cement bricks

[WattleIdo]

Hi All,

Just wondering whether anyone has had any experience (good, bad, ugly) with a cement brick? Probably 1930's vintage.

If so, was there any rising damp?
WAs insulation better or worse?
How about noise?

Thanks in advance,
Wattle

 

[Scott No Mates]

Ashlar? Cinder blocks?

Rising damp will depend upon whether there was a dampcourse below it - it may have been a bituminous or slate damp course which may have cracked.

 

[WattleIdo]

I think it's these, or like them - cinder blocks?

What are they really made of?

Also, not saying that there is rising damp - on flat land and probably no water around.

What do you think...?

Personally, I find them ugly but if they're good bricks I can do something with them.....

 

[tobe]

My grandfather built his holiday house out of them. he made a couple during the week with a mould and drove them to the house on the weekends. Took him a few years to build.

It was a pretty sturdy house, but Im not sure of the specific propertes of the bricks themselves.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

You mean concrete bricks/blocks?
Cement on its own would have no strength at all and just crumble.

 

[The Y-man]

I was thinking Besser blocks, but not sure if they were around in the 30's?

I personally like Bessar - ugly as, and usually used for retaining walls and factories - but I prefer them to normal brick when used for the 60's apartments etc (though maybe not the vermiculite ceilings that often accompany them!).

The Y-man

 

[WattleIdo]

Ace in the Hole:You mean concrete bricks/blocks?

Yes. I have always got those two words mixed up.

The Y-man:I personally like Bessar - ugly as, and usually used for retaining walls and factories - but I prefer them to normal brick when used for the 60's apartments etc (though maybe not the vermiculite ceilings that often accompany them!).

Totally agree. Nothing better than a good solid 1960's ugly apartment! Even with the vermiculite!

That's why - though these bricks/blocks are really ugly - I haven't completely discarded the possibility of working in with them.

But definitely not a Besser block. I suppose an earlier and more organic version - though I really have no idea.

tobe:Took him a few years to build.

That is very impressive - and what a great way to build a house. He would've put a lot of thought and care into it!

OK this is what wiki says:

A concrete masonry unit (CMU) ? also called concrete brick, concrete block, cement block, besser block, breeze block and cinder block ? is a large rectangular brick used in construction

so they are a kind of besser block.

But I'm still not satisfied because I can't see the ugly rippled old block in any of the photos. I wonder why they used these instead of double-brick? Cheaper? Home-made using a mould? There's another house in the same street that looks like it was built in exactly the same way with the same block.
Unfortunately, the one I'm interested in has had quite a few additions made to the building and has cracks just like any double brick building around here.

 

[WattleIdo]

No more replies?

So this means the bricks are good and ugly!
No bad?

 

[Corey Batt]

Anecdotally I haven't seen too many cinder block constructions suffer structurally, but they aren't that common around here for me to notice any patterns.

Aesthetically, nothing a little bit of render can't fix.