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| 10/12/03 |
Knocking down and bricking up |
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| The old Thermablock cloakroom is knocked for seven bells, then the old doorway through bricked up. |
OK, it was time to stop buggering around a take action. We had done all the maths: a modern car simply won't fit into the garage without removing the dreadful cloakroom that's been built within it. Our plans show the cloakroom will fit under the stairs. So, we gain a garage without losing a cloakroom, which means this Thermablock and plasterboard cube had to go. All the facilities were removed first, because we are intending to reuse them. Toilets and basins are expensive and changing the taps and toilet seat and concealing the cistern will make all the difference. Even the skirting is to be recycled. Thermablock offers little resistance to a heavy sledgehammer, so the wall came down relatively easily, once a broken edge was gained. It was just a case of knocking off a course at a time. We kept the blocks, because we figure on using them to make a wall or planter, laying the broken blocks like a stone wall with mortar between and then rendering. The floor (a two inch screed) came up very easily; it must have been put down on a dusty floor. Once the sidewall and floor were cleared, preparations for bricking up the old doorway began with drilling out half bricks every two or three courses to allow the new brickwork to be bonded in properly. Next bricks removed from the chimneybreast were cleaned up, sorted and cut to make courses. I found it best to organise my courses firsts working out five or six at a time. I would then arrange them in lines working away from me and then lay one course while the next was soaking in water to improve bonding. Be sure to check that damp course is OK before you start. Oh, and thoroughly dampen down the existing brickwork to help bonding too. I found bricklaying quite tricky at first. You'll find a link to the advice I followed in the sidebar. |
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