I can remember all the way back when a good labourer was able to feed two very fast brickies via barrow up a couple of s-boards straight from the mixer. Worth their weight in beer a good labourer
Brickwork mortar 1:11 cement to sand mix?
- Thread starter outmyway
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What happened when they got to the gable ends? Use spiral boards?I can remember all the way back when a good labourer was able to feed two very fast brickies via barrow up a couple of s-boards straight from the mixer. Worth their weight in beer a good labourer
I doubt scally has been anywhere near a building site let alone a barrow of gear. Seems like trolling to me. The presence of water is far more important to mortar than the absence of it.
Nonsense.
Probably won't crack the bricks like all the others on the estate when the ground moves a bit. Personally I'd get them to rake out to 50/60mm in narrow vertical sections. Plenty of old houses with nothing but sand and dust between the bricks.
I've "raked out" 90% of the joints in a large boundary wall - mainly soil and weeds, with a pressure washer - not a single brick moved.
I've "raked out" 90% of the joints in a large boundary wall - mainly soil and weeds, with a pressure washer - not a single brick moved.
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This..
I'd suggest rebuilding the outside, get the legal guns blazing. I get that you're wary of legal action due to the resale risks. If it all fails and you want to sell then you could choose to not disclose that there's been a dispute, i.e. tell lies. I know this isn't ideal and may be uncomfortable for some, but you're not the one that caused this issue, you're the victim here so I'd say it's justifiable.
I doubt that your buyer would ever find out there'd been any legal dispute. But if they did then they could sue you for the difference between the value of the house with the disclosure and that without. It won't be life-changing even in the worst possible scenario. And arguably if they have a case against you then you could pass responsbility onto the builder anyway, it wouldn't seem reasonable for the fact that the house is shoddy to ever be judged to be your fault.
Get legal advice, explore the worst possible outcomes and go for it. You shouldn't get bullied into accepting crap.
They will resist, probably as far as court, as chances are that the entire estate has the exact same issue. So as soon as they rebuild yours they'll be on the hook for £millions to rebuild the lot. Not your problem though.
Definitely ensure the lab test is 100% reliable first though, possibly get another from another provider.
I doubt that your buyer would ever find out there'd been any legal dispute. But if they did then they could sue you for the difference between the value of the house with the disclosure and that without. It won't be life-changing even in the worst possible scenario. And arguably if they have a case against you then you could pass responsbility onto the builder anyway, it wouldn't seem reasonable for the fact that the house is shoddy to ever be judged to be your fault.
Get legal advice, explore the worst possible outcomes and go for it. You shouldn't get bullied into accepting crap.
They will resist, probably as far as court, as chances are that the entire estate has the exact same issue. So as soon as they rebuild yours they'll be on the hook for £millions to rebuild the lot. Not your problem though.
Definitely ensure the lab test is 100% reliable first though, possibly get another from another provider.
There's a vast difference between drying and setting. On a hot day mortar will dry out long before it's begun setting, so adding water just reverses the process so is absolutely fine.
If it's part set then adding water will just result in wet clumps, you'll be able to tell it's not right.
Anyway, irrelevant to the issue as apparently it's 1:11. If it had been a stronger mix that had been remixed after partial setting then the cement would still be there and would show on testing.
It doesn't reverse the (setting/curing) process, that part of it is inevitable, once water is added. The clock has started. It just means the gear is workable.
I'm not sure just how much of the good stuff, the site batched mix tubbed stuff, actually gets. I think a lot of homeowners would be surprised.
As I said earlier, for sites - its more about prolonging the gear than anything else.
As noseall said, the initial set starts as soon as the water mixes with the OPC. It's normally 12-24 hours before it reaches it's final set, and then it starts hardening. It's tested at 28 days, as it's reached most of it's strength by then, but will continue over the years to get harder.
In theory the NHBC mixes are 5.5/1 for sheltered areas and 4.5/1 for exposed areas. Below DPC, parapets etc have different mixes.
Years ago when it was done in a diesel mixer on site, the mortar was often well out. The worst Hoddie was stuck on the mixer, and the mixer was normally a bucket of water in first, half a CWT bag of cement which when cut in half with a shovel could be a 1/4 or 3/4. then fill up with sand till it looked about right and tip it out on the boards on the other side. The colour on boards varied throughout the day.
The advantage of OPC over lime is that you can get away with things like this, that with lime mortar the mix would often fail.
In theory the NHBC mixes are 5.5/1 for sheltered areas and 4.5/1 for exposed areas. Below DPC, parapets etc have different mixes.
Years ago when it was done in a diesel mixer on site, the mortar was often well out. The worst Hoddie was stuck on the mixer, and the mixer was normally a bucket of water in first, half a CWT bag of cement which when cut in half with a shovel could be a 1/4 or 3/4. then fill up with sand till it looked about right and tip it out on the boards on the other side. The colour on boards varied throughout the day.
The advantage of OPC over lime is that you can get away with things like this, that with lime mortar the mix would often fail.
Thanks ...
Yes the lab result is very reliable accredited company, one of only two recognised in the UK for mortar testing.
It looks like to get this resolved it will mean tens of thousands in legal bills, I know this from speaking to someone on another development with mortar issues ... BUT the costs can be recovered in settlement ...
Thanks ... racking out that deep in perps must be tricky, can't get a disc in them that deep without cutting the bricks?
I've heard of one other development some houses had this done ... in 1.85m lengths leaving 45cm gap 'pillars' between rake outs?
Trouble is most repointing brickies don't or won't do this and wouldn't want that work ... or worse still say they will but don't rake out to that depth?
Class action with your neighbours?
How many samples were tested and does your home insurance provide legal cover.
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