Our 2.5 Inch Track Detail

When you buy Mikey Block, we encourage you to purchase an amount of 2.5 inch steel track equal to the linear footage of your walls times 3. This isn't absolutely necessary, but we think it's a great facilitator for installation, as it serves so many useful functions. The first function is achieved by attaching the first third of the track to your slab or stem wall using 1/4" x 1" nail drive anchors or ramsets. You lay it out so the inside panel of the first course of block drops right into this track. The purpose is two-fold. First, it allows you to lay out your bottom course as straight as a string and second, it provides an attachment detail for drywall and baseboard down at the floor. Note: the OSB provides continuous horizontal attachment at the top of each course, but there is no OSB at the bottom of the wall.

The track's next function is as an aid for aligning the walls. Leveling and plumbing is normally done after stacking three or four courses as follows:

1. Place the 2.5” track over both panels of the top course, staggering them slightly from one side to the other so their ends don’t line up.
2. Plumb the corners (leads).
3. Sight between the leads and adjust alignment of the walls as necessary.
4. Spot glue the blocks together on both sides at one-foot intervals.
5. Gently remove the track, stow it out of harms way and continue stacking the walls.

Two more track functions come into play at grout time. Walls are typically grouted in two or three lifts, so you use the track for the intermediate lifts and for the last lift. Here's why:

1. As before, it serves as a tool to align the wall prior to grouting.
2. It keeps grout out of the top OSB groove (FYI using OSB for this is not a good idea because it turns to oatmeal in the presence of water, of which wet concrete has much).
3. When left in place after the final grout pour, it provides an attachment detail for the very top of the wall (where there is no OSB).