Concrete 101

Concrete is made when binding together particles of sand and gravel, stone, broken brick etc.  When water is added to the cement hydration takes place causing the whole mixture to set and harden forming a solid, rock-like mass.

The sand, gravel, broken stone etc. is the “aggregate”, sand – the “fine aggregate” and gravel as “coarse aggregate”.  The properties vary of course depending on the type of work done.

Sufficient water should be used to enable hydration to take place and to make the mixture easily workable but any excess is detrimental to the strength of the concrete.

When setting the wet concrete in the desired position it should be well rammed or tamped to consolidate it thoroughly and obtain a dense mixture which will eventually form a rock-like mass with no apparent voids.

Why building reference and sample panels are essential

Our bricklayers may be requested to build both reference and sample panels on site at various times. These bricklayers can contribute much to achieving good quality brickwork and avoiding costly delays.
A reference panel will be built before the facework begins in order to determine design features or to establish standards of workmanship or the visual acceptability of bricks. While sample panels are built from subsequent deliveries of bricks for comparison with those in the original reference panel.
Further reasons for using reference panels:
The architect may choose a mortar joint colour and profile to suit the specified facing bricks.
To establish and provide a reference to the standard of brickwork which we can produce regularly and which will be acceptable to the architect.
To provide a reference for an acceptable level if minor or visible surface blemishes such as small surface cracks, chips, small pebbles and expensive particles of lime in the bricks when they are delivered to site.
Samples of special shaped bricks may be added to the reference panel to establish any colour variations between the normal and the special bricks.
These reference panels may also include special features such as soldier courses or narrow piers in order to identify any brick intolerances and workmanship problems.

The panel should be built where it can be viewed throughout the contract and readily accessible for viewing in natural daylight from a distance of 3M. It should be free from damage by vehicles, plant, mud or dirt as well.

Solving general door problems

A well-fitted door should not give any problems but the usual defect is likely to be the door binding against the frame and perhaps failing to shut properly.

Possible causes is a build-up of paint on the door and frame surfaces after years of re-painting, expansion due to atmospheric conditions and hinge faults caused either by wear and tear or bad fitting.

If the problem is due to bad paint build up, strip off the old paint from the door edge back to bare wood and repaint from scratch.

With atmospheric conditions, the solution is to plane down the edges slightly to increase the clearance between door and frame.  The door will have to be fully removed from its hinges unless it is the leading edge that is only binding.

Hinge faults can cause binding screws to protrude or work loose and is caused by hinge recesses being cut too deep or too shallow.  The slots in the screw heads should be cleaned first with paint remover before trying to remove the screws.  Position the screwdriver in the slot and give the handle a sharp blow with a hammer in order to free the grip of the threads in the wood.