Bricklaying in the rain

tflda29 · 13 Jun 2008

Hello,

I was wondering if it was ok to continue laying blocks for my wall in light rainy conditions or if this would be dtrimental to the finished wall.

Intermittent showers are forcast all weekend with us so if i could lay some blocks and then stop during the rainy spells and cover work and mortar with plastic sheet would this be ok?

Also how long would it take for te mortar to be unworkable?

thanks
Trevor

^woody^ · 13 Jun 2008

The rain is not the probelm.

The issue is whether the rain washes out the mortar and stains the wall. And the increased likeliness of efflorescence from saturated bricks

Cover the wall, the stacks of unlaid bricks, and the unused mortar.

Mortar is useable for anything upto 3/4 hour

Shytalkz · 13 Jun 2008

I'm just sitting laying brickwork in the rain,
feel the power of the rain,
making the garden grow..

chessspy · 13 Jun 2008

The Bretheren say,
The drystone wall that surrounds the universe requires no mortar.
No architect of confusion is needed by the bretheren of the wall.
Honest sons of toil should join the bootherhood.

Not so much a religion, more a bunch of cults.

tflda29 · 13 Jun 2008

the wall is only a block retaining wall which will eventually be covered so not bothered about staining. as long as all the mortar does not get washed out!

chessspy · 13 Jun 2008

Goferit

noseall · 14 Jun 2008

masonry actually benefits from being laid wet. it will be stronger, albeit messier.

joe-90 · 14 Jun 2008

The old time brickies used to soak their bricks so the mortar cured before it dried out.

noseall · 14 Jun 2008

joe-90 said:
The old time brickies used to soak their bricks so the mortar cured before it dried out.

they still do!

NS215 · 14 Jun 2008

.

Mortar is useable for anything upto 3/4 hour[/quote]

unless of course its ready mix with a retarder in it then upto 72 hrs

tflda29 · 16 Jun 2008

thanks for replies all....i finally managed to get the first course laid yesterday and covered before the rain came on again...

^woody^ · 16 Jun 2008

tflda29 said:
....i finally managed to get the first course laid yesterday and covered before the rain came on again...

Bad weekend for laying bricks here too .... the sun was just too hot for the back

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Bricklaying in the rain

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