Arch keystone

[thesharkbar]

Hi aĺl
was wodering if you need to put mortar in with the keystone or not
thanks in advance

Adrian

[Tscarborough]

Re: Arch keystone

An odd question. Why would you NOT?

[dakzaag]

Re: Arch keystone

Mortar


is



Your


friend.

[thesharkbar]

Re: Arch keystone

Wasnt sure as it locks it in means i would have to cut it smaller
Sorry for the dumb questions but im struggling with the arch

Adrian

[Tscarborough]

Re: Arch keystone

Technically, no you do not have to mortar it in, practically of course it needs to be mortared in. If you precut all the arch stones they will not fit, no matter how much of a mathematical genius you are. Cut all BUT the keystone, then cut it to fit allowing for mortar joints.

[thesharkbar]

Re: Arch keystone

Thanks for the info guys
Got the keystone in today mortar and all and three corses of bricks in too

Adrian

[RandyJ]

Re: Arch keystone

Technically, no you do not have to mortar it in, practically of course it needs to be mortared in. If you precut all the arch stones they will not fit, no matter how much of a mathematical genius you are. Cut all BUT the keystone, then cut it to fit allowing for mortar joints.

I am no expert but I beg to differ. I made my arches forms and layed it out and it all fit just the way I planned on both arches. Granted I did not tapper any of my arches but it all fit just as planned. And yes you want to mortar it all in to place.

Randy

[NCMan]

Re: Arch keystone

I have to agree w/RandyJ. I marked my arch template(s) where each brick had to go (after doing a preliminary layout) and made sure they all went right to the marks. Worked great. I'm good at math, but no genius. Actually, I don't think it had anything to do w/math. Not to me, anyway.

[RandyJ]

Re: Arch keystone

Yeah I did not use any math at all. I just said I wanted to have my arch be this tall made my form and then did a dry fit on the ground. As long as you don't leave big gaps in the front face it should not be a problem. Also if you have bigger gaps on the outside of the arch use some kind of spacer. I used wire nuts and they kept everything nice and even.

Randy

[NCMan]

Re: Arch keystone

I sort of did the same thing, w/a slight difference. I also decided what height and width door I wanted/needed. I then drew my arch on a piece of plywood and laid out the bricks to see how it worked. On the first drawing, I did not like the joint widths, so I made the height just a little less, which allowed me to move the bricks a bit closer and tightened up the joints a bit. I only lowered the door height about 1/4" and it made it just right. I never changed the width. Once I liked the layout, I simply marked where I wanted the joints to fall on the front of the template and made sure I used those marks when placing the bricks. Not a whole lot of math involved.

[RandyJ]

Re: Arch keystone

I guess That I was lucky. I did not have to readjust. But I also decided who wide and tall I needed and made my form.

Randy

[NCMan]

Re: Arch keystone

It really just depends on a builders preference for joint width. I wanted mine tighter on my outer arches, so I just made a slight adjustment on my arch form/template to tighten them a bit. Just a personal preference. As the saying goes....."the food won't mind".