TIL that a simple brick arch can turn into a two day nightmare

I was building a small arched opening in a garden wall last week, a job I figured would take maybe half a day. The problem was the wooden form I built for the arch. It looked perfect, but when I started laying the bricks, the curve just wouldn't seat right and the mortar joints were all over the place. I spent the rest of that day and all of the next just re-cutting bricks and re-doing the form. Has anyone else had a simple arch go totally wrong? What's your trick for getting the form right the first time?

2 comments

2 Comments

jake_mason304d ago

Honestly, that sounds exactly like the kind of project that looks easy until it isn't. I've been there fighting with a form that just wouldn't cooperate. Tbh, it's always the simple jobs that end up taking forever.

fiona_murray4d ago

Yeah, arches are sneaky like that. The trick is to cut a full size paper template of the curve first. Lay it flat and mark your brick positions on it, then transfer those marks to your wooden form. That way you're not guessing the spacing while you're up there with wet mortar.