How To Lay Out A Concrete Block Wall
Avoid having downspouts pointed at the retaining wall and if it s against the house keep soil and mulch well below the siding.
How to lay out a concrete block wall. Don t seal these down. Then set the block with its web up and place the brick set on the scored line. For example if your cinder blocks are 8x8 in 20x20 cm and you want to use 2 blocks to make up the wall s width your total wall width would be 16 in 40 cm. Lay out a course of concrete block on the dry footing.
Follow the block manufacturer s instructions for wall height limits. The interlocking retaining wall block can be used to build walls up to 24 to 36 inches high depending on the size of the block. Use a piece of scrap 3 8 inch plywood to fill in the mortar joint between each block. Use corner blocks on the corners if available.
Push the first block into the mortar until it s 3 8 inch above the footing. Concrete block is made in so many configurations that you may not need to cut it at all. Step 3 lay out the spacing for the uprights on the footing form boards using a pencil or carpenter s crayon. Use a 5x8 to separate the blocks to account for the mortar.
The depth and size of the foundation will vary depending on the size of the concrete block wall and the weight it must support but a typical freestanding wall requires a foundation that is about twice as wide as the wall itself and which extends about 1 foot down below the frost line. To determine the width of your future wall decide how many cinder blocks you want to use for the wall width then calculate the width using the block s measurements. Lay out your blocks along the dried footing and see how many you ll need for the first layer. Use corner blocks where they are needed and cut blocks as required to make it all fit.
The typical upright spacing for a block wall of any height is 24 inches to coincide with the cell openings in the concrete blocks. Take up the block and spread mortar on the footing. Do not use mortar for this test run since you re only trying to get an idea of what you need. For ways to reinforce a wall of concrete blocks keep reading.