Sorry, one other thing. I now remember the foreman saying, at the outset, that it was important to lay the bricks "smiling". He's a big chap, so I wouldn't expect Feng Shui to be his bag :) so perhaps its just aesthetics. Ours are definitely smiling, which would have negated them being laid the other way up.
Hi kG
First of all I am not trying for 'brownie points' just trying to clarify a point that is even controversial in the trade!
First of I was an apprentice trained bricklayer which included doing the technical side of the trade at Tech College going on to get my City & Guilds and HNC (sorry you have got me bragging)
This is when I found out about this UP and DOWN thing as we had to do tests on materials and building techniques and this was one of the issues we had to address.
OK back to the point ;
As I said in my previous post one way is easier than the other and that google you did more or less confirmed that.
I take note of your point;
was the risk of drilling the wall, later, and hitting an air gap in a frog (laid down) which would then mean that the fixing was weaker.You would be surprised how common this situation is , particularly if you are drilling into an old style London Brick Company brick, which were like wafers, but a dawdle to lay, particularly if they were laid frog down.
So there is a lot more to it than meets the eye!
For instance did you know that the mortar should be of a lesser strength than the mortar?
This is to cater for building settlement i.e. it is better for the mortar to crack during the buildings settling period rather than the brick because you can re-point the mortar.
Why have all those old buildings that have stood the test of time not cracked like some of the more modern buildings?
The were built with lime mortar rather than cement mortar!
On that matter of
lay the bricks "smiling". I am not sure what he meant by that because local terminology for the same tasks can be quite different.
In fact the first question on all C&G exams was;
What area in the UK did you take your training this was to cater for just such anomalies.
For instance I was taught that ( as we called it) Hatching and Grinning is poor workmanship.
This is difficult to describe in writing but it basically means on each successive course the edges of the bricks are not flush i.e. there is a tiny projection (lip) where the bottom of the upper course meets the course below.
This is known by me as 'grinning' could this mean 'smiling' in your neck of the woods? I don't know!
The best time to see this is when the sun shines along at an angle that creates shadows that you would otherwise not see in normal light.
It is not often a problem, and if there is a problem it is usually caused by frost!
If the bricks are relatively soft and with certain types of pointing water sits on this lip then it freezes and this expansion can cause the edge of the brick to break off!
So hopefully its you that is smiling with the quality of your extension not the bricks.
There endeth my lesson on Bricklaying.
Now lets get back to growing Primulas
