Mixing block types

[TANK]

Hey guys

 

Im now halfway through building my thermalite block 'shed', and am increasingly beginning to wonder if I have made a mistake here which I will regret. I have come to the realisation that thermalite, despite it's various fantastic properties which attracted me to its usage in the first place, also has an achilles heel in that it doesn't take kindly to things being fixed to it. 

Being a novice builder (and perhaps also a bit of an idiot), who is pretty much learning on the fly, it is only now, when the walls are half up and I'm thinking about wall plates etc that the penny has dropped.

It's not just the wall straps for the top plate, the walls were meant to be accommodating a hanging bike rack, and batons for attaching to benches/shelving... 

I have done basic research and it seems that there are ways to attach using resins, but this seems a bit of a faff. I have also read that it is not the done thing to be mixing block types due to the difference in thermal properties and expansion rates etc, but I can't help but feel that using a handful of denser concrete blocks in each wall at intervals would make my life much easier here? Or would it make life much harder in the long run when things go awry? 

Considering that this shed is primarily a glorified store shed, and secondarily a place to spend time in, a small compromise on the thermal properties is largely unimportant to me. It's more a structural concern that I have. 

 

Before I go any further with the walls, I thought it prudent to put this post up to see what people think. 

 

Many thanks in advance....

 

Tank 

 

Oh ps.. Its 6m x 3m x 2.5 with engineering brick to dpc.. 

[markc]

Thermalite.. AKA icing sugar blocks! Pain in the ar*& to fix to.

im taking it this is a single leaf wall construction … single block thickness?

if so then I would take the risk on differential expansion (which won’t be much anyway) and use some proper blocks to add some stiffness and secure fixings.

[TANK]

Thanks Mark. Yeah single skin. Do you think the weight difference between blocks could make any problems also? 

The other idea I was pondering was inserting some form of bracket into the mortar bed itself at various course heights. I forgot to mention in my OP I intend to timber clad the building externally (which is another big reason why strong fixing points are essential), so I thought a bracket which doubles for inside and out might work well although i might be asking for trouble with it popping the mortar and creating gaps, which then leads to instability of the brackets themselves and everything connected to them! 

Edited August 23, 2021 by TANK