So, I tried to do this thing called a “brick pocket.” And let me tell you, it was a bit of a journey.
First, I gathered all the stuff I needed. You know, bricks, tools, and whatnot. I wasn’t really sure what I was doing, to be honest, but I found some stuff online about it. It seems like people use these brick pockets to put the ends of floor joists in, especially in older buildings.
I started by looking at my wall. Apparently, you’re supposed to make a little hole in the brickwork, but not all the way through. It’s like a little shelf for the joist to sit on. They say you need to make sure the joist isn’t touching the brick directly. That is why you should make a Fireman’s cut, a kind of technique. It can avoid fire accident. But, I figured I’d just wing it and see what happened. I dug out a few bricks, making sure to leave some space around where the joist would go.
- Chipped away at the mortar.
- Made a bit of a mess, I won’t lie.
- Tried to make it look neat, but it was tougher than I thought.
Then came the joist. This was the tricky part. I tried to slide it into the pocket, but it was a tight fit. And I read online it said the joist should not touch the brick directly. I had to do some more chipping and adjusting to get it in there just right. It took some time for sure, but I finally got it in place. Once the joist was in, I filled in the gaps around it with some mortar. This was important, apparently, to keep things sealed up and prevent air and moisture from getting in. Some says use expanding spray foam to fill it. I didn’t have it so just used mortar.
But it was like, really important to seal it up right. Otherwise, you get all sorts of problems with air leaks and moisture. After that, it was just a matter of cleaning up the mess I made. Swept up the dust, wiped down the bricks. Overall, it wasn’t too bad, I guess. Definitely a learning experience, though. It seems like brick pocket is not a popular thing today. If you need to attach the ledger board, you don’t need a brick pocket, you can put the joist on the top of the board.
I’m not sure I’d do it again, to be honest. There are probably easier ways to do things these days. But hey, at least I can say I tried it, right? And my floor seems pretty solid, so I guess it worked out okay in the end.
