Walls That Stand

What this book is

A project-based workbook for someone who has never laid a block. Each chapter adds one number to a real wall: how many blocks, where the corners go, how much concrete, which material, how much mortar, whether it is tall enough to worry about, what water does to it, and how much render and paint. The last chapter puts all eight together into a weekend-by-weekend plan, a shopping list and a ledger.

What you build: a 6.0 m (about 20 ft) reinforced concrete-block garden wall, about a meter tall, on a concrete strip footing, capped, rendered and painted. Or, by the second route, a plan for a low flood wall around the low side of a plot, with a removable flood board across the gate and a pump for the rain that falls inside, made ready to take to a licensed engineer, as FEMA advises for any flood wall.

Who it is for: homeowners who want to build a garden wall themselves, check a mason's quote, or plan shallow flood protection with the right questions in hand. Who it is not for: retaining walls, house walls, anything much above waist height, and professionals. Metric first, imperial beside it; every price illustrative and dated.

The book was written in collaboration with AI tools and reviewed by the author. Its numbers are checked by a verification program, and its figures are drawn by the same program, but mistakes may remain: see corrections & errata.