brick work

Ok, long story short....I need to build multiple walls that are about 36" tall, ranging from about 5' to 10' in length. These need to be structurally sound and be able to withstand some abuse. They will form divider walls between dog runs in an animal shelter. Whatever I use needs to seat to the concrete floor as well as the cinder block wall (the goal is to create completely seperate runs so there is no incidence of cross contamination, which is currently rampant with the chain link dividers). Cost is also concern. The cheaper the better. The city really has no intention of spending this money, but they arent getting the option, so I cant go overboard. Anyway, the big question is...how do I (or do I need to) somehow reinforce these brick walls that will only be one brick wide?....If there are any other ideas for the building of such a wall, Id be interested as well......Thanks guys......by the way, totally diggin the new site...

So you are planning to use the small red bricks? I would use the small 6" block and put some rebar in bolted to the concrete. You could ben the rebar into a U under each block and then bolt it in the middle. If you do not fasten them to the exsisting concrete they will be easy to knock over. It would be best if you could run a piece of metal along the front on top to tie the walls together. If you fill them they should be strong enough for animal runs. 8" block is probably not much more expensive and would be quite a bit stronger.

what if I were to just drill some holes in the concrete and put in rebar sorta like big dowel rods through the brick? There is a brick yard here in town and I have been out there to pick up a couple of dogs (one of which bit three people at the yard). Im hoping the plant manager remembers this and will be able to get me some sort of deal on some brick...

Use 4" cinder block. The cost will be much less than using brick. Drill into the existing concrete slab and install rebar. Build the wall as normal and then pour conrete mix into the cells every few feet, esp where the rebar is. You could also skip the mortar joints on the block and pour the wall solid with concrete. Prefer the use of grout - but concrete would be cheaper.

Ron

HaulinHeeler said:

what if I were to just drill some holes in the concrete and put in rebar sorta like big dowel rods through the brick? There is a brick yard here in town and I have been out there to pick up a couple of dogs (one of which bit three people at the yard). Im hoping the plant manager remembers this and will be able to get me some sort of deal on some brick...

Click to expand...

You need to have the rebar firmly in the concrete and just putting it in holes wouldn't be that great unless you used special cement epoxy to hold them in. It would probably be easier to bolt the rebar to the cement.

OK I used to be a masonry contractor so let me chime in. First the 4" CMU isn't all that great structurally and you'd be better off going with a 6" lightweight CMU (made using fly ash to reduce teh weight without compromising strength too much). Bricks are cheap and you won't have much strength and there is no way to reinforce them; they are for decoration only. You can usually call up a masonry contractor and he may be able to salvage some off old jobs especially if he's a big one. Also, call the block manufacturers in your area. Since the city is buying they may be able to help with cost. They may also have some old runs of block that they didn't sell that you may be able to buy for next to nothing. Make sure you buy the block and get the mason to give you a labor only price, that way you don't have to pay for his markup on the material. With this being a dog run, you won't need to fill it solid with concrete; I'd say 24" o/c would be more than adequate and you could even get away with 36" or 48" spacings if you really wanted to skimp. To figure out the quantity of block you will need, take the lineal feet of wall x height of the wall (this gives you square feet of wall) then multiply that time 1.125. This should get you close to the right quantity if I remember right. You should use about 1 or 2 bags per pallet of block you buy if I remember right. You will also need mason sand and water onsite to mix the mortar for installation. You may also want to install horizontal reinforcing; it comes as ladder or truss style and many different types. All of these components go into a commercial applicaiton...you probably don't need the horizontal reinforcing.

Next the issue of rebar came up. I happen to work for a rebar fabricator right now so I can help here too. I'd suggest installing nothing larger than a #4 bar in the cells that you fill and you could get away with a #3. You're not building a load-bearing wall, just trying to keep the animals separated. You may check with a local rebar fabricator and ask them if you could raid their scrap pile for what you need. FYI a #4 rebar is 1/2" diameter (4/8 to be exact) and a #3 is 3/8" dia.

I'm guessing you have an existing slab that you are going to be working on. You will need to put some sort of bonding compound on the existing concrete to alow the new concrete to bond with the old or the entire thing will fall over. Second, you want to get a hammer-drill and drill holes about 6" or so deep where the rebar goes (unless you're on a thin slab...just go half way into the existing concrete and it'll be better than nothing). Go to a local hardware supplier (not Ace Hardware but an industrial bolt supplier) and tell them you are looking for a Hilti epoxy anchor system. Tell them what you are doing and they can get you the right product. This is an epoxy capsule about 2" long; you drop it into the hole you drilled then ram the rebar down into the hole breaking the capsule. Inside is a super-strong epoxy that will bond the rebar to the concrete and it WILL NOT come out without a lot of force.

That's about all I can think of right now. If you need any more help let me know.

Brian [><]

ask for 'no grade' rebar. like said, its a non load bearing wall, don't need the good stuff.

here is another option......or rather "will it work" scenario......some of the areas where I need to build these walls are already divided by chain link.....if I build forms that are about 36" high and place the chain link in the middle can I just pour concrete in the center? and if so, how thick do you think I should go?.....

I think you could get away with it but I don't think it's going to be real sturdy becasue the chain link stuff will flex too easily even with the concrete. Chain link fence is made out of soft metal (think aluminum) and is not designed to hold a load. If you go this route I"d go at least 6" thick.

As far as the rebar goes, you probably could go to the local lumber yard and get Grade 40 stuff and that would be adequate. Grade 40 is the cheapest rebar and is not allowed in any structures. The standard grade is Grade 60 which is stronger and less malleable. The 40 will bend and break much easier. This is what you find at places like Home Depot, etc.

Brian [><]