extending brickwork

[scottyb]

I have an outdoor courtyard area with double brick walls to about 5ft high. There is an open timber pergola above this, some on brick piers and some on timber posts in stirrups bolted to the brick walls, but it only covers half the area and is quite low and falling apart.

I would like to build some small brick piers (230x230) on the outside corners of the brick wall to support new timberwork and raise the height to gutter height. The new piers would be about 3ft high, my question is how do I tie the new piers to the existing wall, or don't I need to? I am thinking that a piece of bar bolted/chemset into the top of the existing wall and then build the new piers around this might be ok??

[ozwinner]

I am thinking that a piece of bar bolted/chemset into the top of the existing wall and then build the new piers around this might be ok??

You need to tie in the new piers or they will just peel off in time, the method you mention will work gooder but you may have to put in 3 ties per pier.

Al

[brickman]

What needs to be considered is not so much tieing the new piers to the existing wall as this is what mortar is for , but tieing down your new pergola to the top of the pier , I would suggest chemsetting in an 8 mm threaded rod at a depth of approx 100mm in existing wall and bringing up your new pier around the threaded rod and leaving this extended the depth of your pergola beam above the pier so you can drill a hole through the beam and bolt it down , the downward pressure will also stabilise your new pier as well as having the threaded rod reinforcing the pier , regards

[ozwinner]

Welcome brickman, that makes 4 or was it 5 of us brickies on here at present.

Al

[scottyb]

Thanks Oz and Brickman. I was just thinking today that a piece of galv. threaded rod would be good to bolt the beams down. I was also going to wind a few pieces of 3 gauge galv wire around the rod and bend the ends so they hang in the brick 'holes' (proper name escapes me, not frogs anymore) between every couple of courses.