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

sho_me_da_money

GDB2222 said:

sho_me_da_money said:

stuart45 said:

I've only laid them, never fixed anything to them. I've heard people talk about the problems with getting a decent fix. Different ideas are chemical fix, filling the cells, or through bolts to the other side.

Thanks for this feedback Stuart. Do you know who I could call out to advise me on what I can or cannot do? Which trader should i call out specifically.

The pedestal basin or any other basin in a no-go with the Mrs. Would like a simple 450 x 250 Wall Hung Concrete Basin (15KG)

Suppose that you find an expert who says that the wall can’t reliably take a basin? As others have said it’s not just the basin, but someone leaning on it heavily. 

I guess that you can demolish the wall and start again. Or, explain to your missus that the simple look she wants is not simple. Then hand her the sledgehammer and ask her to demolish the wall, if she wants that.

When you say "expert" - who? A plumber, kitchen cabinet installer, builder - what's the title of the tradesman that can undisputedly confirm this? 

GDB2222

Chartered Surveyor?

However, the issue is if you don’t get a clear answer. Are you just going to forge ahead? I think that you are absolutely right to be cautious, as even if nobody gets hurt there’s scope for a major flood if the thing falls off the wall while you are out.

Or, what if the answer to your question involves taking at least one block out of the wall to examine and test it? 

What you are really looking for is someone who may not exist, ie someone who can just look at the wall and know what is inside. 

The other approach is maybe just to try a couple of fixings, to test how strong it is?

sho_me_da_money

GDB2222 said:

Chartered Surveyor?

However, the issue is if you don’t get a clear answer. Are you just going to forge ahead? I think that you are absolutely right to be cautious, as even if nobody gets hurt there’s scope for a major flood if the thing falls off the wall while you are out.

Or, what if the answer to your question involves taking at least one block out of the wall to examine and test it? 

What you are really looking for is someone who may not exist, ie someone who can just look at the wall and know what is inside. 

The other approach is maybe just to try a couple of fixings, to test how strong it is?

Thank you GD

I have already paid for the first fix and paid for the hardie backer board to be installed. I wish I had asked this question prior to doing that and not losing out on the money that has already been spent. However, safety and long term permanent results is always going to come first for me.  I just want to make sure that someone can help me settle the concerns I have and advise if I can proceed as planned or stop, take my losses and re-evaluate the design in such a crappy small area. The layout as I have planned makes the most sense but this wall and the lack of knowledge around it is a major pain in the bottom.

To your points.

1. Is it possible to safely remove a block to inspect without risking the overall structure?
2. You are right about testing fixings.

Which tradesman can safely do either 1 or 2 to get that final green/red light?

Thanks again!

travis-powers

I’ve fitted a kitchen on these years ago and it was a bit of a nightmare, I found using my sds on hammer caused damage however using my drill on rotary only, whilst time consuming I was able to get good fixings.
 That was before resin was widely available, depending on the fixings for your basin etc I would probably use resin, it can be picked up from screwfix etc for less than ten pounds and you can get cartridges that fit into a standard caulk gun.

sho_me_da_money

travis-powers said:

I’ve fitted a kitchen on these years ago and it was a bit of a nightmare, I found using my sds on hammer caused damage however using my drill on rotary only, whilst time consuming I was able to get good fixings.
 That was before resin was widely available, depending on the fixings for your basin etc I would probably use resin, it can be picked up from screwfix etc for less than ten pounds and you can get cartridges that fit into a standard caulk gun.

Hey Travis, do you have a link to the resin and materials I would need from ScrewFix? Thank you

GDB2222

sho_me_da_money said:

travis-powers said:

I’ve fitted a kitchen on these years ago and it was a bit of a nightmare, I found using my sds on hammer caused damage however using my drill on rotary only, whilst time consuming I was able to get good fixings.
 That was before resin was widely available, depending on the fixings for your basin etc I would probably use resin, it can be picked up from screwfix etc for less than ten pounds and you can get cartridges that fit into a standard caulk gun.

Hey Travis, do you have a link to the resin and materials I would need from ScrewFix? Thank you

He's talking about this sort of thing.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/rawlplug-r-kem11-175-kit-styrene-free-polyester-resin-175ml/4100R

You drill a hole, fill it with resin, stick the bolt in, and leave it to set. It doesn't really work if there's a cavity inside the blocks. Or, at least, it needs an awful lot of resin to fill up the cavity. 

