries a bit from suction to support other courses above. Very
little bedding is required with the bricky tool (2mm if I remember
correctly).

My criticism was aimed at being able to lay out a 12mm thick mortar bed
along the full length of his wall and not having to worry about suction
from the course below while he buttered and laid the new bricks. I also
had doubts about using the buttering tool with the line in place.


Yep, his approach was to wet the bricks, lay them without the line and
very quickly using the templates, before the mortar dried out. Then
put on the line for very minor adjustments. I did not have the
confidence to just trust the tool, and was having problems with the
bed drying out due to not working fast enough. Anyway I'm glad I'm
ending up learning the traditional skills.
I must admit I've been using the block template for buttering the side
of blocks though.

Simon.