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- 17 Nov 2020
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Hello again!
Quick question about laying moist dense blocks?
I laid 3 courses of 10.4 dense (Dennis May) blocks about three weeks ago. I layed one course per day over three days. The weather was cool, damp and the odd bit of rain and snow was around.
The blocks were stored on a pallet in my garden, exposed to the elements.
They have been there for months.
I currently have a crack phobia, so I’ve been inspecting my walls daily with a magnifying glass.
There are very tiny (less than hairline) cracks in these recent courses, in some of the mortar joints. I cannot see Cracks in the courses below, that have been there for a couple of months. The cracks are mainly vertical and a couple short horizontal. They seam to be in random places, rather than in one area.
mortar mix was about 4 and a half sand to 1 cement, with admix.
The courses in question are about 19 blocks long, just under 8m
I’ve just been and looked at the left over blocks on the pallet in the garden, picked one up and it is still moist/damp on the back. So that suggests that the blocks are damp and would have been so when I laid them.
Does the fact that the area in question is south facing, plus that we have been blessed with lovely sunshine for the past two or three weeks, suggest that the blocks have dried out and shrunk enough to cause theses cracks?
do concrete blocks swell enough, that when you put 19 in a row and they are allowed to completely dry, mean they will shrink enough to cause the odd crack?
I just wondered if anyone can put my mind at rest once again?
Many thanks.
Quick question about laying moist dense blocks?
I laid 3 courses of 10.4 dense (Dennis May) blocks about three weeks ago. I layed one course per day over three days. The weather was cool, damp and the odd bit of rain and snow was around.
The blocks were stored on a pallet in my garden, exposed to the elements.
They have been there for months.
I currently have a crack phobia, so I’ve been inspecting my walls daily with a magnifying glass.
There are very tiny (less than hairline) cracks in these recent courses, in some of the mortar joints. I cannot see Cracks in the courses below, that have been there for a couple of months. The cracks are mainly vertical and a couple short horizontal. They seam to be in random places, rather than in one area.
mortar mix was about 4 and a half sand to 1 cement, with admix.
The courses in question are about 19 blocks long, just under 8m
I’ve just been and looked at the left over blocks on the pallet in the garden, picked one up and it is still moist/damp on the back. So that suggests that the blocks are damp and would have been so when I laid them.
Does the fact that the area in question is south facing, plus that we have been blessed with lovely sunshine for the past two or three weeks, suggest that the blocks have dried out and shrunk enough to cause theses cracks?
do concrete blocks swell enough, that when you put 19 in a row and they are allowed to completely dry, mean they will shrink enough to cause the odd crack?
I just wondered if anyone can put my mind at rest once again?
Many thanks.
