Blockhead-ache

Our order with B&Q Tradepoint for Toplite blocks was, as reported in the previous post, scheduled for delivery today. B&Q have just switched to Toplite because they have been unable to get any aircrete from their usual supplier (so recently that their website still says Celcon blocks). Mark checked the spec that B&Q Tradepoint had for Toplite and it seemed that it was similar to that of Celcon or Thermalite so he was confident in ordering them. Aircrete type blocks require a weaker mortar mix than cement blocks so over the bank holiday weekend I was trawling through the techy stuff for Tarmac Toplite to see what ratio of cement to sand Tarmac recommend when I came across a section of the manual dealing with the use of Toplite for external walls. My heart sank when I read that Toplite blocks can't be used for the outer leaf of full-fill cavity walls. Toplite can be used for the inner leaf but the outer needs to be Hemelite or Topcrete. Much thinking about what to do ensued. We came up with 3 options:

1. Use the Toplite for the inner leaf and try and find a source of these Hemelite or Topcrete blocks for the outer leaf.

2. Only partially fill the cavity. But that would impact the thermal calcs and also would require us to install fire rated cavity closers.

3. Cancel and try and get Celcon or Thermalite blocks.

We went for option 3. B&Q Tradepoint were fine about us cancelling - they didn't even want to know why. I've managed to source enough blocks for the whole build at a hefty premium from the ironically named Less2build. We are still awaiting a delivery date but I have been promised that they can get the blocks and that they will be delivered by the end of next week. The blocks will be either all Celcon or all Thermalite and not Toplite. Trustpilot reviews (57) give the company an average rating of 9.5/10 but Facebook reviews (12) only 2.5/5 while the Review Centre (177 reviews) gives a rating of 3.8/5. Reading through some if the reviews it seems that people either have a great experience or a dreadful one. I'm hoping for a Trustpilot type experience but won't be counting my blocks until they've arrived.

If you want to know more about Toplite and other Tarmac Blocks the Tarmac Building Solutions - Blockwork Solutions manual can be found online at https://issuu.com/tarmacltd/docs/tbp_blocks_manual?e=2040976/10248152. It comes in at a weighty 196 pages.

#Woodlands #celconblocks #aircreteblocks #strawbalehouse #informational #Toplite