The foundation for the fence with brick pillars: how to lay

Nowadays, every owner of a country cottage or cottage is trying to protect his possessions with a high-quality fence. And in most cases we are talking here about appearance rather than about any protective functions. Therefore, it is not surprising that both home craftsmen and professional builders stop at a fence with brick pillars.

The brick is the universal material combining simplicity in work, reliability, durability and presentable appearance. An important advantage is its price. However, if you decide to use this material to install the fence, then you should first of all lay the foundation for a brick fence. We will talk about this in this article.

Brick posts for the fence.

Foundation - the basis of the brick fence

The main question in the construction of a brick fence concerns the choice of the correct type of foundation. And this is actually very important, because otherwise, cracks will follow your fence over time, which sooner or later will lead to the destruction of the structure. At the same time, neither the thickness nor the height of the fence plays any role.

Remember: whatever your fence - its foundation should be as strong as possible, because in any case such a structure will be massive.

Preparation for work

• In order to install a brick fence on the foundation, you need to know one important feature of such structures: there must be a metal pillar inside the brick pillar, which should also be concreted into the foundation. For these purposes, suitable durable pipe or a bunch of reinforcement, for example, thin metal corners. The use of a metal rod in the form of the foundation of a fence for the construction of a metal rod will give the structure strength and reliability. In addition, it is to the pipe or fittings that you later have to mount brackets for log.
• Prepare a metal base for the pillars, you should determine the distance between them. The more massive and higher the construction, the denser the need to place the pillars towards each other. On average, this distance is 2.5 meters. When the preparatory stage is completed, we proceed directly to the pouring of the foundation. To do this, you should use one of the options provided by a simple instruction:

Concrete pillar base.

1. Column base. The simplest and cheapest type of foundation, which, nevertheless, allows you to establish a solid and reliable design. You can easily fill this foundation with your own hands, even if you have never previously encountered construction work.
   • Dig holes for the pillars.
   • Insert the metal base for the post.
   • Setting the pillar vertically, fill the pit with concrete.

   Between themselves, such bases are connected by means of concrete plinths.

Tip! For added strength, bricks, construction debris, or crushed stone can be added to the concrete mortar.

Ribbon-pillar foundation.

1. Ribbon-pillar foundationwhich is poured into the formwork, reinforced with metal mesh for the fence. The total width of the base is usually 40 cm, depth - 50 cm. Under the concrete pillar the base is made somewhat wider and deeper. This foundation can significantly reduce the risk of displacement of the base. It is suitable not only for brick, but also for wooden fences. The strip foundation for a brick fence provides for the following work stages:
   • Manually or with the help of special equipment you should dig a trench. Handwork in this case will be more accurate, although it will take more time.
   • Level the bottom of the trench and lay a gravel or sand pillow about 200 mm thick. Tamp it tight.
   • Lay a layer of rubble or broken brick as a support for the reinforcement. Cover it with a metal grid.

   The next step is to install the formwork, which holds the mass of concrete until it hardens. Most often in this case, planed boards or any other materials with a smooth surface are used. When installing formwork construction companies use special prefabricated kits that are able to guarantee the correct geometry for the future foundation. We will look at the process of installing wooden formwork.

   • Formwork should be installed throughout the depth of the trench. At the same time, preferably 300 mm to bring it above the top layer of soil (as in the photo below).

     

     Installation of formwork for a strip foundation for a brick fence.

   • Install the metal base for the pillars.
   • Fill the formwork with concrete.

1. Rostverkovy type of the base. It is the most reliable and durable, but at the same time the most time consuming. It is made under each pillar, about one and a half meters deep. A concrete base is poured between the columns, about 30 cm deep. Since this type of foundation is very deep underground, this is a guarantee of durability of the structure.

Installation of brick pillars

When the foundation for the brick fence is ready and the initial pipes are installed, then you should proceed to the brickwork.

Tip! If you plan to build a fence of white or red facing brick, it is desirable to treat the surface of the finished fence with special impregnation designed for brick surfaces. Due to this, the thinnest film will appear on the surface of the column, which will protect the structure from destruction and efflorescence.

• It will not be enough to simply lay out brick pillars; you should also pour cement mortar with rubble into the voids of such pillars. For strength, you can also fill the voids with small reinforcement (mesh, pieces of thick wire). The solution is kneaded by the following formula: the ratio of components of crushed stone, sand, cement is 3: 3: 1.

• Concrete voids with parts, since it is impossible to make a high-quality compaction of the column over the entire height. A good option to speed up the process is to build a brick pillar, and then fill the internal space of the pillar not with small gravel, but with pieces of brick or some large stones, filling them with concrete.
• Fastening lag should be carried out only when the pillars are sufficiently settled. This may take up to three weeks time, depending on the weather conditions and the climate characteristic of your area.

Installation of a brick pillar.

Tip! Do not forget about the cap to protect the top of the fence posts. If it is not foreseen, then the rains will “wash out” the concrete filler over time, as a result of which the destruction of the structure may occur.

Conclusion

Brick fences are very strong, durable and beautiful structures. At the same time, the cost of such a barrier may be completely dependent on you. If you are interested in this topic - be sure to watch the video, which is located at the bottom of the page.