Laying glass bricks

Hi,

Has anybody done this recently? I want to have a go but I don't really like the look of the white mortar that wickes recommend you use. I saw a guy on the TV laying them and he seemed to use a glue/sealant to stick them together which meant there was no visible join between the blocks as with the mortar. Any ideas as to what the best thing to use is?

Thanks, Steve

Reply to
Steve Shep
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Seen it done in a pub before, the passage from the front to back had sections in it that mirrored the windows on the other side of the passgaeway, it passed quite a bit of light through to the inner room.

Reply to
James Hart

I've done two similar jobs with them recently.

-I built a partition wall across a garage and used a row of 13 glass blocks along the top (in a frame) to send light through and for effect. I bought some of the soft filler material (in rolls) that comes with the blocks and cut about 10mm off the side so that the blocks would just straddle the stuff. This I laid (stapled down), double thickness, in the centre of the lower part of the frame and up the one end of the frame. Fitted a short piece of the same stuff in the top of the frame before inserting the first block and sliding it into place. Then installed a vertical piece of wood, about 35mm x 10 mm if I recall, bedded in white mastic. Repeated for next block etc. It's a bit tricky on the last block but that's why it's important to measure out the layout with packing before laying any.

The filled most of joint with white mastic and when this was off I 'grouted' the joints with Decorator's caulk. Finished off with some simple architrave to put a square and straight edge round the blocks. The gaps could be as tight or as big as you want, but it's not good practise to work to no joint. The blocks are quite accurate in dimension but not accurate enough for glass to glass. You need to allow for movement/expansion and I think a sensible and uniform gap looks balanced. Easier to do than to explain, so if you're anywhere near Yeovil you can take a look at it.

-other job was 4 blocks in a square, again fitted into a partition surrounding a stairway to a new attic extension. Objective was to borrow some light from the adjacent window without compromising privacy, noise and heat insulation. This time I made a frame, in MDF planed down to about 35 x

10, square on the outside, with a cross in the middle and all fixed with screws. With the cross only, I assembled the four block bedding them in white mastic, then fitted the square frame around them, more mastic and screwed it up. When off, the 4 block window assembly was inserted into the hole cut into the stairs partition wall and architrave front and back secured it. Grouting again with Decorator's caulking (fantastic and cheap stuff!) and this time I painted the joint to suit the decor. This one is in Wolverhampton if you want to take a look.

In both cases the mortar joint was not appropriate, and I don't care for the spacers sold with the blocks for any unusual applications. I'm delighted with the blocks though, and wish I had used them before in other situations.

HTH BAH

Reply to
BAH

With glass blocks it is imortant to allow for their movement and expansion or else they will crack.

This is why you need a joint between them. This can be weak mortar, or plastic spacers, foam strip and pointed in mastic or white grout.

I have seen many of these crack when laid without means of expansion - especially if the room either side of the blocks have differing temperatures.

To build them in a stud partition, you need to make a suitable timber frame within the partition to hold the blocks, and perhaps put in a vertical strut to support the load off the floor beneath.

The ones you saw stuck with sealant, may well have been plastic ones, as the glass manufacturers would not recommend nor guaranteee this method.

dg

Reply to
dg

Interesting projects got any piccies?

I have considered making something with used beer bottles. They throw them away by the skipload at popular clubs. I just wondered what the stress factors might be. I remember reading an article decades ago about a man who built his house out of Coke bottles. Mind you that was in the USA I think where building regs vary a lot from ours. I wonder if it is still up.

Reply to
Michael McNeil

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