So you’ve decided to build
yourself a patio using AB Courtyard. You must have a lot of questions. Where do
I start my AB Courtyard wall? Where do I end it? How do I end it? Will my
husband or wife like it? While we cannot guarantee the satisfaction of your spouse,
we have answered a number of your other questions in our Courtyard
Installation Guide.
Without opening the
guide, where do we start? A good rule of thumb is to always start at a spot
that you absolutely have to hit exactly. Are you terminating your AB Courtyard
wall into the side of your house or another existing structure? That’s a great
place to start building your wall. Chances are if you are terminating your AB
Courtyard wall into an existing wall you’ll want a vertical end. We have two
options for terminating an AB Courtyard wall panel vertically. You can
terminate your panel with a vertical cut end or a vertical finished end.
If your wall is terminating into the
side of an existing structure we recommend a vertical cut end. As the name
indicates, to terminate a wall section with a vertical cut you will need to cut
blocks. Once you have a
center-split Dublin and an end split Dublin you’re ready to start building your
vertical cut end. It’s as simple as stacking your four cut pieces in the order
shown below until you have reached your desired wall height. The video below
shows this process, as well.
What if you want to have an opening in your wall, but
you don’t want to build a post? That sounds like a perfect application for a
vertical finished end. To construct a vertical finished end you will need to
cut every other corner block as shown below. In order to determine where
exactly to cut your corner block simply lay your first two courses of wall and
finish the first course with a corner. Next, place a single York and a single
corner on top of that first course as shown. Then, you will measure the
distance from each angled end of the second course to the flat end of the first
course. You will then mark that distance from the flat end of the second
course.
Always ensure that you are cutting a small angled piece from the angled
end of the block as shown. Once you have completed your cut and verified proper
fitment, feel free to use this block as a template for all other corner cuts as
they should not change in size. The video below will walk you through this
process as well.
By utilizing vertical cut ends and vertical finished
ends, you can build your AB Courtyard patio to terminate into a house, a post,
a gate or any number of structures. The possibilities are endless with AB
Courtyard.
Understanding site soils is necessary before constructing
any retaining wall, and can lead to an efficient, structurally sound design.
