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Brick piers are vertical structures used as supports for walls or buildings, but are no longer commonly used in foundations. Freestanding brick piers can be used for light poles, gates, or as decorative features. Older homes may require repair or replacement of brick pier foundations. Brick piers can be built with concrete and steel reinforcing bars, and must be supported by a foundation. Regular intervals of brick piers are necessary for wall strength, and strip footings are commonly used to support walls.
Brick piers are vertical structures that typically serve as supports for the walls in which they are embedded or for the building built upon them. Historically, these have been used extensively, in some locales, as foundations for houses. Other types of more robust foundations, however, have been developed over time. Since this is the case, construction using brick piers in the foundations of buildings is generally no longer used. It is still commonly used in walls and to support structures, such as arbors.
Often, brick pillars are built to be freestanding. This means they are isolated pillars not connected to any other structure. A freestanding brick pier can be used for many things, such as a light pole, a support for a gate or letterbox, or as a decorative feature at the end of a driveway. Often, these piers are built as monuments, sometimes with engraved commemorative plaques attached to them.
In older homes, brick pillar foundations are often in need of repair. Some signs that they need to be repaired or replaced may include dock skewing, cracks, bulges, and disintegrating brick and mortar. Usually, if a brick pier foundation needs to be replaced on an older home, the home can be jacked up and supported temporarily, while a newer, more stable foundation is built. This can, however, be a costly endeavor.
Brick pillars can be built in several ways. The bricks are often laid so that a recess is formed in the center of the pier. This can then be filled with concrete, and sometimes, at intervals, with steel reinforcing bars, to strengthen the pier. A pier can also be built entirely of brick and mortar under various constraints. Bonds are bricklaying patterns. Some of the more common include English bond, Flemish bond, and stretcher bond.
If brick piers are used to strengthen a wall, they generally occur at regular intervals along the length of the wall. For example, one standard states that any wall laid as a single-brick width wall more than 12 cm (30.48 inches) high should have piers at least every nine feet-nine inches (3 m). Also, brick walls and pillars will need to rest on a foundation. Often, a strip footing, a straight channel filled with concrete, is used to support the wall. When pouring concrete, the depth of the pier must be taken into account so that it rests entirely on the foundation.
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