Curiously grey things, rather knobbly, plenty of voids, soft as sht - careful handling needed else they fall to bits, like an anaemic Christmas pudding. Have odd black bits in, like bubbles or shells. Very poor performance in the wet. Haven't seen them in years.
Hmm, this exactly describes a partition wall that I have. It seems to be a concrete skin of about 1cm on breezeblock, it's exactly as you describe.
How would you suggest I fix rawlplugs into such a wall to support a
20kg (full) cupboard?
LOL breeze is another name for the clinker from coal fired power stations, it was (is?) used as the aggregate for "breeze blocks"
| Dave Plowman (News) wrote: | > Chris Bacon wrote: | >>Breeze block is as soft as, well, very soft stuff. | > | > Perhaps you're thinking of something else? Original breeze blocks were | > horrible things to get a fixing in or chase into. | | Curiously grey things, rather knobbly, plenty of voids, soft | as sht - careful handling needed else they fall to bits, like | an anaemic Christmas pudding. Have odd black bits in, like | bubbles or shells. Very poor performance in the wet. Haven't | seen them in years.
Agreed about the problems, but my house looks like it will last another 50 years or maybe 100 years.
I see them every time I cut a channel ;-)
| >Curiously grey things, rather knobbly, plenty of voids, soft | >as sht - careful handling needed else they fall to bits, like | >an anaemic Christmas pudding. Have odd black bits in, like | >bubbles or shells. Very poor performance in the wet. Haven't | >seen them in years. | | Hmm, this exactly describes a partition wall that I have. It seems to | be a concrete skin of about 1cm on breezeblock, it's exactly as you | describe. | | How would you suggest I fix rawlplugs into such a wall to support a | 20kg (full) cupboard?
Lots of big rawlplugs.
From a dictionary of building definitions posted by Newcastle University:
[Breezeblock] Lightweight building block traditionally made with coke breeze from gas works combined with sand and cement. Use this term generally to denote a light, modern concrete building block with man made characteristics.So, traditionally, "marble" is correct. The term is now used however to denote any light modern concrete building blocks (as what I said).
Thermalite blocks are an "aircrete" product. According to the Aircrete Bureau:
Aircrete is made from various materials including ground sand, PFA cement, lime, aluminium powder and water. They are blended together into a mixture which foams to create an exceptionally strong and light cementitous matrix with high thermal insulation.
IMHO aircrete blocks are susceptible to hand sawing. What are now known as breeze blocks are less so (also what I said ;o).
I If you wait a few more weeks B&Q are bringing out a saw for £99 for Xmas that cuts brick, concrete, etc.
This can be dangerous - if you breathe out into the same tube from which you breathe in, and it is longer than a foot or so, you will be slowly suffocating yourself.
I'd be inclined to make a reasonably large holes, 1" across maybe, blow them out, and fix in timber plugs with polyester filler (car body filler would do the job) - then fix into the plugs.
I think walls made of these are a bit like cob walls - OK 'till the roof leaks!
Is it completely these blocks or if your lucky like me it has some random brick courses.
Paul
You've missed something out, there, haven't you! It wouldn't matter anyway if one only breathed in through the tube.
Yes, this is as I used it, that's why I described it as a snorkel arrangement; breathing in clean air through the tube and out into the dusty room through the nose. It worked well.
Yes. The old way used to be to make a hole rather larger than required - not difficult with breeze blocks since they have a mind of their own ;-) and fill it with mortar. This would then be drilled for the wall plugs.
But I'd also run a batten along the wall under the cupboards to give extra support.
Any details of this? Circular type or reciprocating?
At the moment if I need an accurate cut through bricks etc before laying I use my tile cutter.
I'd guess then that's why they vary so much? Depends on the coal used in the gasworks, etc?
Wouldn't a decent dust mask be simpler? I find those 3M respirators at about 15 quid pretty good for both dust and vapour.
Out of interest, what is the correct term for the dense very heavy and very hard concrete blocks that have hollow vertical channels right through them? I have always heard people refer to them as "breeze blocks" as well, but is sounds like technically speaking they are not.
AFAIAA, I think they are just called concrete blocks (although this would cover modern "breezeblocks" as well) - I would call them dense concrete blocks but that's my term. One big difference between all three (which has not been mentioned) is the water permeability. Dense concrete blocks are relatively impervious while Thermalite blocks are like that Oasis stuff you put plant stalks into. Thermalite blocks are generally used just for the inner leaf for this reason, although they can be used for above ground outer leaf walls that are to be rendered. The lighter concrete "breezeblocks" can be (and are) used anywhere but I would use dense concrete blocks for foundation and breezeblocks/light ones higher up. Clearly where loads are more extreme the dense concrete blocks/engineering bricks would be used.
We don't have gasworks any more, do we?
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