One of the other posters suggested bolting right through the wall, with a plate to spread the load. That's about the strongest possible fixing, but you would only do it if the bolt will be hidden on the other side, maybe with a fitted wardrobe or shelf.

travis-powers

https://www.screwfix.com/c/screws-nails-fixings/resins/cat840122?cm_sp=managedredirect-_-screwsfixings-_-resin
Never read up too much on them but I’ve always used the cheapest and never had a problem normally goes off within 5-10 minutes depending on temperature.
The thinner tubes will fit in one of these
https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-sealant-gun/988hp

Which if you don’t have can be used for silicone caulk etc so handy to have.

Section62

sho_me_da_money said:

- Which trader should I call out to assess the area/clay wall to get the green light to ahead as I planned? I only have pictures of wall as it is now overlaid with Hardie Backer board. 
- Side line question - given that I now have Hardie Backer Board installed, does that improve my situation to put a fixed concrete basin (15-20KG) , wet room single panel (no idea of weight but likely to be heavy), mirrored cabinet (light in weight) and the actual tiles (again no idea of weight). Im wondering if the extra Hardie Backer layer helps provide something for the fixings to grip onto now?

I think the problem you have with getting a trader to advise is you may end up either with one who adopts a "don't worry about it" approach (i.e would be happy to fix it in a way which will last till they've gathered their tools and left site) at one extreme, and "wouldn't touch it with a bargepole" at the other.

I'd be inclined to join the latter group, as per the advice others have given - without a pedestal the whole weight of the sink and people leaning/standing on/in it has to be taken by the fixing into the wall.  I think in your position I would have fixed 2" battens to the full-height of the wall, and positioned two of them in the right place for the sink fixings.  It might sound OTT, but the weight of sink plus dynamic loading from someone using/abusing it is quite significant, and the consequences of the sink falling off the wall could be serious.

sho_me_da_money

Section62 said:

sho_me_da_money said:

- Which trader should I call out to assess the area/clay wall to get the green light to ahead as I planned? I only have pictures of wall as it is now overlaid with Hardie Backer board. 
- Side line question - given that I now have Hardie Backer Board installed, does that improve my situation to put a fixed concrete basin (15-20KG) , wet room single panel (no idea of weight but likely to be heavy), mirrored cabinet (light in weight) and the actual tiles (again no idea of weight). Im wondering if the extra Hardie Backer layer helps provide something for the fixings to grip onto now?

I think the problem you have with getting a trader to advise is you may end up either with one who adopts a "don't worry about it" approach (i.e would be happy to fix it in a way which will last till they've gathered their tools and left site) at one extreme, and "wouldn't touch it with a bargepole" at the other.

I'd be inclined to join the latter group, as per the advice others have given - without a pedestal the whole weight of the sink and people leaning/standing on/in it has to be taken by the fixing into the wall.  I think in your position I would have fixed 2" battens to the full-height of the wall, and positioned two of them in the right place for the sink fixings.  It might sound OTT, but the weight of sink plus dynamic loading from someone using/abusing it is quite significant, and the consequences of the sink falling off the wall could be serious.

Thank you GDB, Travis and Section. Some responses

GDB -  the other side of that wall is the stair case and small landing area. The bolt wont work I dont think in this regard.
GDB and TRAVIS - The resin idea is good but I also fear if the hollow parts are large enough, wouldn't the resin just fall down
SECTION - I like the battens idea - does that mean:

- hardie backer needs to be fully stripped off
- lay battens across the entire wall at full height
- hardie backer over the battens
- Tile over the hardie backer

Damn the width of the bathroom is 1.45M - it feels super cramped. Im going to assume by laying battens its going to get even more cramped.

This is what the room looked like:






All sides are now hardie backed and look like this:





I seriously think the best layout for the room (to put the shower and sink on) was the one wall that is damn problematic

FreeBear

Now that you have knocked the plaster off the eternal wall back to brick, you should be insulating it in order to comply with current building regulations... Up to you if you do or don't. Highly unlikely you'd get served with an enforcement notice... Hopefully, you'll be filling that big ugly hole where all the pipes go through the wall.

As for the sink, could you put it under the window or further along that wall ?

You'd have some nice solid brickwork to fix it to.