1. Calculate your wall dimensions to full or half sized bricks/blocks. This avoids unnecessary cutting.
2. For brick walls use a black dye in the mortar. This leaves a much better appearance.
3. Dry bricks will drain the moisture from the mortar which prevents it from setting properly.
To avoid this soak or spray the bricks with water but leave them to surface dry before placement.
4. A round nose gauging trowel works best when building with your bricky.
5. Do not point your wall until the mortar has set (normally 2-3 hours after placement).
2. For brick walls use a black dye in the mortar. This leaves a much better appearance.
3. Dry bricks will drain the moisture from the mortar which prevents it from setting properly.
To avoid this soak or spray the bricks with water but leave them to surface dry before placement.
4. A round nose gauging trowel works best when building with your bricky.
5. Do not point your wall until the mortar has set (normally 2-3 hours after placement).
To lay your first course lay on a thick bed of mortar with your trowel. Place the 2 brick/blocks at each end first ensuring they are properly positioned and horizontally level to each other by using a line level or laser level. Stretch a builder's line using the masons mate between these end bricks, lay the line of bricks, top edge 1mm back from stretched line, using the bricky vertical guide to place the mortar in the vertical joints.
Place the horizontal guide on the course and slide it along while scraping the mortar into the channel as you progress
Press the brick into the bed of mortar to secure a firm bond. Level every corner brick to ensure vertical allignment.
With a dab of mortar on the end of the trowel, plaster in the vertical joint.
Place on 2 or 3 bricks at each end of the wall and pull the string line
Detail shows joints are:
1. Uniformly spaced
2. Pointed to perfection
1. Uniformly spaced
2. Pointed to perfection
Use the lug on the side of the vertical tool or the Pro-Pointer
(right) for a perfect finish.
(right) for a perfect finish.
Press the brick
into the horizontal and the vertical bed of mortar to secure a firm bond.
into the horizontal and the vertical bed of mortar to secure a firm bond.
The lug underneath touches against the corner brick ensuring that the mortar bed finishes perfectly at the corner.
As you proceed around the corner the lug at the back ensures perfect positioning of the Bricky.
Proceed along the wall
To place your first course lay on a thick bed of mortar with your trowel. Ensure the brick/block at each end are in horizontal alignment with each other. Use the vertical guide to place the mortar in the vertical joints. As you progress ensure the corner bricks/blocks are placed vertically level by using a standard builders level and stretch a line to position each brick/block on the course in line with the corners.
Use the trowel to press mortar into the central channel then scrape across to level off. Note the perfect bed of mortar with absolutely no mess!
Plaster in the vertical joint
Press the block into both the horizontal and the vertical bed of mortar to secure
a firm bond.
a firm bond.
Unscrew 2 of the steel lugs on the wide side of the tool and use it to lay that perfect bed of mortar on half of the course. Place on the other half of the mortar bed freehand (using your trowel) or get a 12mm thick piece of timber about 1m long x 100mm wide and put a nail through it near each end, 6mm in off the edge as illustrated.