Cold weather Masonry
Cold weather Masonry
(OP)
I'm trying to determine if a masonry foundation wall for a warehouse building that was installed the day that a 2-day cold spell hit, is acceptable or not. I dont' beleive any measures were taken to keep the wall warm (blankets, heaters, etc...) as is stated should be done in the ACI 530 manual.
Is there any way to test the mortar/grout/construction after the fact, if no samples were taken the day of? Should I advise to redo the work?
Is there any way to test the mortar/grout/construction after the fact, if no samples were taken the day of? Should I advise to redo the work?






RE: Cold weather Masonry
RE: Cold weather Masonry
Since you referred to ACI 530, you have some sort of a masonry foundation. The strength of the mortar is really not a major factor in the compressive strength of a masonry wall. At the time of laying, the most important factor, workability (as addressed in the appendix of ASTM C270), has already been determined. Durability of the mortar would be the question.
Your concern would be the temperature of the mortar over the few days after construction (which you cannot determine)since the strength of the masonry units is already fixed by factory manufacture. Another factor would be the amount and temperature of grout (if any). Since there was no wall protection, the general practices for cold wether were not followed or enforced. Key items would be mortar temperature (effected by sand and mixing water conditioning) and the amount of protection provided to the units before and after laying. If the units were above freezing, there is a large amount of thermal inertia that permits cold weather construction.
If the mortar did not freeze while saturatated, there should not be any descernable effect. The heat of hydration generated by combining the water with the cement compounds provides some additional benefits. Covering, even with poly, provides protection from premature cooling of the wall.
It is fortunate that masonry is very adaptable to cold weather construction. Last week, I visited a site where they were laying high 12" hollow block walls at 15 degrees (after 3 days of colder weather) within the recommendations for cold weather construction.
I doubt if you have any substantial loads on the walls to justify the wall thickness, unless you have lateral soil loads. I have seen 4500 psi prisms built with 1900 psi mortar, so compressive strength is not a problem. There is always the age-old question whether mortar holds units together or keeps them apart. Justifying the construction now in place is the challenge.
Any addition information that would permit an accurate opinion of the project would be helpful.
Dick
RE: Cold weather Masonry
Dik
RE: Cold weather Masonry
Let the contractor figure out how prove the work meets the contract requirements or let him redo it. The contractor needs to perform his own quality control.
RE: Cold weather Masonry
Thanks for the help.