I want to build a raised bed with old reclaimed bricks?

Question

It will be about 4 bricks high. The ground it will go on is at the moment concrete. Will it be ok to build directly on top of that, and will just one thickness (or I think it;s called skin) of brick be o.k., or will I have to do 2 like the brick wall that I got the bricks from originally. If so, could I use concrete blocks first, and then just face them with the brick? Don't want to waste the bricks, because they're lovely victorian ones.

Answer 1

You will have to have many inches of soil, at least 12, if you are going to put a raised bed over concrete. Your drainage will be very poor. The concrete botton will cause what is called a perch and water will pool over this area and will not perk through the ground. Plants do not like wet feet. Also you will have to be very selective about what you put in this raised bed. You will not want any plants that put down a long tap root and the tap root will stop at the perch area and will not grow. You will want plants that have a fibrous root system and do not put down a large tap root. Plants such as tomatoes, carrots, etc will not do well in this bed. You can use any material to make a raised bed other than treated lumber. Treated lumber contains poisons that will leech into the soil. Allow enough material so that your raised bed will be quite deep. Concrete is definately going to require a lot of soil for your raised bed. The bricks sound beautiful but check them continually for slugs. Slugs love to live under bricks and canbe quite destructive. To check for slugs, just go out at night and looks around and under the bricks. Slugs can be killed by handpicking and throwing them into soapy water.

Answer 2

One skin of bricks is fine for that height, but the real issues are drainage on concrete and plant selection.

The wall will need a number of seep holes in the bottom row of bricks. Basically just don't point (use cement) between the ends of the bricks that you lay directly on the concrete. Don't do every brick, one every three or four should do.

What will happen though is that the soil will eventually fill the gaps that you create in the bricks and block water flow. You can slow this process by adding a layer of grit in the bottom of the bed.

Your other problem is that most root veg or plants with tap roots or deep rooted plants, wont have enough soil depth.

Ideally I'd either smash the concrete or raise your bed height.

Sorry I can't be more encouraging. Hope you sort it out Ok.

Answer 3

Because you are going to use them just as a raised bed and are only going up 4 courses then in my opinion you do not require to give the added support of a double skin wall. The existing concrete surface will be perfect for laying the bricks on. Make sure that it is cleaned of any surface dust or dirt before you start. I would not bother with a damp course because as a raised bed you will be filling it with earth anyway. You could apply a PVA sealant on the inside before you put the earth in, this could help to protect the bricks from the damp earth. Lay the bricks with a decent mix of 4 sand to 1 cement. Because they are reclaimed bricks don't make the mix to wet as you will find that the weight of the bricks will cause them to sink. Use a good sized level and sort your corners out first, remember to use alternate layers of bricks to get a good bond, IE first layer start with full brick, second layer start with a half brick.

Answer 4

Double wythe wall will be more stable, even though its only 4 courses high. Use 10 cm concrete blocks, or even cheap concrete bricks behind your lovely Victorian face bricks. You could put what is called a "weep vent" in some places on the bottom course to allow for drainage. On the inside of the flower bed, the inside/back of the wall, put some foundation coating (acrylic waterproofing or last choice tar) to prevent the bricks always being saturated and covered in calcium salt type efflouressence deposits that are leached out of the bricks and crystalize on the face of the bricks as the water evaporates. After the waterproofing inside the bed is done, and the weep-vents are strategically placed, you could or should put some screen material, or "landscape fabric" to prevent mud seeping out of the drainage vents. It'll be really nice and function well if done right. Enjoy ! :)

Answer 5

Just done one.Used single brick,it looks ok,the only thing to watch is to leave drainage so that it doesn`t become waterlogged.Also for a little extra strength you could brick tie in
to existing walls if possible.Make sure you level the first course of brick though,as it would look bloody awful leaning. Best of luck!

Answer 6

4 brick is about 10 in. high. are you going to drystack them or mortar them? with a concrete base you could do either. but 10 inches of dirt will push a single wall drystacked. you could walk around it once a week and tap them back, no big deal there. if you mortar them be sure to leave weep hole in the bottom bed joint about every 3 brick. so i would go double thickness on a drystack wall , single on a mortared wall, i would not go to the added expense of cement block if you have enough brick...

Answer 7

you should be fine building diectly onto the concrete especially only four bricks high a curved wall or wall with aat least one corner will increase the strength of it. within the raised bed i would recommend drilling holes through the concrete in places to allow for drainage.

Answer 8

complex point. check out on to yahoo. it could actually help!