Well as 2017 draws to a close we thought we would update readers on one of our most recent projects. We were asked to do some work in the backyard of a Leichhardt home where a 700 mm high brick wall needed to be built and then rendered to match an existing garden wall. The removal of an old shed had left the garden looking a little ‘out of shape’ because the ‘footprint’ of the shed had partly encroached into the garden area of the yard.

Simple Garden Brick Wall Construction

As the wall was to ‘stand’ on an existing concrete slab (the backyard, like many in inner west Sydney was 80 percent concreted over!), no footings were required. A string line was used to ensure that the new brick wall was in line with the existing wall. The trick here was to slightly set the new wall back from the old wall, to ensure that once rendered, the surfaces of both walls matched perfectly. Bricks were purchased from Bunnings as was cement and a few lengths of 3 x 2 inch timber that we used as form work. Because the wall was going to be rendered a 100 percent ‘perfect’ wall was not required (in terms of the ‘face’ of the wall. The 3 metre long wall took just over half a day to construct.

Projects Like This Do Not Need To Be Overly Expensive

Simple garden landscaping jobs can be relatively straightforward, not take a lot of time or money and can have a huge impact on the appearance and enjoyment value of a garden area.

Cement Rendering The Wall

A couple of days later we returned to render the wall. Cement rendering is reasonably easy but experience certainly helps, as in most handyman jobs. We ensured the brick wall was sponged over with water to help adhesion of the render. We then mixed the render using and electric mixer and applied it using a rendering trowel. If you have not rendered a wall before, the following Bunnings video is fairly helpful:

Painting The Rendered Wall

It is important to allow render to fully dry over a period of several days (depending on the thickness of the applied render)before painting it. We used one of our favourite external paints made by Taubmans to apply 3 coats of paint. If you have any small brick work, rendering, concreting or painting jobs then we are the handyman service that can assist you!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year From Handyman Inner West.