Been working for months( very slowly) on converting a brick walled tree stump
graveyard into a lawn for the missus. Key part of this was cutting a slice off the old brick wall so I could fit exactly two fence panels in the gap.
After much fannying around, I am almost done, and just need to sort out the mortar between the old wall and the new fence. In typical WhoCaresWhatTheInstructionsSayItsNotLikeItsABlockOfFlats way, I ignored the warning about low temperatures and tried to do some cementing yesterday anyway. It didn’t work. It’s got all the structural integrity of wheatabix. So I need to broddle it out and try again.

BUT the weather forecast is for consistent sub 3 degrees for weeks. And I want to get the bloomin job finished, now.
Was wondering if there’s any way way of warming the wall up and keeping it warm until the concrete cures. Fan heater is a rubbish idea, but what about draping it with loads of hot water bottles and then covering the damn thing with some tarpaulins and shitty old duvets or something.

Any useful suggestions along these lines, or piss takes?

PS, I’m sure there is some additive thing that I could get to sort the cement, but already bought a bottle of plasticiser to help with the injector and don’t know if the two will be happy together.

Bookmarking as this could get epic.👍

Seen some sites use hessian on newly laid bricks.

You need more concrete.

That will provide a suitable mass for the heat generated during hydration to keep it well above freezing.

Two lorries should do it.

You can add as many layers of blanket material as you like but there isnt any heat being produced to block in with them so cant see it working. The only other way is to make an enclosure around it and use some kind of portable gas heater but frankly you should really just wait until the temperature rises. I work in construction and it generally still stops when it’s too cold to lay so if there was a good method, the bean counters would have forced it on us by now.

Fire. A big fire.

Heated blanket? I remember a concrete flyover being built a few years ago in Brighton.

It froze and the concrete buttress (bigger than a double decker) they built to support the deck blistered. Saw them messing around with it for a few days, before they demolished the whole buttress and started again!

Semen would work a treat, might be a bit difficult conjuring it up in sub temps.

Was wondering if there’s any way way of warming the wall up and keeping it warm until the concrete cures. Fan heater is a rubbish idea, but what about draping it with loads of hot water bottles and then covering the damn thing with some tarpaulins and shitty old duvets or something.

The straws you wish to grasp are no longer available,please try again in springtime.

Remember the motto ” THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A 5 MINUTE JOB”

Why has no one mentioned a flame thrower yet?

https://www.cheapmowers.com/acatalog/Sheen_X300_Flame_Gun_.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiA0MD_BRCTARIsADXoopYI-j1-PZmDgKSl-GQc1i9Hh9J2LcLUlDrxSTqoA4RGlqX-tj0FTicaAtpQEALw_wcB

Could you not set off a small nuclear explosion close to the wall? Nothing too big, just enough to keep the frost off.

Just get it done then hug it naked for 8 hours. For best results shower first. The moisture will help transfer your body heat into the masonry.

Give the wall a blue passport that’ll make it all warm and fuzzy.

Mix your gauging water 1:10 with diesel and then just light it once it’s done. If you can’t get hold of diesel then you could use leftover brandy cream from Xmas.

Build it indoors and then carry outside once dry/hardened. Might need to lay a tarp down if you’re on carpet.

Since I’m no good at piss-takes I’ll try some useful advice. Cement sets as a chemical reaction with water, and although it gives off heat, even in concrete (much thicker than mortar) there’s not enough to make it cure outdoors this weather. Water is essential to the process, and once it freezes the mix is dead. Anything based on ordinary (‘Portland’) cement is not going to work unless you get the temperature well above 5ºC and keep it there for a week, so forget it.

So you need a substitute for mortar, with a different chemistry. Google “low temperature cement substitute” – something like Ronacrete will work.

Alternatively, do you really need cement in the gap? Could you push some wood into the gap, and then maybe screw into to to fix a board over the gap? Or boards back and front with long bolts through the gap? If it lasts until summer you can mortar it then.

https://www.toolstation.com/everbuild-207-zeromix-frostproofer/p55334?store=OR&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&gclid=Cj0KCQiA0MD_BRCTARIsADXoopb0LnEySWubK9s7sRPCgT7QnH3kmcS6ulH4z1093zfwsQjzEMs7_j4aAhxaEALw_wcB

Semen would work a treat, might be a bit difficult conjuring it up in sub temps.

Sounds like a plan. 🙂 Shall I set up a rota… How many [other] **** ers are there on the forum?

You need more concrete.
….
Two lorries should do it.

😁

That would also have the advantage that I wouldn’t need to buy any grass seed.

Some absolute quality replies above.

Current plan is to combine captainklunkz, and joshvegas’ suggestions.
Perhaps whilst sipping a cocktail of vodka, orange juice, and Galliano…

cheers

Harv.

