Base

Overview

A word of warning: Due to the weight of the concrete blocks and the concrete slabs, this stage of the build process is hard work, and it took me almost exactly 7 hours (without a break)! You can of course take it slower and perhaps complete one or two layers a day instead of completing the base in one day. It is certainly sensible to pace yourself or enlist some help at this stage.

Building the base involves cutting some of the concrete blocks. To do this I used a bolster chisel and club hammer. It was the first time that I had done this so I looked on youtube and found a video that explained how to do it.
You can view it here.
I was surprised at how accurately a block could be cut using this method. But some blocks were easier to cut than others, so you may have to chisel away the face of the block once it has been cut.
I would recommend wearing safety glasses when cutting the blocks! 

So to begin, you need to cut some concrete blocks.
Here is a list of each layer (layer 1 being the bottom layer) with the size of the concrete blocks that you will need:

  • Layer 5: No Concrete blocks, just four 600 x 600 x 38 concrete slabs
  • Layer 4: Eight Full size blocks & three blocks cut to 300mm
  • Layer 3: Ten Concrete blocks, just four 600 x 600 x 38 concrete slabs
  • Layer 2: Ten Full size blocks & three blocks cut to 180mm & 4 blocks cut to 165mm
  • Layer 1: Ten Full size blocks & three blocks cut to 300mm

Note:
For layer 2, I used 4 blocks cut to 165mm, but if I were to build the base again I would have used 2 blocks (1 for the front edge and 1 for the back edge) cut to 340mm. The reason for this is that the 165mm blocks were very fiddly to fit but if I just had one 340mm block then it would have been easier.

Is it hard to lay blocks and how precise do you have to be?
I thought that laying the concrete blocks would be a piece of cake, but it turned out to be a lot harder than I thought. After looking at a few youtube videos of how to lay concrete blocks, it looked pretty quick and easy, but when I came to do it myself I found that it took a lot longer than I had anticipated and it was also much trickier.
 
So if you find that it's hard going, persevere and it will get easier. Don't worry about getting the measurements spot on. If a layer is not exactly 1200mm x 1200mm then it doesn't matter. If anyone notices that it is slightly off, then just say that it has character or you were going for a rustic look! My base (as you can see in the photos) has more than a few places where the blocks are not correctly aligned, but hey ho, I built it myself and I'm proud of it!

Materials

  • 5 bags of ready mixed brick laying mortar
  • 45 Concrete blocks 440 x 215 x 100
  • 8 600 x 600 x 38 concrete slabs

Tools

  • Spade
  • Tape measure
  • Spirit level
  • Wheelbarrow
  • Measuring jug
  • Brick trowel
  • Bolster chisel
  • Club hammer
  • Rubber mallet
  • Safety glasses
  • Gloves

Download Photos

Click here to download the photos

Photos

Build Instructions

  1. Empty 1 bag of ready mixed mortar into a wheelbarrow and add 3 litres of water. As with the foundation layer, I found it easier to add 1 litre at a time and to mix the mortar in after each litre of water had been added.
  2. As you build the base, just keep making up a new wheelbarrow load of mortar as needed. You can see in picture C how many blocks I managed to lay with one bag of mortar.
  3. Use the mortar to lay the blocks for layers 1 & 2 as shown in the pictures C to F. Use a spirit level on each block to ensure that it is level. If it isn't, then use a rubber mallet to tap the block until it is. Once a layer has been finished, use a tape measure to make sure the outside edges of the blocks are 1200mm apart.
  4. If the dimensions are not exact then use a rubber mallet to tap the blocks into the correct position so that the correct dimensions can be achieved.
  5. On top of layer 2 place a thick layer of mortar and place the 4 600 x 600 x 38 concrete slabs on top.
  6. Use a spirit level and rubber mallet to ensure that they are level and use a tape measure to check that the overall dimensions are 1200mm x 1200mm.
  7. Lay the blocks for layer 4 as shown in pictures I & J.
  8. On top of layer 4 place a thick layer of mortar and place the final four 600 x 600 x 38 concrete slabs on top as shown in pictures K & L.
  9. Stand back and admire your masterpiece!