Techniques for Solid Masonry

You are likely to encounter one of three types of solid masonry wall if your house is not wood framed. All can be opened for a new door or window, a process that involves many of the same techniques used for brick veneer but calls for some special steps that depend on how the wall is constructed.

Variations on Masonry: Some old homes have solid walls consisting of two courses of brick; such a double brick wall is opened as shown below. Other masonry walls are made of 4 concrete block or cinder block with a face veneer of brick; as in a solid brick wall, a 0.5” air space is often left between the courses. The most common type of all is a single thickness of 8” block, widely used for basement and garage walls. Both brick-and-block walls and solid block walls are opened by the techniques described on below.

Breaking Through: To cut through any masonry wall, score the opening the same way as for veneer, but do the back as well as the front. Drill at least one pilot hole to ensure that the front and back scoring registers exactly. Then break through the masonry in the same way as for brick veneer.

Lintels are required at the top of door or window openings to support the weight of the house. For a solid brick wall, use a back-to-back pair of steel angles. If the opening is in a brick-and- block or solid block wall, a precast concrete lintel—available from a dealer in masonry materials—is needed.

Finishing the Job: A rough wood frame makes the opening ready for a new door or window. It serves as a nailing surface, and in the case of block walls also covers ragged block cores.

CAUTION -- Before proceeding, check the wall for lead paint or asbestos.

TOOLS:

• Cold chisel
• Maul (4-lb.)
• Brick set
• Circular saw
• Hammer

MATERIALS:

• Steel lintels
• Precast concrete lintels
• Lumber (1 x 4, 1 x 8, 2 x 4)
• Common nails (2’’, 3)
• Cut nails (2”, 2)
• Solid-core concrete blocks (4” or 8”)
• Newspaper
• Mortar mix

HANDLING A BRICK WALL

1. Installing the lintels.

• In a wall made of two courses of brick, break out the bricks above the scored opening on both the in- side and outside faces of the wall, using the techniques.

• Place two steel lintels back to back and push them onto the shoulder bricks at either side of the opening until their upright backs stand directly under the cavity between the faces.

• Replace bricks on top of the lintels. If the lintels increase the thickness of the wall so that the re placement bricks protrude beyond the face of it, cut the backs off the bricks using the techniques shown in the box at left.

• Break out the rest of the opening.

SAFETY FIRST: Wear safety goggles when hammering and a dust mask when you chip out old brick or block. A hard hat is essential when you work with unsecured heavy objects overhead. Gloves protect your hands from wet mortar.

2. Rough-framing the opening.

• Cut a piece of 2-by-4 equal to the width of the opening for a header; if a window is to be installed, cut another piece the same length for a rough sill.

• Cut side pieces long enough to complete either a three-sided rough doorframe or a four-sided window frame.

• Fasten the frame together by driving 3.5” nails through the header into the ends of the side pieces; in the case of a window, attach the sill to the other ends of the side pieces in the same way.

• Set the frame in the opening flush with the interior face of the wall.

• With a maul, drive 2.5” cut nails through the frame into the mortar joints between bricks.

FRAMING A BLOCK-WALL OPENING

1. Preparing the opening.

• For a block wall without brick veneer, measure and score the opening inside and outside as you would for a solid brick wall, but allow for an outer frame by increasing the size of the opening as follows: Add 1.5” to the width of either a door or window opening; add inch to the height of a door, 1.5” to the height of a window.

• Make a lintel channel.

• If the shoulder blocks on which the lintel is to rest remain intact, tamp newspaper tightly to the bottom of the hollow cores. Fill the cores with mortar; it need not set before the lintel is installed. In case of broken shoulder blocks, remove the blocks completely and replace them with solid-core concrete blocks.

Proceed similarly for a brick-and-block wall, except that the dimensions of the opening should be the same as for an opening in a solid brick wall; no outer frame is needed.

2. Setting the lintel.

• For a solid block wall, order two precast rein forced lintels that are as tall and half as thick as the blocks in your wall and as wide as the opening you have made for the channel.

• Mortar the shoulder blocks, the blocks to the sides of the opening, and the top of each lintel. Then—with a strong helper—lift the lintel into place.

• Replace any damaged blocks above the lintel.

In a brick-and-block wall, install a concrete lintel over the block, but place a steel lintel over the brick-veneer course. To complete an opening in this type of wall, proceed to Step 5.

3. Attaching nailers.

In 8”-block walls that have core openings inch or more deep, cut 3” pieces of 1 by-4 or larger stock and fasten them into the cores with cut nails to fill the core space. Using these nailers to secure the outer framing, rather than nailing the framing directly to the block, is preferable because it avoids chipping the block.

4. Outer framing for 8” block.

• From 1-by-8 stock, cut a header (and a sill if you are installing a window) as wide as the opening. Since some of the board will remain ex posed, select a good grade of lumber.

• Cut two side pieces long enough to complete a three- sided doorframe or four- sided window frame.

• Nail the header to the side pieces; in the case of a window, attach the sill as well.

• Slide the frame into the opening.

• Secure it with 2” nails into the nailer blocks attached in Step 3; in an opening with no nailers, use 2” cut nails to fasten the frame to the masonry at the front and back of the opening.

• Repair any chipped blocks with mortar.

5. Adding a rough frame.

Build a rough frame out of 2-by-4s. For an opening in a block wall, slide the rough frame into the outer frame so that it's flush with the inside of the opening; nail it to the outer frame with 2” nails. If the opening is in a brick-and-block wall, anchor the rough frame directly to the opening in the block course with 2” cut nails.