Gate Pillars

[Onoff]

Going to make a start on the pillars!

 

Going 4:1 soft sand/cement with Everbuild Integral Waterproofer in the water at the correct ratio.

 

 

 

[PeterW]

5 minutes ago, Onoff said:

Going to make a start on the pillars!

 

Going 4:1 soft sand/cement with Everbuild Integral Waterproofer in the water at the correct ratio.

 

 

 

 

Congratulations..!! Must mean the bathroom is finished ..??? 

[Pocster]

23 minutes ago, PeterW said:

 

Congratulations..!! Must mean the bathroom is finished ..??? 

No chance !

[Onoff]

47 minutes ago, PeterW said:

 

Congratulations..!! Must mean the bathroom is finished ..??? 

 

99%. Needs

 

- mirror,

- bog roll dispenser,

- toothbrush charger. 

- cupboard shelving and lighting in cupboard

- UFH

- Body dryer

 

That'll have to wait. Off to design/make a "Bricky" esque jig to clamp/slide up the 100mm box section to lay the bricks with and keep exact 10mm mortar joints.

 

...I'm not joking.

[Onoff]

Is 10mm enough of a mortar thickness between my column bricks? Just knocking up a jig.

 

 

[CC45]

isn't 10mm standard mortar depth / width?  Thats what I aim for.

[Onoff]

6 minutes ago, CC45 said:

isn't 10mm standard mortar depth / width?  Thats what I aim for.

 

Thanks. I've a vague recollection of my Bricky tool being 10mm. Something in the back of my mind says it starts off at 12mm and when the brick goes on it squashes down to 10.....

 

 

[Mr Punter]

What is the knapped flint all about? Is that a vernacular style where you are? If not, I would not bother as the panels are too skinny to look anything and the bond will be all over the place.

[CC45]

just get a piece of wood and mark on it where each course should end up - maybe 4 or 5 courses.  You then use this to make sure each course is the right depth.  Quicker.

[Onoff]

16 minutes ago, Mr Punter said:

What is the knapped flint all about? Is that a vernacular style where you are? If not, I would not bother as the panels are too skinny to look anything and the bond will be all over the place.

 

Flint walls are very common and in keeping here, churches etc. These panels though will have special, sentimental significance. The wife inherited, if that's the correct word, her late cousins geological collection of fossils and rocks. I've about 5 crates of flint he'd collected seeing some significance in each piece. 

[Onoff]

That's the jig done. See if it works tomorrow.

 

 

How many courses can I lay in a day, as in how high?

 

Wondering whether I'll get away without ties as I plan on filling it, top to bottom with wet concrete.

 

 

[Onoff]

Made a start with the footing brick 4 courses. Tbh a 50/50 effort by my lad & I. Didn't realise, until now, that the 100x100 post is slightly "twisted", so the pillar is too. Difficult with the jig to do the vertical joints so I did those with a mortar gun. I'm not worrying about excess mortar falling inside as that'll be filled with a sticky, wet concrete mix later. I'm using stainless, Staifix wall tiles every 3rd course, across the 4 corners. Pre pointing up/ cleaning the faces off:

 

 

 

Bump...how many courses high, can I safely lay in one go?

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

Edited August 2, 2019 by Onoff

[PeterW]

How wet is your mortar ..? 8 or 9 courses shouldn’t be a problem but it’s to do with how quick it is going off. What mix are you using ..?

[Onoff]

16 minutes ago, PeterW said:

How wet is your mortar ..? 8 or 9 courses shouldn’t be a problem but it’s to do with how quick it is going off. What mix are you using ..?

 

Thanks. 4:1, building sand to opc. Maybe a tad too wet but not by much I don't think. Figured a nice, strong mix. Mixed up with Everbuild Integral Waterproofer, 1 part to 20 parts water. I'm pre soaking the bricks too before laying. Reckon tbh I can stiffen the mix up a bit.

 

Tomorrow, I, or the lad , will need to weld a chunky angle on the front face after a couple of courses so I can set back the front face  by half a brick for 11 courses. Going to see how well the Evolution saw halves bricks with the diamond blade fitted...might need a mask...

 

This is the actual model of where it's going albeit with 4 courses of footing bricks:

 

 

The opposite face will have a large, inset control panel affixed to the post so I'll need to come up with some sort of lintel for that and make a wooden box the same size to brick around then remove.

[Onoff]

A few post midnight thoughts...

 

What should I fill the pillars with? I can do a ballast/OPC or sharp sand/opc mix. I've even got a yard of 10mm pea shingle here.

 

Still very tempted to use up the 10 or so old, out of date (plastic) bags I have here of opc, just to get rid and maybe add copious amounts of SBR to make sticky. Thinking wet better than a dry mix...pourable almost. Once the pillar is built and set it shouldn't burst...should it?

 

Or should I pour in stages?

 

Excuse too to buy a cheap poker.

Edited August 2, 2019 by Onoff

[Construction Channel]

Buy the cheap poker. They're great. 

 

Personally I would pour in stages. 

 

Sharp sand and shingle makes very nice concrete

[Russell griffiths]

No poker needed, it’s not holding up the bloody M1, save money for next project. 

[Onoff]

The Evolution saw cuts the bricks a treat. Sadly two cuts per brick as I need slightly under a half bricks length to match a brick's width.

 

Just dry stacking to get a feel for things  Going to be fun keeping this all stable before I inlay the flints!

 

 

[Onoff]

@nod, Five Star Grout, seen it used on site over the years and reckon it'd be ideal for filling up my gate pillar and sticking everything together.....but I don't want to pay the money!

 

Is there strong, sticky, "pourable" mix recipe based on ordinary Portland cement I can diy? Maybe with an additive?

 

Cheers

Edited August 4, 2019 by Onoff

[Onoff]

On 03/08/2019 at 07:20, Construction Channel said:

Buy the cheap poker. They're great. 

 

Personally I would pour in stages. 

 

Sharp sand and shingle makes very nice concrete

 

Like this?

 

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Handheld-Electric-Concrete-Vibrator-580W-5600-r-min-Vibrating-Poker/333168934912?ul_ref=http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-53481-19255-0/1?

[andyscotland]

I bought one very like that (from eBay, I think) for my build and it worked very well. Presumably not going to last for ever but it's not showing any signs of age and when I stripped forms it appeared to have done a good job.

[Construction Channel]

7 hours ago, Onoff said:

 

Like this?

 

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Handheld-Electric-Concrete-Vibrator-580W-5600-r-min-Vibrating-Poker/333168934912?ul_ref=http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-53481-19255-0/1?

Yes. Just make sure it actually comes with the pokey bit

[Jeremy Harris]

45 minutes ago, Construction Channel said:

Yes. Just make sure it actually comes with the pokey bit

 

 

Looks like the one in that listing doesn't come with the pokey bit, as the same seller has this listing for the same motor unit that includes a 1.5m poker: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Handheld-Electric-Concrete-Vibrator-580W-150cm-Vibrating-Poker-Bottle-/333168934931?hash=item4d926a8013

[nod]

I filled ours with shingle sharp sand and cement 

3 1 1 same mix as wet dash 

Sets like iron 

[Onoff]

1 hour ago, Construction Channel said:

Yes. Just make sure it actually comes with the pokey bit

 

1 hour ago, JSHarris said:

Looks like the one in that listing doesn't come with the pokey bit, as the same seller has this listing for the same motor unit that includes a 1.5m poker: 

 

Ta. Shows the poker in the pics but says not included in the small print! Doubles the price, with the poker 

Edited August 5, 2019 by Onoff