Laying blocks.

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Laying blocks.
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Gervase

Joined: 17 Nov 2004
Posts: 8655

Posted: Thu May 11, 06 6:45 pm Post subject:

Jus spent the past week doing just that - and for above ground it's 5:1 sand:cement with a slosh of Feb/Fairy as a plasticiser.
Don't buy 'instant mortar' - for one, it's a rip'off, and for two, cement has a fairly short shelf-life (it's to do with the chromium salts used as a catalyst - nasty things!) and ready-made stuff just isn't as strong because it's designed to sit on the shelf of the DIY warehouse for longer.
How many blocks are you planning to lay?

Though, of course, I would rather use lime - far greener, easier to use and less nasty on the skin.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46216
Location: yes

Posted: Thu May 11, 06 6:45 pm Post subject:
if you need to use a hurdy gurdy mixer it is a different method .

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Thu May 11, 06 7:32 pm Post subject:
Oh, only a fw dozen blocks, and I've a mixer on hand so that I don't have to get too dirty or tired. I'm a pretend brickie, me, not the real thing. They are a means to an end (herbs).

Gervase

Joined: 17 Nov 2004
Posts: 8655

Posted: Thu May 11, 06 9:00 pm Post subject:

A few dozen? One back of castle OPC shouldn't cost more than a couple of quid and will make enough mix for a couple of dozen, so a tenner's worth of cement will be enough for all your needs.
As for sand, order some soft builder's sand from your local builder's merchant. Again, a tenner's worth will give you enough to re-enact Beau Geste in your veg patch and provide every neighbourhood cat with a deluxe crapping area for the next year.
And when it comes to mixing, you can't mix too much. The aim isn't just to get the cement, sand and water amalgamated; it's to get a 'fluffy' mix that whispers when you shovel it rather than splats (if that makes any sense at all). A dash of Feb or detergent will make this very much easier.

monkey1973

Joined: 17 Jan 2005
Posts: 683
Location: Bonnie scotland

Posted: Fri May 12, 06 7:16 am Post subject:
If I ever spotted washing up liquid bottles on a building site the brick/blockwork would be instantly condemned

Northern_Lad

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 14210
Location: Somewhere

Posted: Fri May 12, 06 7:43 am Post subject:

monkey1973 wrote:

If I ever spotted washing up liquid bottles on a building site the brick/blockwork would be instantly condemned

What, even if it was Ecover?

monkey1973

Joined: 17 Jan 2005
Posts: 683
Location: Bonnie scotland

Posted: Fri May 12, 06 7:45 am Post subject:

ian1

Joined: 12 Dec 2004
Posts: 314
Location: essex

Posted: Fri May 12, 06 4:24 pm Post subject:
iirc its to do with the size of bubbles , fairy would be to big making the morter weak .

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Fri May 12, 06 4:31 pm Post subject:
so, if brickies have a bottle of washing up liquid its wrong?? So that$ swhy their teamugs always look so bad!

jamsam

Joined: 21 Oct 2005
Posts: 2560
Location: erm....i dont know, its dark.

Posted: Sat May 13, 06 3:10 pm Post subject:

sally_in_wales wrote:

nickhowe wrote:

Sally, what's your excuse now?

...

Is knitting frenzy an excuse? Mostly I need to find a week that I can take off and simultaneously bribe a few friends to come play by offering vast amounts of food and homebrew! (any volunteers?)

where abouts?? i need to learn more self bulid stuff for this place, it feels like a self build even though some idiot built it 300 years ago...

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Sat May 13, 06 3:19 pm Post subject:
If it wasn't for this pesky rain, I'd have it done by now, I tells ya. Honest.

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Sun May 14, 06 3:31 pm Post subject:

jamsam wrote:

sally_in_wales wrote:

Mostly I need to find a week that I can take off and simultaneously bribe a few friends to come play by offering vast amounts of food and homebrew! (any volunteers?)

where abouts?? i need to learn more self bulid stuff for this place, it feels like a self build even though some idiot built it 300 years ago...

You may just have volunteered yourself (puts on best evil-dictator-with-white-cat type laugh), we're in the Cynon Valley, pretty near Pontypridd, about 20 miles north of Cardiff.

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