Microwave each brick for 3 mins (900w) then pudding the side and the base. The residual heat will make zero difference to the time it takes for the cement to cure, but at least your hands will be warm

Or hire some vagrants and set up camp next to your new wall.
You will need cider, some pallets, an old oil drum and a tarp. Place tarp on wall, install vagrants undet tarp with cider and pallet wood. Set fire to pallet wood with diesel. Medium strength cider should keep the vagrants Awake for long enough to set the mix
Hth

You can’t find an accelerant?

https://www.everbuild.co.uk/product/sika-accelerator/

Accelerator admixture is all you need

That would also have the advantage that I wouldn’t need to buy any grass seed

Disadvantage being that 2 truckloads will cost you something in the region of £1500, so the economics of that are looking somewhat flaky already.

Mortar, and concrete, can be air-entrained. Basically it’s a process of incorporating tiny bubbles into the mixture, giving ice somewhere to expand into without busting the mix up as it hydrates. But as the sensible others have said, just wait till its warmer.

Use Lego for the walk instead. If structural integrity is needed just superglue the bricks together. Or for a more sensible approach, napalm in the cement mix.

I’ve used Hilti Resin before to fix some bricks back onto a mates wall . That was about 4 years ago around this time of year. They are still on there. Used 2 tubes to fix 4 bricks from memory.

Use hot water to make your mortar, keep the sand, cement and bricks as warm as you can (bring them indoors for a few days), then, as soon as the wall is done, apply a layer of polythene to keep the moisture in and lots of insulation to keep the heat in.

@funkmasterp surely you mean use KRAGL for glueing the lego bricks?

One of these and a bulk order of sticks.

Plumb in a spur from the central heating to a radiator between the brick layers. Year round tomatoes once complete from the warmth to offset any carbon nasties.

Why has no one mentioned a flame thrower yet?

Neighbour had a conservatory built before Christmas – the builders used a flame thrower to warm things up. This is a true fact.

Alternatively, do you really need cement in the gap?

In all this.. this is the bit I don’t understand – what role is the cement playing in an interface between a brick wall and a fence?

How many [other] **** ers are there on the forum?

nine 🙂 We need ten in total to be quorate.

In all this.. this is the bit I don’t understand – what role is the cement playing in an interface between a brick wall and a fence?

That is indeed a fair point.

Two things, the first of which could be done in better ways I’m sure:
I’m attaching the fence Channelpost to the wall using bolts which interface with the Weetabix concrete stuffed in the one inch gap between the two skins of the brick wall.
The main reason is that I’ve sliced the wall top to bottom and exposed loads of brick centres. I want to try to robustify the end and make it less easy for water to enter the bricks and the wall and ruin it.

I’m attaching the fence Channelpost to the wall using bolts no nails

job finished!

Close the curtains until it’s warmer 👌

If you can’t get hold of diesel then you could use leftover brandy cream from Xmas.

actually… have you got any breadsauce left over?

Close the curtains until it’s warmer 👌

Mime you’ve created a glass panel infill. Tell your other half to wait inside and look out the window as there is no point coming out until it warms up a little.

I’m attaching the fence Channelpost to the wall using bolts which interface with the Weetabix concrete stuffed in the one inch gap between the two skins of the brick wall.

I can see what you’re doing, now. Stuff some 2 x 1 in the gap instead (tap in wooden wedges if necessary) and screw the channel to it. Are the new fence panels wood? If so, no need to worry about having another bit of wood.

I’ve sliced the wall top to bottom and exposed loads of brick centres. I want to try to robustify the end and make it less easy for water to enter the bricks and the wall and ruin it.

So that’s render rather then mortar? Minor difference, same problems in cold weather. Bricks are the same all the way through so it won’t do them any harm. You may have created some places for water to stand, which could be an opportunity for freezing damage. But it probably looks a bit rough, so I can see why you’d want to cover it.

One bit I don’t follow:

a bottle of plasticiser to help with the injector

What’s the injector? I don’t think accelerator and plasticiser will be incompatible, and if they are it will probably be in subtle ways that won’t affect your use. Easy to test, mix up a bit with both additives and see what happens.

What’s the injector?

A syringe for mortar (render?)
I had presumed to just shove the mortar into this 1″ gap with gloved hands and a trowel, but hardly any of it goes in. So I bought this thing that’s just like a sealant gun except you fill it with cement mix. I can then use it to reach all the nooks and crannies. But apparently the mix needs plasticiser in it in order to flow.
That’s why I’m not so keen on the accelerant if it means the mix sets solid whilst still in the injector thing.

Render<> mortar. What’s that all about?. Do I need a different mix?

Its not postcrete
You should have a couple of hours in these temps to use what you mix. Esp if you make a slumpy mix to inject into the wall
Did you not tty with the little friend render spatula thing that looks like a cake knife.
There is a skill to it but its like playing with mud construction when you build dams as a kid

Cement syringe…. Totally the coolest thing in the whole world….
😁

About 22 litres at 60 Deg C must have about 5,000 kilojoules of energy available….

Wrapped up nice and snug….

I’m so full of shit 😃

Anyway… We have 1.4C to spare…

Excellent. 7 hours in and toasty warm under that lot.

Are you going to put more hot water in the bottles before you tuck them in for the night?