plasticpigeon
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46454844
Flyfisher said:That was my first thought about this story too. If retail bags of cement cost less than £4 then goodness know how cheap it must be for developers buying tons of the stuff and no VAT for them to pay either. The cement cost of a new build must be pretty small really and hardly worthy of taking such a risk. On the other hand, for the on site workers actually handling the stuff . . .
Flyfisher said:I’ve heard than bulk concrete deliveries on major commercial building projects have to pass a ‘slump test’ that helps ensure a consistent quality of poured concrete structures, but I guess the financial constraints on commercial projects are somewhat different to domestic house building. I wonder if it would be practical for the relevant BCO to sample the mortars being used on sites? Probably not, unless they were constantly present, which of course is never going to happen.
Flyfisher said:I thought there must be proper, rigorous QA on major civil engineering projects and am reassured to read of your experience.
No need to worry when driving over concrete bridges and flyovers then! :wink:
88v8 said:And in the 60s when our bathroom extension was built there seems to have been a mortar issue, as there is cracking in the render along much of the horizontal bonding between the blocks. The cracks have been umpteenly filled over the years, but an actual cure will require covering it with some fake half-timbering.
Ivor