New garage time!

[EddieWalker]

Are you going to fill up the planter with dirt behind the blocks? If it was me, I would drill some holes in your concrete along the path of the blocks so I could put a short length of rebar into the concrete. It wouldn't have to be very long, just enough for the concrete inside the blocks to have something to lock onto.

 

[fatjay]

Yup, I'll be drilling and putting rebar every few feet, then filling that block with concrete. The corners are already done.

 

[airbiscuit]

Are the blocks sitting on a footer?

 

[fatjay]

Are the blocks sitting on a footer?

No. But the blocks arent' going more than 2 high, so I don't think it'll be a problem. This slab is 60 years old so the settling has been done and there is lots of wire in there.

Also some of htat concrete is nearly a foot thick. From about page 10 in the thread:

 

[fatjay]

Using old concrete, when i mixed it, once it set, it just crumbled. Not good at all. It turned to sand in my hands when I grabbed a piece. So I ripped the 3 corners up, they came up with no trouble. Cleaned the surface, got new concrete/lime/sand, mixed it up in 3:3:12, and laid it.

Once I'm done the full first level, I'm drilling and putting rebar in to pin the blocks. It's going slow, but winter weather is really hit and miss. Today was a rare 50f.

 

[EddieWalker]

There's something very satisfying about laying blocks!!!

 

[fatjay]

Got more block laid, despite the wind. My string line was blowing all over the place, and my wheel barrow even blew over towards the end.

Then i noticed i had a slight injury on my finger that I didn't feel because I couldn't feel my fingers. Once I got the feeling back, it was not great.

 

[bigtiller]

Middle fingers are just to long. I chopped an eighth inch off one of mine and it is still to long.

 

[fatjay]

The real bummer is tomorrow is the last day above freezing, so i have to finish laying the block. Then comes the big freeze. I cleaned my finger up mostly and bandaged it, but it's not the only one that got chewed up.

 

[goeduck]

I like laying block too, but my tennis elbow starts kicking in from gripping the block. Same as spitting firewood, I have to break it up with days between. And I never played tennis.