Spotted a gap in the market? Appropriately named Mick Gapper did, and he plugged it with his own invention – Lauren’s Ladder. It makes soldiers stand to attention!
Twelve years ago, FMB MasterBond member Mick Gapper, of Lauren Builders in Peterborough, was called in to rectify work started by another contractor on a school. Mick could see at first glance that the soldier courses above and below window openings had been built with little care, and this error was enough to make the whole building look shoddy - and break Building Regulations.
A soldier course, where bricks are laid standing on end with the narrow edge facing out must be laid accurately, with attention given to the vertical and horizontal plane - the joints below and above should be straight, level and consistent in width. Outer brickwork is there to keep out the weather and the inner blockwork carries the floor and roof loads. The gap between prevents damp crossing, so it is vital therefore to maintain a cavity that is clear, vertical and unbridged to comply with Building Regulations.
As a design feature of a building, a soldier course also has to look good - all the mortar joints between bricks should be the same width, as well as the joints above and below the course. When laying a soldier course, an experienced bricklayer will continue to check for guage, horizontal and vertical accuracy with each brick laid. It’s time consuming and fiddly especially in wet conditions, and in an industry where time is money, anything that speeds up the process has to be considered.
Lauren's ladder and how it works
Mick has designed Lauren’s Ladder, a piece of equipment which makes building a soldier course, quick, easy and accurate. It can be used on a doorway, a garage opening or band coursing all the way to infinity! Made of high quality, lightweight aluminium, each kit consists of two ladders, two clamps, bolts and adjusters. The device is rested across the gap where the soldier course is to be laid and is bolted into position. (Diagram 1). Adjuster screws will allow the face of Lauren’s Ladder to be tilted if necessary to accommodate existing out of plumb brickwork, and clamps allow for cavity width adjustment on brick, block traditional walls or timber frame.
(Diagram 2). Once set up, the gaps in Lauren’s Ladder show exactly where each brick of the soldier course should be placed. No string line, no measuring and no boat-level work required. All the bricklayer has to do is lay each brick behind the ladder using the top bar as a level, and the vertical bars as a mortar joint. (Diagram 3). The bricks are held securely in place and in Mick’s opinion, a solider course using this method can be completed in half the time it would normally take, giving a massive saving on band course work where teams of bricklayers just simply connect their ladders to each others.
Bricklayers on day work can’t usually afford the time to walk away from their soldier work as bricks constantly tip, but this system allows more flexibility. All you need to do is to lean a brick up against the last one to keep it in place until work resumes. At the end of a job, simply unscrew the two ends and take it to the next job.
In times of recession, costs have to be cut and Mick believes that Lauren’s Ladder will allow a bricklayer to quote lower prices for jobs, purely because it saves so much time. Mick has been a contractor for years, and the industry’s biggest problem was general lack of care demonstrated by some bricklayers. If work has to be redone, it’s the contractor who loses money – his brickies will already have been paid.
This product has evolved over 12 years. Starting off as a balsa wood prototype, Mick just had individual ladders made by Mick Reed of Amicon Engineering in Peterborough as he needed them. With the help of his brother, Lionel, Mick has patented it, found a manufacturer and a distributor and estimates that the payback time for the system will be in around four to five houses only (or less on band coursing). It brings peace of mind that the brickwork is correct, neat, complies with Building Regulations and is ready for follow-on trades.
Information
If you want to find out more about Lauren’s Ladder, contact:
Email: info@laurensladder.co.uk
Tel: 07703 010308, or visit the stand at Toolfair, at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena, 18 – 19 September.
