Masonry Experts - Do you know what this wall is made of and its properties:

sho_me_da_money

Dear Members,

I am currently renovating our VERY small bathroom, and due to its size, converting it into a wet-room.

I have a partition wall that revealed the following after stripping away the plasterboard. When you tap on this, it feels very hollow and it all is in a terracotta colour. Does anyone know the exact name please? I have one more question further below.



I have since boarded over with Hardie Backer Board and the same wall now looks like this:



The idea is to mount the following to this partition wall:

- A shower unit where the pipes are sticking out
- To the right of the shower, I would like to mount a wet room single pane screen
- To the right of this, I want to mount a wall hung concrete basin.
- A slim mirrored cabinet above the sink.

I am not sure what/how much load this wall can handle and wanted to seek your advice to a) Learn what it is b) Would I have any issue mounting the above c) If yes, can I do anything about this without compromising the already small space. Someone said using anchors or something?

Thank you in advance!

FreeBear

Looks like clay blocks similar to these - http://porothermuk.co.uk/products/porotherm-blocks/

markin

I didn't think we used that in the UK, no idea if it will hold the sink.

FreeBear

markin said:

I didn't think we used that in the UK, no idea if it will hold the sink.

Been looking at some of the datasheets - Conventional wall plugs and resin fixings (with a sleeve) can be used. https://www.wienerberger.co.uk/content/dam/wienerberger/united-kingdom/marketing/documents-magazines/technical/UK_MKT_DOC_TEC_WAL_POR_Fischer_Report_Porotherm_Block_001.pdf

The blocks should be able to take the load as long as the correct fixing is used.

sho_me_da_money

Thank you both. So I did a bit of Googling on Porotherm Blocks and found the following site - https://gosmartbricks.com/these-10-facts-about-porotherm-will-bust-all-your-myths-about-hollow-bricks/

An excerpt:

Myth #5 – Hollow bricks cannot bear heavy load fixtures

Fact- Hollow bricks and heavy load fixtures? Not possible! Busting your myth, Protherm brick walls can bear the light, medium as well as heavy load fixtures without losing compressive strength. By following simple methods for each type of fixtures, you can hang mirrors, geysers, air-conditioners, closets and cupboards and whatever you want to. Porotherm is easy to chase and chisel for electrical and plumbing conduits.   You can use simple wooden peg or plastic sleeve first and then nail in or use a screw to hang the photo frames, mirrors, and more. In the case of heavy loads, use a sharp chisel to drill holes, fill it with the mortar and then fix rack bolt. Later after 24hrs, you can install your intended heavy load fixtures like EWC wall mount/western commode. You could also use the plastic sleeve and install screw-using torque as per the requirements.

I have no idea what the final sentence means about plastic sleeve but it seems like they are saying you can chisel into the block and create a void using the natural gaps of the block and then fill in with mortar for screwing in the wall hanging bolts into? Is that right?

I even found this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxI9iJg4B2w

Seems like it is possible.

sho_me_da_money

A very specific video on Porotherm here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=925OWb-_7kE

Guy in here seems to think it can hold well over 25KG

sho_me_da_money

Thank you Free bear. So weight seems like a non-issue.

I had a question about fixings - how do I determine what the correct fixing is? Do I need to simply need to know the weight of my fixtures e.g. sink, wet room screen and mirror cabinet and then find any fixing that is suitable to support that weight?

Im a complete novice here but I want to make sure whoever does this job doesn't use the wrong gear.

FreeBear

How are the cement boards fixed to the wall ?

If they have been fixed with say 75-90% coverage of a cement based adhesive, they will give extra support for any heavy loads fixed to the wall.

Another vid for you - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIfExk3j0kk

Ultimately, if you have any concerns/queries about the best fixings to use, have a chat with the guys over at Wienerberger.

markin

With a sink I would want it to hold a kid doing a pull up on it.

stuart45

You might find it's one of the older type of Terracotta blocks. They are quite brittle. Popular in Germany.

sho_me_da_money

stuart45 said:

You might find it's one of the older type of Terracotta blocks. They are quite brittle. Popular in Germany.

I think these could be the ones Stuart. If they are, do you have any details around them and the weight they can support?

Thanks