GB2453138A

GB2453138A - A bricklaying aid

Info

Publication number: GB2453138A
Application number: GB0718810A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael William Gapper
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-09-27
Filing date: 2007-09-27
Publication date: 2009-04-01
Anticipated expiration: 2027-09-27
Also published as: GB2453138B; WO2009040572A3; GB0718810D0; WO2009040572A2

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of laying soldier courses of bricks (bricks stood on end in a row) using a temporary bricklaying aid. The aid is in the form of a temporary guide comprising parallel rails 1 joined by rungs 2. The guide is supported where a front face of the brickwork 8 is to be defined and the bricks are then laid using the rails 1 to position the top and bottom edges of the bricks. The bottom rail supports the bottom edge of the bricks whilst the top rail supports the top edge of the bricks. The guide preferably has a support arm 5 secured at one end to the top rail by knobs 4, and the other end is secured by means of a plate 7 to an inner blockwork wall 9. The support arm 5 preferably has an elongated slot to allow for adjustment of the plate 7 which is secured to the support arm by bolt 6.

Description

A BrickIayin Aid.

This invention relates to a bricklaying aid.

It is frequently required, usually ft)r decorative effect, to lay a course of bricks in an upright position. This is normally relrred to as a soldier" course and that terminology will be used in this specification. Laying bricks in this way requires a high degree of skill because a brick placed on its end on a layer of mortar can easily become displaced from the vertical position, resulting in uneven spacing of mortar-filled gaps between the bricks and an irregular face of the finished brickwork. A highly skilled bricklayer can avoid these problems but it takes patience and time to do so.

According to the invention there is provided a method of laying a course of bricks with vertical layers of niortar between them to Ibrrn a front face defined by edges of the bricks, the method comprising the steps ol supporting a temporary guide at a position where the front lace is to be defined, laying the bricks with the said edges supported against the guide, and then removing the guide.

By employing the invention it becomes possible to lay a soldier course of bricks quickly and accurately, with the front faces of the bricks perfectly aligned as a result of the supporting action of the temporary guide. Alter the mortar has set or partially set, the guide can be removed so that the brickwork can be pointed.

The soldier course will normally be layed either on an underlying course of bricks or on a lintel. In either situation, a layer of mortar will normally be applied to the underlying layer, and of course to one brick face before each brick is placed in position.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided an aid for laying a course of bricks with vertical layers of mortar between theni to form a front face defined by edges of the bricks, the aid comprising two rails connected by spacing rungs and a supporting means for supporting the guide in a position such that the rails S lbrni a guide for supporting the edges and the rungs form guides tbr spacing of the bricks.

The width of the guide is preferably equal to the length of a typical brick ie between 18 and 23 cnis or more preiCrably between 210 and 220 nims..

The rungs can be used to give guidance with regard to the spacing of the bricks and fhr that reason the spacing between the rungs is preferably equal to the thickness of a typical brick plus the thickness of a typical mortar joint. This leads to a prefCrred spacing (between centres) of 65 to 99 nirns, and ideally about 80 mnis.

The rungs are preferably made of a width equal to a typical mortar joint so that they can be used as a guide to a consistent thickness of the latter. This dimension is therefore preferably between 7 and I 8mnis or niore preferably between 8 and 12 rnnis.

To hold the bricklaying aid in position, it preferably includes supporting members adapted to be attached to one of the rails relcasably at positions selected depending on a particular job. These supporting members are allowed to rest on masonry (brickwork or blockwork) previously constructed at opposite ends of the required soldier course and built up to the level of the lop of the latter. The supporting members preferably have a facility by which they can be clamped in position or at least adjusted so that they can be made to embrace walls ofdifIerent thicknesses.

One way in which the invention may be performed will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing, which is a perspective view shown partly broken away, of one end of a bricklaying aid constructed in accordance with the invention and in use for the construction of a soldier course of bricks over a steel lintel.

Referring to the drawing, the bricklaying aid comprises two parallel rails I of extruded aluminium alloy, connected by rungs 2 of similar material to form a ladder-like construction. Each rung has an internal screw thread (not visible in the drawing) at each end to receive a bolt. The bolts have a knurled edge and a hexagonal recess so that they can be tightened and untightened by hand or by using an Allen key so as to attach the rungs securely to the rails.

The distance D1 between opposite sides of opposite rails I is equal to the length of a standard brick ie 9Y2inches, which is equivalent to about 241 rnms.

