Thin Joint Adhesive Brickwork
Developed several years ago in Europe, thin-joint glued brickwork is appropriate for a wide range of building types, from domestic construction - particularly where several dwellings are constructed on the same site allowing efficient use of equipment - to large commercial and civil engineering projects.
The technique relies on joints which are formed using an adhesive or glue mortar, that have a high percentage of cement, very fine inert additives and specially formulated polymers. The adhesive is applied by using specially developed hand-held pumped nozzles that usually dispense two parallel beads of material along the horizontal bed joints and on the perpends prior to the bricks being laid.
Many metres of bed joint adhesive can be laid in a rapid single operation, with the nozzle dispensing relatively accurate quantities of mortar. Working conditions, speed of construction and overall quality are generally considered better than those of traditional mortar.
A variety of finishes can be achieved through the flexibility of brick type and the scope for creative bond patterns as a stretcher bond is no longer necessary for the structural strength of the wall.
The compressive, flexural and tensile strengths of thin-layer mortars are higher than that of common mortars. This leads to an increased bond strength meaning lintels can often be omitted, and facilitates the simple use of unreinforced stack bonding. The glue mortar's permeability is less than that of common mortars. This, together with the thinness of the joints, tends to minimise water penetration through the mortar zone.
Perhaps the greatest potential for thin-joint glued brickwork lies with prefabricated panels either in a factory or at a construction site. Prefabrication is particularly useful for congested city centre sites, buildings with rapid construction programmes and when there is local bricklayer shortage.