Removing cement marks from newly laid bricks

ey143 · 30 Aug 2015

Silly builders have left lumps of cement on the brick facing side of the bricks.....still a work in progress.

Is it easy for them to remove this without scratching it off the brick or damaging the look of the brick? Any chemical solution available?

Also the brick ties have mortar / cement on them...does this affect the integrity of the metal ties?

stuart45 · 30 Aug 2015

It depends on the type of brick. For example Engineering bricks tend to get a bit of mortar on then but they are easy to clean later. Most face bricks however should be pretty clean when laid by even an average Bricklayer. There are chemical solutions apart from acid which can be used to clean brickwork.
Ties should be clean to prevent water crossing the cavity. In Tech cavity battens were used to help stop this, but on site a length of 2x1 was used at the end to knock any mortar off the ties. If full fill insulation is used it prevents this problem.
Some bricklayers do tend to get more down the cavity than others. When the Foreman says 'use up the Pug and then call it a day', a lot more seems to go down the cavity.

u587162 · 30 Aug 2015

Is it less of a concern if moisture dripping off the ties if there are no ventilation holes due to a solid concrete floor?

stuart45 · 30 Aug 2015

Maim aim is to stop moisture reaching the inner skin, regardless of floor type.

^woody^ · 30 Aug 2015

ey143 said:
without scratching it off the brick or damaging the look of the brick

If the 'bricklayers' can't even get this right, then the look of the brick might be the least of your worries.

ey143 said:
Also the brick ties have mortar / cement on them

How are you able to see bare ties? Shouldn't they be covered in insulation?

ey143 · 30 Aug 2015

^woody^ said:
ey143 said:

without scratching it off the brick or damaging the look of the brick

Click to expand...

If the 'bricklayers' can't even get this right, then the look of the brick might be the least of your worries.

ey143 said:

Also the brick ties have mortar / cement on them

Click to expand...

How are you able to see bare ties? Shouldn't they be covered in insulation?

Because we've got 50mm rigid board insulation in the cavity and everythng is stlil open that I can see in the cavity. Building regs has passed everything so far and I'm watching as it goes along.

stuart45 · 30 Aug 2015

Get them to knock off the mortar with a roof batten.

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Removing cement marks from newly laid bricks

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