Is there such a thing? The boiler I have to replace on Monday will have one of its fixing holes in the hole which I'll have to block up from the large un-fanned flue of the boiler I'm replacing.
There are various ways I could work around the problem but the ideal would be a mortar that sets in, say, 30 mins - 1 hour.
The Wickes quick setting 10kg one does. Or get some vanilla cement and make it with hot water. Or if youre really in a hurry, mix some old plaster up and watch it flash set.
NT
the ideal would
Wickes sell it - =A32.09 for 2kg bag.
CRB
Car body filler?
Angle grinder?
CAR BODY FILLER
Get the Acme stuff that Wile E. Coyote uses.
In the US we have Hydraulic Cement it sets in about 5 minutes even under pressure from leaks, im sure its sold there.
On 26/03/2010 21:54, NT wrote: Or get some vanilla cement and
You remind me of some of the writing of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn about the gulags. They would mix the cement with hot water and yes, it set very quickly.
Because it had frozen solid. :-)
Bit too mild a climate here.
Cements/mortars take weeks to reach full strength, and this is a case where you need full strength, not just set. Plaster doesn't have the same strength.
I would look for something which reaches full strength much faster, such as one of the resin suggestions, possibly mixed with some fibres.
If you can get a brick well mortared in the hole, such that the fixing goes into the brick and not the mortar, then a fast setting cement might just be acceptable, if you can drill the hole without vibrating the mortar to bits (or if you're really clever, before you mortar the brick in;-).
Just buy a rapid set additive and mix it in with water you make standard mortar with ... works a treat .. any Bldr merchant will have it ... even in small 1 Liter bottles. Last time I was in B&Q they stocked it.
Thanks. I've bought some of the Wickes stuff now in little bags but for future reference how quickly does the additive stuff make the mortar go off?
Yes the fixing will go into the (Thermalite) block and I can do it with a multi-material drill without hammer so as long as the mortar sets reasonably stiffly it should be OK even if it takes much longer to get to full strength.
Depends how much of it you add ... there is a chart on the lable. But this is not something that goes off in minutes.
Used for outdoor work that needs to go off before rain or frost is due.
Ahh, OK, I'll look at a bottle when I come across one but it sounds like a lot longer-setting than I need. Thanks anyhow.
If anyone's interested the Wickes quick-setting mortar pretty much did what it said on the tin (well, packet). Mortared in the block, stopped for lunch, went back and fixed the boiler frame. Could probably have done it sooner but was getting peckish.
I've got some left over and will remember it for next time I have to fix sunken fittings for a shower mixer valve or electrical back-boxes into gashed-out holes - should be ideal for that (though bonding plaster would also do).
I find body filler useful for an instant fix, even if it's only at one or two key points to hold something in position while you fill the bulk with something else. I'm ashamed to say I even used it recently to pack out a pair of door hinges. Needs must when you can't find anything the thickness of a 1p coin
And why not? You can always trim it with an angle grinder...
Get your timing right and it's as easy as cutting cheese. You normally have a couple of minutes to sculpt, even more with smaller amounts where less heat is generated.
The wooden stirrers from McDonalds are ideal for this. I always pinch a handful when I go in for a cup of tea :-)
Now that's worth remembering. I shall probably start picking up lolly sticks in the street now, but then never need to pack a hinge ever again.
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