I am going to remove garage doors in an old garage and brick up the opening to make it narrower. I need to do this before I can move on with everything else.
The problem is that it is now freezing at night and quite cold during the day, around 6 degrees. Is it even worth considering "wrapping" the opening with something like a tarp and placing a heater there to maintain a few degrees?
How long would it need to stay like that?
Grateful for any help.
The problem is that it is now freezing at night and quite cold during the day, around 6 degrees. Is it even worth considering "wrapping" the opening with something like a tarp and placing a heater there to maintain a few degrees?
How long would it need to stay like that?
Grateful for any help.
It should work pretty well to do that. I did a similar thing with our boat a couple of years ago when I had to do some plastic work that required at least 20 degrees. I sealed up a tarp airtight around the area I was going to work on and set up two car heaters to raise the temperature. At night, the outdoor temperature dropped to about 4-5 degrees, but inside the "tent," it never got colder than about 28.
Just make sure to keep the heat on for a while before you start working so that all the material also reaches a reasonable working temperature.
NOTE!!!
Be very careful with regular car heaters. They are not made to run constantly, and there is a risk of them catching fire from overheating. Make sure to have someone on fire watch the whole time they are running.
Also, keep in mind that car heaters have overheating protection (so they don't catch fire), so they will turn off for longer periods every now and then. If you're unlucky, the temperature might drop a bit too much for you at those times.
Just make sure to keep the heat on for a while before you start working so that all the material also reaches a reasonable working temperature.
NOTE!!!
Be very careful with regular car heaters. They are not made to run constantly, and there is a risk of them catching fire from overheating. Make sure to have someone on fire watch the whole time they are running.
Also, keep in mind that car heaters have overheating protection (so they don't catch fire), so they will turn off for longer periods every now and then. If you're unlucky, the temperature might drop a bit too much for you at those times.
Sounds good. I have a kind of construction fan at 2 kW that I thought about putting there. It turns off when the set temperature is reached. The problem is to make it airtight enough so that the heat doesn't just blow out....
After I've done the masonry, how long should it stand before I tear it down?
After I've done the masonry, how long should it stand before I tear it down?
The mortar should achieve 5Mpa compressive strength before it is insensitive to freeze damage. At +20C, this takes less than a day. There are diagrams showing the relationship between temperature and strength growth. But assuming you manage to maintain at least +10 where you are building, I would say 2 days is enough, say 3 to be on the safe side!
I have now cast my plinth and added plastic and 10 cm insulation. Mixed the concrete with hot water, probably 45-50 degrees. It's barely 10 degrees around the area where the concrete has been cast. Does the insulation make any difference to the curing time or is it still 2 days that apply?
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