The distance between centres of the rungs is equal to the height D2 of a standard brick (2/2 inches or 63.5 mms) plus the standard width of a niortar joint (/8 inch or 9.Srnms) which together are equivalent to about 73 mms The width of each rung 2 is equal to the width D3 of a standard /8 inch mortar joint which is equivalent to approximately 9.5 mms.

At each end of the window or door space, two adjacent screws 3 are replaced, on site, by larger screw threaded knobs 4 specifically designed to be quickly fitted by hand at the desired locations. These knobs 4 serve to secure a supporting arni 5 onto the top surface ofthe lop rail I. The support arm 5 has a slot 5A which receives a third bolt 6, also designed to be turned by hand. This bolt 6 secures an angled plate 7 to the arm 5, the slot allowing adjustment of the position ofthe plate along the arm.

Brickwork 8 and blockwork 9, forming a cavity wall, defines an opening eg for a window or door. Although the drawing shows only one side of this opening, it will be understood that the other side is essentially the same. The wall is built up to the desired level of the top of the opening and a steel lintel 10 is then placed in position so as to span the top of the opening. The brickwork and blockwork is then built up to a level where the top of the soldier course is to lie. Two supports 5 are then fitted to the top rail I, each by removing two screws 3 and lilting screws 4. The bricklaying aid is then placed in position as shown, with the arms 5 resting on the completed niasonry-work 8 and 9 and the ladder construction hanging in front of the opening.

The angled plate 7 is then adjusted so that the completed masonry-work is embraced or clamped by the structure defined by the ladder (I and 2), the arm 5 and the plate 7.

The bricks I 1 are now layed as a soldier course, this process involving the application or bu1tering" ofa top surface of the lintel 10 and of each brick in turn. As each brick is laid, its face that is to become the front face of the brickwork is allowed to rest so that its upper edge rests against the upper rail I and its lower edge rests against the lower rail I The thickness of each mortar joint is judged and adjusted if necessary so that it is aligned with, and equal in thickness to, one of the rungs 2. In this way a perfect soldier course can be laid in a significantly shorter period of time than would be possible using traditional methods, even for a highly skilled bricklayer. Finally, alier the mortar has partially set, the device is removed and the work finished by pointing the mortar joints.

For use on timber framed buildings the bracket 5 can be upturned at the end remote from the rail I so as to be screwed to the inner cavity face of the timber frame. As an alternative, the adjustable angled plate 7 could be repositioned to the top of the plate instead of the bottom.

It will he appreciated that many variations to the illustrated design are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following Claims.

For example, the rails of the ladder-like construction could be attached to the rails by means other than the illustrated bolts. Also, the arms 5 and plates 7 could be replaced by many other forms of mechanism for the purpose of supporting the device on adjoining masonry. However, in trials, a device constructed as illustrated has proved to enhance greatly the speed by which an skilled bricklayer can construct a soldier course and ii is believed that ii would allow less skilled bricklayers to do so with signilicantly better accuracy than has hitherto been possible.

Claims

CLAIMS: I. A method of laying a course of bricks with vertical layers of mortar between them to form a front face defined by edges of the bricks, the niethod comprising the steps of supporting a temporary guide at a position where the front face is to be defined, laying the bricks with the said edges supported against the guide, and then removing the guide.
2. A method according to Claim I characterised in that mortar is applied between a lower edge of'each brick and a supporting surface.
3. A method according to Claim I or 2 characterised in that mortar is applied between adjoining fices of the bricks.
4. A method according to any preceding Claim characierised in that the guide comprises two parallel rails and spacing means for holding the rails apart so that the bottom rail supports a bottom edge of the each brick and a top rail supports a lop edge of each brick.
5. A method according to Claim 4 characterised in that the spacing means includes rungs joining the rails and spaced along them by a distance equal to the spacing of the bricks.
6. A method according to Claim 5 when dependant on Claim 4 characterised in that the width of the rails is used as a guide for judging the required thickness of mortar between adjoining faces of the bricks.
7. A method according to any preceding Claim comprising the step of, attaching horizontal supports to one of the rails, building brickwork or blockwork at opposite ends of the said course to a level which is to become the level of the top of the said course, and resting the horizontal supports on the said brickwork or blockwork.
8. A method according to Claim 7 characterised characterized by the step of clamping the horizontal support to the blockwork or brickwork.
9. An aid for laying a course of bricks with vertical layers of mortar between them to fhrm a front face detined by edges of the bricks, the aid comprising two rails connected by spacing rungs and a supporting means for supporting the guide in a position such that the rails form a guide for supporting the edges and the rungs form guides for spacing of the bricks.
10. A bricklaying aid according to Claim 9 having a width of between ISO and 230 nims.
11. A bricklaying aid according to Claim 11 having a width of between 210 and 220 rnnis.
12. A bricklaying aid according to any of Claims 9 to 11 in characterised in that centre to centre spacing of the rungs is between 65 and 90 mms
13. A bricklaying aid according to Claim 12 characterised in that centre to centre spacing of the rungs is between 70 and 80 mms..
14. A bricklaying aid according to any one of Claims 9 to 13 characterised in that the width of the rungs is between 70 and 180 mms.
15. A bricklaying aid according to claim 14 characterised in that the width is approximately 80 to 120 nirns.
16. A bricklaying aid substantially as illustrated in Figure 1. Co C')

