Padstone mortar packing designation

[frank999]

Hi,
Could someone advise me on the mortar designations for packing round a steel beam that rests on PS Concete padstones, and also the designation for the mortar to sit the padstones on.

I've heard the term 'dry pack', I assume this is what goes around the steel once its sitting on the padstone, and is mixed very strong but quite dry to avoid shrinkage.

I guess the mortar that goes under the padstones still needs to be strong - but workable, so I can level the pastone off, bearing in mind one of these is 900mm long !

Thanks

 

[tony1851]

There should not be any mortar between the underside of the steel and the padstone; the bottom flange sits directly on the padstone.
Under the padstone (ie on the brickwork) use 1:3 cement:sand mortar, not too much water - just enough to make it workable.

 

[frank999]

Thanks, hopefully after 24/48 hours of curing the mortar and padstone will have bonded enough for me to then heave and push and slide the 300kg steel beam around on it to get its position right.

I found this text on dry pack:
dry pack mortar contains (by dry volume or weight) one part cement, 2 1/2 parts sand, and enough water to produce a mortar that will just stick together while being molded into a ball with the hands. The ball should neither slump when placed on a flat surface, nor crumble due to lack of moisture. Place dry pack mortar immediately after mixing it.