Bricks arriving, what to check

[MortarThePoint]

The bricks are due today and it occurred to I should ask what's important to check when they arrive. I obviously need to check they're the correct ones and the quantity. How do I easily check for breakage as there will be 26 pallets of them?

 

They are coming direct from Wienerberger who I've been told pack them well.

 

Is there something else I should be checking? Excited but nervous seems to be my default state at the moment.

[PeterW]

They will be packed the same way as all bricks - open stack for lifting and heavy shrink wrapped. You won’t be getting any special wrapping or treatment. 
 

There will be broken ones in some of the packs but there will be a handful. That’s acceptable.
 

Just check the packs look “square” and there are no obviously misformed packs. 
 

26 packs is a lot of bricks to have on site at once - where are they being stored and are you assuming the offload will be direct to where they are being stored as that’s a 40 foot artic load. Who has the responsibility for offload ..? 
 

Don’t stack them more than 2 packs high or 2 packs deep, and make sure any on top are secure before you let him move off. 

[dpmiller]

and if you have scaff and need some up on it, now might be a good time...

[MortarThePoint]

1 minute ago, PeterW said:

They will be packed the same way as all bricks - open stack for lifting and heavy shrink wrapped. You won’t be getting any special wrapping or treatment. 
 

There will be broken ones in some of the packs but there will be a handful. That’s acceptable.
 

Just check the packs look “square” and there are no obviously misformed packs. 
 

26 packs is a lot of bricks to have on site at once - where are they being stored and are you assuming the offload will be direct to where they are being stored as that’s a 40 foot artic load. Who has the responsibility for offload ..? 
 

Don’t stack them more than 2 packs high or 2 packs deep, and make sure any on top are secure before you let him move off. 

 

Thanks PeterW. I'll look out for the packs being square and any signs of damage to the wrap.

 

It is a lot of bricks (artic and a part load), but is enough for the whole house and garage and means we're set. We have space for them thankfully as it's a large site. Unfortunately they are being offloaded in a yard opposite site as despite the site being large, access isn't possible for an artic. I did ask for rigids but got a "no", despite the blocks coming on rigids. I've hired a telehandler to move them on to site which will take a while, but then I can carefully put them exactly where I want them. I'll try to place them 2 high and 2 deep with 500mm around all sides for access and ventilation. That suggests I need about 2.5m x 10m space for them.

[MortarThePoint]

1 minute ago, dpmiller said:

and if you have scaff and need some up on it, now might be a good time...

 

No scaffolding yet. 'It's on the list' ?

[Russell griffiths]

You will break more of them yourself moving them, make sure you mix the packs up and open more than one pack at a time to ensure good colour mixing, or you can end up with a stripy house. 

 

You should get some pallets to stack them on, if you stack them on dirt you will get muddy splash on them, try to keep stacked on clean gravel or off the floor on pallets. 

Edited July 14, 2020 by Russell griffiths

[MortarThePoint]

2 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

You will break more of them yourself moving them

 

I have no choice unfortunately as I can't get them direct on to site. It's either me moving them by telehandler or someone else and they might be less careful.

 

5 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

make sure you mix the packs up and open more than one pack at a time to ensure good colour mixing, or you can end up with a stripy house. 

 

Thanks, I'll be all over that. I am going to make sure the brickies have at least 4 packs on the go at any one time. They know all that, but it's a mistake not worth making.

[Andrew]

1 hour ago, Russell griffiths said:

You should get some pallets to stack them on, if you stack them on dirt you will get muddy splash on them, try to keep stacked on clean gravel or off the floor on pallets. 

 

Yeah, this. You also probably don't want to get the bricks too wet if you can help it. I've got 4 packs sitting in a big muddy puddle at the moment (they were delivered back when it was dry and sunny) and the telehandler has gone so I can't easily move them. 

[MortarThePoint]

Well that's the first load delivered. Good news is they are on little wooden pallets. Bad news is the aspect ratio of the packaging is such that they are tall and thin so more of a topple risk. For shifting, I might lift it on to a larger pallet and strap down for the 400m move. Possibly even fashion a 4x2 brace as below.

 

 

   

[Temp]

Remember to take/mix bricks from all pallets at the same time in case the colour varies from one pallet to the next. 

[Russell griffiths]

Bloody hell mate, there just bricks, 

stab them with the forks and get them moved

no more thinking needed. 

 

Wait till your windows turn up, that’s the time to have a plan, no worrying needed yet. 

[Mr Punter]

See if you can get someone to take the pallets for free.  They fill up a skip in no time.  Alternative is a site fire but it is not really the done thing nowadays. 

[Declan52]

Keep the pallets stacked up nice and neat. You will have lots more deliveries which might need something clean to set them on  to keep them out of the muck.

[Onoff]

6 minutes ago, Declan52 said:

Keep the pallets stacked up nice and neat.

 

Then you can build a shed with them!

[Declan52]

6 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

Then you can build a shed with them!

Or a bar or seats or if you really want to torture yourself Pinterest is your new best friend.

[MortarThePoint]

Half way through the shift now after 5 hours of telehandling. Hoping it stays dry overnight and I can finish the rest tomorrow.