16. A bricklaying aid according to any one of claims 9 to 15 characterised in that the supporting means is adapted to be attached optionally at different positions along one of the rails and, when attached extends normally with respect to the rails and the rungs.

17. A bricklaying aid according to any one of Claims 9 to 16 characterised in that the supporting means includes means for embracing masonry adjacent to where the said course oibricks is to be laid.

18. A bricklaying aid according to Claim 17 characterised in that the nieans for embracing is adapted to be adjusted by sliding along the supporting means, towards or away from the rail to which the latter is connected, and has a locking device for holding it in a desired position.

AMENDMENTS TO THE CLAIMS HAVE BEEN FILED AS FOLLOWS

I. A method of laying a course of bricks with vertical layers of mortar bctwecn them to form a front face defined by edges of the bricks, the method comprising the steps of: supporting a temporary guide at a position where the front face is to be defined, laying the bricks with the said edges supported against the guide, and then removing the guide wherein the guide comprise two parallel rails connected by rungs so that the boftorn rail supports a bottom edge of the each brick and a top rail supports a top edge of each brick,.

2. A method according to Claim I characterised in that the spacing means CO 10 includes rungs joining the rails and spaced along them by a distance equal to the spacing of the bricks.

3. A method according to Claim 2 characterised in that the width of the rungs is used as a guide for judging the required thickness of mortar between adjoining faces of the bricks.

IS 4. A method according to any preceding Claim comprising the step of, attaching horizontal supports to one of the rails, building brickwork or blockwork at opposite ends of the said course to a level which is to become the level of the top of the said course, and resting the horizontal supports on the said brickwork or blockwork.

5. A method according to Claim 4 characterised characterized by the step of clamping the horizontal support to the blockwork or brickwork.

6. An aid for laying a course of bricks with vertical layers of mortar between them to form a front face defined by edges of the bricks, the aid comprising two rails connected by spacing rungs and a supporting means for supporting the aid in a position such that the rails form a guide for supporting the edges and the rungs form guides for spacing of the bricks.

7. A bricklaying aid according to Claim 6 having a width of between I 80 and 230 mm.

8. A bricklaying aid according to Claim 7 having a width of between 210 and 220 mm.

9. A bricklaying aid according to any of Claims 6 to 8 in characterised in that centre to centre spacing of the rungs is between 65 and 90 mm CO 10. A bricklaying aid according to Claim 9 characterised in that centre to centre spacing of the rungs is between 70 and 80 mm.

C

I

II. A bricklaying aid according to any one of Claims 6 to lOcharacterised in that the width of the rungs is between 7 and 1 8 mm.

12. A bricklaying aid according to claim 11 charactcriscd in that the width of the rungs is approximately 8 to 12 mm.

13. A bricklaying aid according to any one of claims 6 to 12 characterised in that the supporting means is adapted to be attached optionally at different positions along oiie of the rails aiid, when attached extends normally with respect to the rails and the rungs.

14. A bricklaying aid according to any one of Claims 6 to 13 characterised in that the supporting means includes means for embracing masonry adjacent to where the said course of bricks is to be laid. I) -

15. A bricklaying aid according to Claim 14 characterised in that tile means for embracing is adapted to be adjusted by sliding along the supporting means, towards or away from the rail to which the latter is connected, and has a locking device for holding it in a desired position.