News / Camden Council

• Mar 05, 2014

  Salinity in Australia - a big problem that builders need to consider.

  The Master Builders Association meeting held in Maitland last week had a very entertaining and informative guest speaker from the NSW Department of Primary Industries. The topic was urban salinity. Salt from the soil can have a very destructive and catastrophic effect on masonry in buildings. Salt is drawn up into masonry with rising damp, and over many years with wet and dry cycles, more and more salt is deposited into the point of evaporation, typically in brickwork or stonework below damp proof course [DPC] level. The pressure exerted by crystallising salt can exceed 200MPa, whilst the tensile resistant strength...

  Read more →
  • Ben from Efflock, Brick Mart, brick mortar, brickwork, Brookvale, building advice, building in saline areas, building materials, building problems, building technology, camden council, chlorides, construction in saline soils, construction problems, damp proof course, efflock for saline areas, exposure grade bricks, ground salt, masonry, prevent salt attack, prevention of salt attack, rising damp, saline soils, salt attack, salt in sand, salts, sodium chloride, sodium sulfate, spalling, stop salt attack, urban salinity
  • Share

• Jan 20, 2014

  Rising Damp and Salt Attack - free PDF

  We have recommended this publication on our blog previously: Salt Attack and Rising Damp - A Guide to Salt Damp in Historic and Older Buildings. Salt attack is as destructive to masonry as termites are to timber, and is prone to occur on any building site in Australia due to our soils and extreme weather patterns. As salt is dissolved by water and absorbed by masonry, the water evaporates, leaving behind more and more salt with each wet cycle. Salt crystallises to expand at extraordinary pressure   (> 200MPa) to easily turn stone, bricks and mortar to dust. As outlined...

  Read more →
  • Brick Mart, brick mortar, brickwork, building in saline areas, building problems, Camden Council, cement additive, control transport of damp through masonry, CPD points for builders, Damp proof course, DPC, Dubbo council, efflock to prevent efflorescence, efflock to prevent rising damp, efflock to prevent rising damp in render, efflock to prevent salt damp, efflock to prevent water absorption, get efflock, getefflock, Green Star, green star approved, Green Star rating, recommended additive for saline areas, saline areas, salinity, salt attack, Salt Attack and Rising Damp, Salt Attack and Rising Damp - A Guide to Salt Damp in Historic Buildings, salt attack in brickwork, salt in soil, salts rising, sustainable architecture, why you should get efflock
  • Share

• Jun 13, 2013

  Efflock ideal for building in high saline areas

  I gave a talk about Efflock to local builders at a Master Builders Association meeting out at Campbelltown last week. An interesting problem was raised, which I have touched on briefly in a previous blog.  A builder at the meeting told me that the soil in the Camden area south west of Sydney is notorious for high salinity. The high salt content presents major problems for standard construction where rising damp can have very damaging effects on brickwork below the DPC or 'Damp Proof Course' level. The DPC is typically located around floor level, meaning that numerous courses of bricks...

  Read more →
  • Building in a saline environment, Camden Council, control transport of damp through masonry, crystallisation of soluble salts, erosion of brickwork, hygroscopic salts, masonry absorption, MBA Hume Division, mortar additive, phosphate in soil, prevent rising damp, prevent salt damp, render additive, Rising damp, rising damp in render, salt, salt attack, Salt Attack and Rising Damp, salt attack in brickwork
  • Share