Wet Bricks

[Ellwood]

Hi All, this is my first post, although I have been a reader of the site for a couple of years now.
I have just started building an attached garage, and laid the first bricks on Thursday.
All went well, except that I forgot to check the weather, and didn't cover the brickwork up, as the weather that evening was good.

Of course it rained 'persistently' on Thursday night, leaving the new brickwork thoroughly immersed in water. They still are, as it has hardly stopped raining since.

My question is, should I re-lay them? What are the risks if I leave them? I guess the mortar had about 6 hours before the rain started.
As this typical early summer weather looks set to continue, any other advice/tips for laying (or not laying) bricks in the rain?

Thanks in advance,

Ellwood

 

[^woody^]

If this is underground, then you will find that they will stay wet forever, with no problems.

Once the water has all gone, give it a couple of days and check the mortar, it should be fine

Only if the joints have washed out, or are powdery, will they need re-laying

 

[noseall]

As Woods has said, as long as the mortar has taken and is intact then being submersed in water won't make a difference. Regular suction masonry needs about 4 hours, this time of year, before it becomes resistant to rain-wash.

There are instances when the masonry benefits from a good soaking, so fear not. You will find that a wall laid with wet bricks will be a lot tougher to knock down than a wall laid with very dry bricks.

 

[shark85]

Hi

as long as your mortar has gone off enough to not wash down the facework it will be fine.

Cement does not need air to "go off" in fact it goes off better under water!

 

[Ellwood]

Hi All, many thanks for the replies, much appreciated.
They do look OK today.
I was going to carry on today, but I think I will have another beer instead.

Cheers!