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I’m in the midwest, where a 10″ wall with a 4″ brick ledge is standard. I’m looking for info. on typical steps for varying brick ledge heights, particularly on walls with stepped footings (i.e. side walls sloped to walk-out back elevation). What are the normal brick ledge steps and horizontal runs?
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Your answers lie in your bricks. Commons ? Jumbos? Romans? It's the size of the brick and its coursing that determines the sizes of the steps. While footer steps for block are (should be) on 8" increments in height, brick isn't always so standard. As far as the horizontal runs, again it is determined by the size of the bricks. You really want all full bricks, but this is sometimes tough to achieve. The height is much more critical. Brickies don't like cutting splinties.
*The bricks will be commons. I was figuring 8" steps for the brick ledge drop. See any problems with this?The grade will drop appx. 9' along the sides of the house to the walk-out. The reason I usually leave it up to the foundation contractor to do as he deems best, but am required to put this information on construction documents for the municipality.
*J.R.My experience is that no matter how obsessive you are about the dimensions of these steps you're brickies will end up having to cut brick. You can go to the brick supplier and get all of the info. This is the only way to get close because brick sizes vary. Joint sizes also vary and there are a lot of terminations for a mason to contend with on a typical house and he makes these adjustments using all of his layout skills. You may lay these steps perfectly proportional to normal layout and he may come in and decide that because of how an adjacent window or door opening lays out he'd rather put a cut brick at your step where it's less conspicuous. So you do all the brain damage and he still cuts brick. My advice: lay it out so it works well to normal layout and can be hidden with grade.Terry
*J. R."Standard modular" bricks, which are 2 1/4 inches high by 7 5/8 inches long, are sized to work with block courses. Three courses of these bricks (with mortar joints slightly thicker than 3/8 inch) equal 8 inches. This equals one course of blocks (with a 3/8 inch mortar joint). Modular coordination based on 4 and 8-inch increments was deliberately implemented by the American Standards institute in the 1930s. Standard modular bricks are by far the most common size in every brick yard.