Bricklaying practice

All masonry construction demands good workmanship.It is recommended that units are bedded and pointed in one operation to maximise the durability of the joints. Horizontal bed joints should never be furrowed (where the centre of the bed is removed or left unfilled).

Tipping or buttering vertical edges of the bricks results in failure to fill the perpend-joint. All perpend faces of bricks should be fully buttered before placing. Newly-laid brickwork, particularly the tops of partially completed walls, should be suitably protected from adverse weather. Unprotected tops of walls that get wet may cause unsightly efflorescence in the masonry.

Bricks and blocks should be stacked on pallets and never directly on the ground. Stockpiles should be protected from the weather andnever allowed to become saturated or frozen.

Winter working

Premix mortars are air entrained and therefore more resistant to frost attack when hard, but they should be used in accordance with Section 5 of BS 8000-3, which prohibits bricklaying at temperatures below 3°C and falling.

When temperatures are expected to fall below freezing, regardless of temperature at the time of laying, it is essential that newly-built masonry is suitably protected. Low temperatures reduce the setting rate of any mortar and increase the length of time that unpropped walls are vulnerable to collapse.

Any frozen crust on mortars left in unprotected tubs should be discarded. The unfrozen mortar may be used provided the mortar temperature is no lower than 4°C, the ambient air temperature is suitable and the bricks or blocks are not saturated or frosted. Independent advice is available from the Mortar Industry Association.

Health and safety

All building mortars are abrasive and alkaline with a typical pH value of 12 when wet. Contact with wet cement and lime mixes such as mortar can cause skin diseases including:

  • Cement burns that develop slowly and, if exposure is prolonged, may continue to develop, event after washing.
  • Irritant contact dermatitis, caused by the combination of wetness, alkalinity and abrasiveness of the mixture.
  • Allergic contact dermatitis, caused by individual sensitivity to the chromium compounds which may occur in cement.

If your eyes or patches of skin come into contact with concrete, mortar, cement slurry or residue, was immediately and thoroughly with clean water.

Clothes impregnated with wet mortar should be taken off and the skin washed thoroughly. At the time of contact and immediately after, only irritation may be felt. The alkali may take several hours to be absorbed into the deep tissues and will then give rise to rawness and blisters.

If irritation persists after washing, seek medical attention.

Do not to kneel or sit on wet mortar as harmful contact can occur through saturated clothing.

Protective clothing should be worn, particularly on the arms, hands, legs and feet, for example long-sleeved clothing, full-length trousers and impervious gloves and boots.

A full 0.25 cubic metre plastic tub of mortar weighs approximately 450kg.

When tubs are to be placed on scaffold boards, advice should be sought from the scaffolding contractor as to the strength and suitability of the scaffolding.