News / construction problems

• 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...

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  • 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
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• Nov 26, 2012

  Trapping moisture with a secondary membrane

  The popular approach to controlling efflorescence on tiled balconies, is to provide a secondary membrane directly beneath the tiles. Another approach is to bond the tile bed directly to the substrate and install a single membrane on top. Both of these methods are popular and can be effective in controlling efflorescence from the tile bed, but there are pit-falls. Firstly, efflorescence is also known to release from tile adhesive and grout, which are both located above the membrane. Secondly, these methods trap all the moisture in the tile bed under an impervious membrane. Moisture in the tile bed concrete mix...

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  • aluminium, aluminium doors, architects, balconies, building defect, building defects, Casumo Constructions, construction problems, controlling efflorescence, corrosion of aluminium, corrosion of aluminium doors, efflock, eflock, hard lesson, hydrophobic, New Product, permeable, repel water, salt, salt attack, salt deposits, secondary membrane, secondary membrane not required, tile bed, tiled balcony, time saving
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