Brick laying in cold? opinions needed

[michaelcouper]

im doing major works in my house and currently getting it plastered. the brickie done interior slap for new french doors but cant to external slap because its too cold and motar wont set.

plasterer needs this done so doors can go in, and ideally im wanting to push job.

what i wont to know is can it not be done or is it possible and maybe not ideal????

feel bad questioning the guy but want 2nd opinion.

 

[^woody^]

Water freezes at 0 degrees C, and fresh mortar has lots of water in it. If you can find a way of keeping the brickwork above 3 degrees C and protected form frost for a few days after laying, then go for it

 

[IJWS15]

Tent and a big heater




or wait for spring.

 

[noseall]

Tent and a big heater

That's exactly how we built a porch in Lichfield.

We used 4" x 2" and scaffold boards for the framing, 9m x 6m tarps folded in half for the covering and used my connie heater (going non stop for 6 days) to warm the tent.

We also melted two plugs and fused one but that is another story. Needless to say we fully unwound the extension lead before plugging all our stuff in!

 

[theoldun]

Take your sand inside, close your openings up with tarps, hessian, ply, whatever you have. Put heater in there and completely thaw sand out. Make sure your bricks are bone dry. Start knocking up inside on a 2 degree and rising thermometer.
Use Feb Wintamix admix or Feb Speed Plus in your mix. Follow instructions on tub. Make your water luke warm Stop laying at 3 degree on falling thermometer. Cover up well with hessian, blankets what ever you have.
If no one stopped us, we used to lay until muck froze solid on spot board. You may get a few joints blow. Point them in later.
oldun

 

[^woody^]

Take your sand inside, close your openings up with tarps, hessian, ply, whatever you have. Put heater in there and completely thaw sand out. Make sure your bricks are bone dry. Start knocking up inside on a 2 degree and rising thermometer.
Use Feb Wintamix admix or Feb Speed Plus in your mix. Follow instructions on tub. Make your water luke warm Stop laying at 3 degree on falling thermometer. Cover up well with hessian, blankets what ever you have.
If no one stopped us, we used to lay until muck froze solid on spot board. You may get a few joints blow. Point them in later.
oldun

Sorry, but that sounds like a recipe for poor bonding of the bricks to mortar and excessive thermal cracking as the wall moisture content naturalises.

Also, freezing mortar is not just a cosmetic thing of pointing a few joints up which look a bit sandy, but rather something that affects all the joints all the way through the wall

But at least the wall will be done and look nice for a while

Don't forget we are having constant sub-zero day and night temperatures at the moment, so its not just a case of doing everything indoors and then quickly running out to lay a few bricks with some feb-mix and throwing come hessian over it

 

[mikric]

[quote="theoldun"
If no one stopped us, we used to lay until muck froze solid on spot board. You may get a few joints blow. Point them in later.
oldun[/quote]
Or freezes to the trowel, about -5 for that to happen if I remember rightly Have even had to burn cement bags to thaw out the joints to point them Am much wiser now though!