An old outbuilding on the property has walls made of plastered brick. The walls are 2m high.
I want to "raise" these walls to also fill the gables up to the ridge (which today is a wooden façade).
My idea is to raise the gables with Leca blocks but I am unsure how to attach the first Leca blocks to the existing brick. Do you drill down reinforcement bars, and if so, how deep do you need to go? Is there a better way?
The interior gables need to be strong since I plan to attach a pull-up bar for exercise here. I don't want the entire new wall to fall in on me while I'm hanging there.
Attached is a really great sketch that describes the plan.
I want to "raise" these walls to also fill the gables up to the ridge (which today is a wooden façade).
My idea is to raise the gables with Leca blocks but I am unsure how to attach the first Leca blocks to the existing brick. Do you drill down reinforcement bars, and if so, how deep do you need to go? Is there a better way?
The interior gables need to be strong since I plan to attach a pull-up bar for exercise here. I don't want the entire new wall to fall in on me while I'm hanging there.
Attached is a really great sketch that describes the plan.
Last edited:
I'm not a bricklayer apprentice but approach the problem more from a constructive viewpoint. A few questions. Are you going to remove the roof before bricking up the gables? If not, how is the roof attached today? Is the old brick wall a full brick wall?
People often overlook that lifting forces can be quite large, so some form of anchoring is probably suitable. Skåne is indeed windy in some places. For bricklaying with leca stones, I recommend you check what the leading manufacturers (e.g., Weber) say about reinforcement. If you are going to plaster leca, it's safest to use the same type of mortar that was used on the bricks. Leca should be plastered on both sides to become airtight.
People often overlook that lifting forces can be quite large, so some form of anchoring is probably suitable. Skåne is indeed windy in some places. For bricklaying with leca stones, I recommend you check what the leading manufacturers (e.g., Weber) say about reinforcement. If you are going to plaster leca, it's safest to use the same type of mortar that was used on the bricks. Leca should be plastered on both sides to become airtight.
If it is an older building, it may be built with solid brick walls in lime mortar. Since older stone foundations often move a little and lime mortar is somewhat elastic, I would in that case continue upwards with the same construction.
People probably think I am cautious, but modern masonry with cement mortar often cracks and separates from older masonry with lime mortar precisely due to the difference in elasticity.
People probably think I am cautious, but modern masonry with cement mortar often cracks and separates from older masonry with lime mortar precisely due to the difference in elasticity.
Yes, you are certainly right. Probably full-brick, and if the mortar is like the rest of the buildings, it's very "loose," so I assume it's lime mortar.H heimlaga said:
How do you make lime mortar? Can you then use lime mortar with larger masonry blocks like Leca?
Thanks for the reply. The roof will remain, so I'm planning to continue building up until I meet the roof. The rafters are intact and can stay as they are. It is most likely a solid wall.J justusandersson said:
The question is just how to anchor it securely so the gable doesn't fall in when I start loading it.
Download Weber's design guidelines for Lecablock (www.weber.se). All the tables you need are available there. 250 mm deep Lecablocks, with reinforcement every third course, create very sturdy masonry. Such a wall, 8 meters high and 8 meters long, can withstand a horizontal wind load of about 120 kg/sqm. With the same construction principle, your relatively small gable peaks will be able to withstand very large horizontal loads.
I'm not so worried about the gable peak itself, but rather how to reinforce it into the existing full brick wall. Do you drill reinforcement into it? It seems like the entire gable section otherwise could fall in or out in one piece.J justusandersson said:
Good point, but do you think the same effect would occur with larger stones and lime mortar? Or is it the distribution with multiple small stones that creates/contributes to the elasticity?H heimlaga said:
I'm thinking large leca blocks (59cm?) but with limestone mortar equivalent to the existing wall.
Considering how important reinforcement seems to be, I'm starting to wonder how my house can even stand. It only has whole bricks.
The brick wall contains much more mortar than the leca wall.
I am doubtful about laying leca with lime mortar. Ideally, a certain type of thin mortar should be used. It is probably a better solution to continue with brick and lime mortar, although it requires greater masonry skill. A leca wall can otherwise be anchored to the brick in several ways. Drill slightly larger holes for reinforcement that are filled with mortar, or attach steel bands with expansion bolts. The gable tip can also be fastened to the roof structure in some way.
I am doubtful about laying leca with lime mortar. Ideally, a certain type of thin mortar should be used. It is probably a better solution to continue with brick and lime mortar, although it requires greater masonry skill. A leca wall can otherwise be anchored to the brick in several ways. Drill slightly larger holes for reinforcement that are filled with mortar, or attach steel bands with expansion bolts. The gable tip can also be fastened to the roof structure in some way.
Ok. Yes. So drilling into the existing wall to anchor sounds like the safest solution to me as well. Perhaps combined with some sort of anchoring in the roof truss. Thank you very much for your feedback.J justusandersson said: