Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - Need help creating a sloped brick planter

Hi all,

I'm going to build a brick wall around a planter in my front yard. The planter butts up against my front walkway. The planter slopes down away from the walkway, about a three foot drop over about 6 feet. I want to build the brick wall around it so that the top is level, and the bottom following the slope of the ground. I need some advice as to the best way to do this. My thinking was to create a tiered or "stair stepped" foundation for the brick first, then lay the brick a week later when it has cured. Below is a side view of what I'm thinking. The B's are bricks, C's are concrete, and D's are dirt:

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
CCCCCCCBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
DDDDDDDCCCCCCCBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDCCCCCCCBBBBBBBBBB
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDCCCCCCCCC

I thought I would go ahead and create the stepped forms and do the foundation that way. I'm just kind of improvising.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Tim

For something this small (6' long), I would build a single footing from concrete and not get fancy with the steps. You will get a better base. Make sure you go below the frost line or it will heave.

Use concrete block for the planter portion below the finished grade line to save time and money.

Dick

Thanks for the reply Dick!

You said: "build a single footing from concrete and not get fancy with the steps". By that do you mean to just make a footing smooth and at an angle equal to the slope, and then just use morter to level out the bricks?

The normal practice is to pour the footing flat and level. You will use a few block below the finished ground level, but it is much easier to lay the masonry units.

Dick