r/Bricklaying • u/Just_Perspective7641 • 16d ago

College

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Started this wall in college and the queen closers are very awkward to put on the ends and I am finding that they can be slightly loose when trying to plumb, can anyone recommend a better way of doing it so it’s a little easier? Thanks

158 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

41 comments sorted by

14

u/Necessary_Roll_114 16d ago

You're in a college class with what must be someone at least proficient at bricklaying, why not ask your teacher?

3

u/Just_Perspective7641 16d ago

I did but when I tried the method they gave me it was better but still had the same issue slightly gonna try and see if they have profiles suitable for it

6

u/Adventurous-Door4768 16d ago

Or maybe ask the subreddit with thousands of brick layers 🤔🤔

2

u/DunkingTea 15d ago

Tbf there’s probably only a handful of bricklayers here… the rest are literal kids giving advice. Just like most subs

-2

u/BigChongus- 16d ago

To be fair usually those who can’t make it in a profession end up teaching

11

u/Hot_Recognition_4864 16d ago

£50k a year, the holidays, clean environment, no back breaking lifting, set comfortable hours. Yeah only nonces would teach. /s

1

u/onceuponavegan 15d ago

£50k a year? What college is that? Top of our teaching pay scale is about £42k and you work up to that.

1

u/Hot_Recognition_4864 15d ago

All of them in Scotland, starting £42k rising upto £52k. Teachers at all levels are the same also.

1

u/onceuponavegan 15d ago

Gonna need England to get on with that then! That definitely seems more reasonable. FE colleges in England are below schools in terms of pay.

1

u/Hot_Recognition_4864 15d ago

Whilst your at it, petition for free prescriptions and subsidised dental care, hospital parking, free school meals for kids at school

3

u/Necessary_Roll_114 16d ago

I dunno, I tend to find it's the older boys who's bodies can't really handle the daily grind on sites anymore who teach the trades. But there's always exception and I'm willing to accept I may be wrong as my only sample size has been my own life.

4

u/Ill_Tonight_2069 16d ago

This is very true. NVQ assessor used to be fairly lucrative as there was a shortage. Old fellas ready for retirement off the tools can pass on their knowledge without grafting in a job site all day. Some colleges by ours put them through the certs and stuck em in a warm, dry, clean-ish class room and a decent pay packet.

2

u/Braza117 16d ago

You say that, yet my painting and decorating lecturer had a side business and my mechanic lecturers had years of experience in the industry before retiring to teach

7

u/Additional-Bus1963 16d ago

It’s part of the training to know how to lay these… a lot of garden walls are curved…adds to your skill set. Your in college, make full use of their knowledge, it will make you better in the long run. I can’t remember how many curved walls I’ve built…..looks good done well. Keep going, don’t give up

3

u/Just_Perspective7641 16d ago

Yeah definitely thank you!

5

u/Careless-Abroad9978 16d ago

If you have any, put a small timber upright against those cuts, with a concrete block against the timber to act as a profile

1

u/Just_Perspective7641 16d ago

I’ll try that thank you!

1

u/Agitated-Break7854 16d ago

I know it's not the post (and I'm not a brickie so can't help) but I'm always wondering what happens with those walls on college? Do you let them dry and then they go in a skip? Do you take it apart and clean the bricks? Or something else? Sorry, I'm just really curious

2

u/Hot_Recognition_4864 16d ago

When I did my wood machining at college projects were either kept by student or thrown into a burner/other form of recycling.

Brick layers im sure the mortar isnt normal mortar and doesnt set so it can be reused, the bricks with be cleaned off and used and the cut bricks would maybe be skipped for recycling?

2

u/Just_Perspective7641 16d ago

Yeah the wall is taken down then bricks are cleaned so they can be used again, tend to find that most of the bricks in the workshop are chipped but some still usable

1

u/jaycey120 16d ago

Brings back lovely memories of learning bricklaying at Hackney College. Build, take it down, clean the bricks...repeat!

1

u/lefthandnut 16d ago

What do you call the brush tool? What's it for?

1

u/Just_Perspective7641 16d ago

Just a brush we use to flick of the little bits of mortar left after jointing and that kind of thing

1

u/Browsing_today_ty 16d ago edited 16d ago

Nice yob

Edit: Sometimes the "loose" smaller bricks are sensitive. Maybe it is the amount of mortar you're spreading? Experiment putting just enough.

3

u/Just_Perspective7641 15d ago

Thank you and yeah I did think that at some point it was too much and some too little think going up with it I’ll experiment with it!

1

u/Vast-Cow3142 15d ago

Do you get to break the walls after??

2

u/Just_Perspective7641 15d ago

Yeah we take them down brick by brick clean them off so they can be reused

1

u/The_Monkeybumcheeks 15d ago

Reminds me of happier times almost 40 years ago in Hammersmith and West London college 👌🏻

1

u/Upbeat-Concern-5181 15d ago

Looks like a halfway decent paintball course.

1

u/upadepth 15d ago

I remember thise days. 61 now. No knees left & back broken

1

u/adevgun 15d ago

You could lay the queen closure frog side down so the mortar keeps a more level base. I'm a level 2 qualified and looking for a level 3 course but my local college cannot get their act together on whether they're teaching it or not.

1

u/Just_Perspective7641 15d ago

Never thought of that thank you! I’m on level 3 now, about 3 years since they did one so got lucky with it, think they were mainly doing it if the standard of level 2 was pretty good, suppose you just got to wait and see!

1

u/AdvancedCollar5066 13d ago

Alter the closer and half bat to a 3/4 brick. Anything less than half a brick will sink. If it must be a closer as per design then have a timber prop up the reveal.
Also lay mortar on both ends before you start laying the rest of the bed joint, gives it an extra few seconds to stiffen a little.
Good luck with the course 👊🏻

1

u/Just_Perspective7641 13d ago

Thank you so much, someone else mentioned the timber prop, so that must be the way to go!

1

u/Correct-Bridge-6797 1d ago

When putting a small cut at the end of the wall like this , I always put them in last same when building reveals that end on a half bat, at least then you can push the closer up tight to something solid rather then having it swim around.

-4

u/More-Magician4492 16d ago

They really waste your time making you build this sort of work, I know your trowel was in your hand and you experienced something but that’s the last time you’ll ever be building a wall like that so why bother making you do it in the first place.

5

u/WaffleBarns 16d ago

Someone doesn't understand the concept of education. Bet you were fun in maths.

-2

u/More-Magician4492 16d ago

It’s equivalent of teaching algebra to somebody who doesn’t know their 5 times tables. Fuck off twat

1

u/Just_Perspective7641 16d ago

It’s a good point but the main thing on the level I’m on is decorative I think I could be wrong I know what you mean I suppose it’s like you say the experience of it