Laying HEAVY trench blocks

Laying a few trench blocks from back in March when it was much wetter and colder. The trench blocks were soaked too so they were even heavier than normal which made for a tricky job.

[@iainrutherford184]

Great work Sam. My knees were creaking every time you stepped up to and down from the barrow 😢

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

Thanks! Ah I know, my labourer I was using for the 4-5 months previous to this job had just gone to the army so I was left with only the customer loading the blocks out 😩

[@iainrutherford184]

@SamDaviesBuilder yeah, I was thinking about him. I hope he's looking after his knees too. If you need a 58 yr old labourer who has done the military thing, then give me a shout 🤣

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

@@iainrutherford184 58 is a good experienced age….a lot of the youngsters don’t have the stamina or patience!

[@kevocos]

Nice bit of graft pal.I usually do 4" cavity and fill but it is a lot of work. Yet to use cavity blocks but they do look a lot quicker. How do they work in with the new wider cavity and have you any idea of the price comparison

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

These cavity blocks do save a lot of time, they are easier to lay in the sense that they are easier to level/plumb up than a block on edge and if you have a bad footing you can get over a lot. I have not done a cost comparison but I would say it must be a more economical way of doing it as you're doing both skins and the cavity fill at once, the cavities have got so big now that they take ages to concrete. They are 355mm wide so they work with the current regs of the 150mm cavities we currently have (100mm insulation + 50mm air gap). We had no choice but to use them on this job as all of the concrete had to be pumped due to poor access so we couldn't justify getting a pump in just to fill the cavities but I will definitely use them on more jobs.

[@kevocos]

@@SamDaviesBuilder A year ago I did an extension on a sloping site, 10 block courses were needed to get up to dpc level. I naively went strip foundation and 4" block and cavity fill to save money on materials. Completely wrong decision, It was a total slog probably added a week and half of hard labour to the job just to save a few hundred pounds I learnt my lesson, trench fill (and looking like trench blocks) next time around.

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

That sounds like a lot of work! Sometimes you have to do a job like that to think of other options for next time though, I’ve done plenty of jobs and thought I should do it a different way next time. Sounds like you know how to graft!

[@YoushaAhmad]

Nice work. Are you based in the South/West Wales area? Not sure if you mentioned LBS builder merchant at the start? I have been using them mostly for my projects.

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

Yes I am, these blocks were from LBS. They have a good range of stuff and are not too bad on price either

[@YoushaAhmad]

@@SamDaviesBuilder Good to hear your feedback on them.

[@cheesesteakjimmy2076]

Do joints on these not need to be staggered. So there exactly staggered if you get me

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

As in half bond? They should all be pretty much half bond

[@Joe-jv5mm]

Buy yourself upper body exo skeleton that transfer the weight down through the rig to the Ground 😜

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

I’m sure I’ve seen one of those on a video 🤣

[@ernestogonzalez17]

Brother those blocks look heavy , I’ve never seen them before . What country are you located ?

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

They were heavy, especially when wet. I’m in the UK, we can use these below ground instead of doing a cavity and then cavity fill

[@ernestogonzalez17]

@@SamDaviesBuilder ah okay that makes sense mate . We don’t use those in North America

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

@@ernestogonzalez17 what blocks do you use over there?

[@MarcusT86]

Those blocks look like monsters buddy. I'm guessing overkill for my retaining wall and steps? Must go through tonnes of mortar laying those.

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

Yea they are beasts! They would be overkill for retaining wall, you'd be better off with 4 inch blocks as they are easier to move around. These trench blocks are good for what I was using them for as its laying the inner, outer skin and the cavity fill all in one block so much less work to do in the ground.