Bricks and blocks

[TrevorL]

I hope some of you can give me some guidance here.

I am just about to start work again on my 29sq m garage/workshop.
The foundations are laid and I have put trench blocks up to ground level. I know have to decide on the bricks and blocks.

Although the building is about 5m from the house I would like to match the bricks as well as possible. The nearest match is a LBC Heather, but I have conflicting reports about the suitability with regards to frost - I live in the south-east.
Do you think LBC Heathers would be OK?

The next decision is about which block to use. The Thermalite Shield - 4N/mm2 -seems to be popular but I can't get my head around using a block that crumbles so easily, for fixing heavy duty shelves and perhaps light machinery to it. What do you think?

Many thanks

[lutonlagerlout]

the old LBC heathers were fired with "self firing oxford clay" there is a massive variation in colour,making it difficult to match old stuff
we tend to use dartmoor heathers which are a lookalike brickk and cost around £380 a thou,much better brick than the LBC version.
i think weinberger make the dartmoor heathers available everywhere in the south east
and do NOT use thermalites in a garage,i would use fibolite or preferably aglite by plasmoor,still lightweight but a lot less likely to crumble or crack,and TBH you dont really need the highest U value in a garage do you?
regards LLL



Edited By lutonlagerlout on 1180899090

[IanMelb]

If it's more than 5m from the house, are you still within 'Permitted Development' rights creating a predominantly masonry structure?

[lutonlagerlout]

thats a bit off-topic ian??
if he has planning permission (which i assume is the case) then he can build what he wants (or they let him)
a client is building a 64m2 quadruple garage and gym 4 m from his house
he just got plans drawn, then passed.no problem
BTW expect to pay around £.90 a block for 100mm aglites
cheers LLL

[ski]

I would use dense concrete blocks and put some insulation in the cavity(make the cavity 75mm and put 25mm kingspanin). I hate thermalites, although if you know exactly wher you will be fixing in the garage you do the old fashioned timber grouts in the walls whilst building?

[IanMelb]

thats a bit off-topic ian??
if he has planning permission (which i assume is the case) then he can build what he wants (or they let him)

It may be OT but The thing that got me thinking was the 29m2 area which is just under the 30m2 of PD.

Bear in mind that I've recently had a run in with the Planners over what they think is PD and what I (and almost everyone else) think.

[TrevorL]

Thanks very much for all the useful advice. I will try and source some Dartmoor Heather bricks locally.
I'm glad it isn't just me that thinks that way about Thermalite blocks!
Ian, I don't have planning permission but have looked very carefully at the planning requirements and think/hope I'm ok!
The garage is more than 5m from the house, the ridged roof won't be more than 4m high, it doesn't take up more than 50% of the garden and is within the building line. Because the inside floor area is less than 30sq m I don't need building regs involvement.
I have also looked at the possibility of blocking the light to my neighbour down the end of the garden, and if you draw a line 25 degrees from the horizontal taken from the lowest part of their ground floor window, my garage doesn't obstruct the line.
I hope I'm correct in all of this!
Regards
Trevor

[IanMelb]

According to the 'Planning Portal' you should be OK.

My problem stemmed from the fact that I was building on land that had been bought and added to my plot after the original house had been.

The other problem was that I actually asked the Planners if I was OK (basically I put my head above the parapet) and they hummed and hahed and then said 'no'

[lutonlagerlout]

i nearly got caught by this,remember the 4m in height counts from existing ground level
we built a summer house for a guy and he kept on trying to squeeze extra inches, anyway when he was bubbled by the not very happy neighbours, the planners refused to use our new ground level (raised slightly) and went for the existing level
3980mm! lets just say it was a close call
i would rather work under building regs===> no comebacks
LLL

[TrevorL]

Thanks for that LLL
I had been thinking about what datum you would use for ground level. Nearer the time I might ask the planning department because my garden does vary in height a bit!
I was talking to a builders merchant about ordering in some Dartmoor Heathers and the guy in sales said I would need a more frost resistant brick for the two courses below DPC. He suggested an engineering brick - what do you think?
I have already spoken to someone in building regs and gave him a brief outline of what I was doing. They said they thought it was ok.
Regards
Trevor

[lutonlagerlout]

agreed always worth using class b engineering bricks beneath dpc
cheers LLL