dangti6 Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 Took delivery of several pallets of blocks earlier and they are wet. Weather permitting, brickies may make a start on Saturday. It's still raining out there now and Tomorrow is due to be a fairly dry day. I'm wondering whether to cover them over now (free at the sides for airflow), potentially holding in that moisture on top (a guess) or perhaps just cover them tomorrow once they have dried out a bit. What would you do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gav_P Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 Cover them now. Uncover them tomorrow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangti6 Posted December 16, 2020 Author Share Posted December 16, 2020 Ta da. Thanks. Why didn't I bloody think of that ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gav_P Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 ? sometimes we miss the obvious when we are in the middle of the situation. Or we make things more complicated than they need to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 How wet are these blocks? Some blocks discolour when they absorb a bit of overnight dew. You could try weighing a sample then compare with the manufacturers dry weight spec. A truly sodden block will be noticeably heavier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangti6 Posted December 16, 2020 Author Share Posted December 16, 2020 2 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said: How wet are these blocks? Some blocks discolour when they absorb a bit of overnight dew. You could try weighing a sample then compare with the manufacturers dry weight spec. A truly sodden block will be noticeably heavier. I have some of the same 'brand' (local aggregate supplier I believe) already which have been out in the elements for a month or so and the colour change is noticeable in a dry spell when they dry out. They tend to look more buff when wet and grey when dry. Most look buff throughout, up and down the pallet with a couple of pallets still grey (potentially stored at bottom of stack opposed to different aggregate?), so assume most if not all of them have been in the yard exposed in the recent damp spell and again on the vehicle this morning when it was hammering down for hours. Exactly how saturated they are, would be difficult to tell but could pull out a dry one and compare. They did wrap my loose commons on to a small pallet though, give them their due. Stopped raining now so will hold fire on the covering until this evening unless it rains beforehand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangti6 Posted December 16, 2020 Author Share Posted December 16, 2020 Picture speaks a thousand words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan52 Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 They will never dry out in stacks like that. All your going to be able to do is cover them up so they don't get any wetter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 so what happens when you lay wet blocks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan52 Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 They sink and the mortar draws the water out of the blocks and you get salt patches on the wall. And of course they are much heavier and rip the skin of your fingers much quicker. No suction on the blocks as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 3 hours ago, Declan52 said: They sink and the mortar draws the water out of the blocks and you get salt patches on the wall. And of course they are much heavier and rip the skin of your fingers much quicker. No suction on the blocks as well. Will the brickies try to compensate for the wet blocks by mixing a drier/stiffer mortar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 2 hours ago, dangti6 said: Picture speaks a thousand words. Are those 19kg heavies? If so they absorb less water than lighter blocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangti6 Posted December 16, 2020 Author Share Posted December 16, 2020 20 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said: Are those 19kg heavies? If so they absorb less water than lighter blocks. Popped one on the bathroom scales (covertly) - 20kg I’m sure if I asked the war office she would say it’s always a kilo out ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wozza Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 Restack the top layer or two by removing every other block and then alternating the next layer to allow airflow - then cover them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan52 Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 33 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said: Will the brickies try to compensate for the wet blocks by mixing a drier/stiffer mortar? They should. They need stacked in rows, 3 blocks wide on their edge then the next row 3 on their edge the opposite direction and so on 5/6 block high. This will give plenty of room around all the sides of the block to get air in-between to dry them out. Then covered at the top with polythene or a mortar board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vee6 dan Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 They will be alright. If your worried Chuck a sheet over them. If they’re concrete they shouldn’t suck in too much water. I’ve never covered concrete blocks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangti6 Posted December 16, 2020 Author Share Posted December 16, 2020 Threw a poly sheet over them. Will stack some out tomorrow. They are laying a course of block followed by 3 courses of facing up to DPC - I’ll be surprised if they do much more than that Saturday morning. They can either create multiple stacks where they want ‘em in preparation or tell me so I can have it sorted for them to return on the Monday. No doubt they’ve laid worse and will adjust mix accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 59 minutes ago, dangti6 said: They are laying a course of block followed by 3 courses of facing up to DPC Does the brickie team know they are laying 19kg heavies? 1 hour ago, dangti6 said: Threw a poly sheet over them. Will stack some out tomorrow. Brickies are very particular about the specifics of stacking, might be worth asking them how far from the wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangti6 Posted December 16, 2020 Author Share Posted December 16, 2020 8 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said: Does the brickie team know they are laying 19kg heavies? Brickies are very particular about the specifics of stacking, might be worth asking them how far from the wall. Nothing was specified one way or another. They’ll find out Saturday when they lift ‘em - Merry Christmas! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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