Presenting

How to Do AAC Blockwork

 Safety and Protection

Blocks shall be stacked properly near the place of work (Do not stack too
large quantity near the work area thereby causing safety hazard).

Height of the stack should not be more than one and half meter.

Scaffolding to be braced adequately.

Working space to be clear of rubbish waste mortar etc so that easy access
is ensured

Scaffolding to be checked for the load carrying capacity and ensure no

overloading.

Lifting, manual transporting of blocks etc have to be carried out by

workers who are properly trained. Otherwise this may cause serious
injuries to workers.
 Safety and Protection

Chasing in the block work has to be carried using appropriate

cutting tools only. While chasing the worker must wear proper safety
appliances like shoes, goggles, helmets etc.

Throwing of debris from height strictly prohibited.

Before commencement of block work in front of lift shaft safety

permit should be taken.

CT props to be fixed in front of lift shaft to tie the safety belt.

Hard barricading to be cut only by gas cutting (If any anchored in

concrete along the openings and edges of the building).

PPE’s should be used properly.

AAC Blockwork Stages

Pre Construction

During Construction

Post Construction
 Material Selection

Shop Drawings

Pre Construction Material Management

Workmen Training

Preparation
 Material Selection

 Cement

 Crush Sand

 Water

 AAC Blocks

 Block Adhesive
 CEMENT

No Presence of Lumps

When touched & rubbed

FIELD TESTS should be felt silky

When handful of cement

dropped in water, should
float for a while
and then sink
 CEMENT

Grade 43 / 43-S

IS 4031:1988
Part 4
LABORATORY TESTS Consistency 29 – 30%

Initial Setting Time IS 8112:2013

Not less than 30 Min & Clause 6 Table 3
60 Min for 43-S

Final Setting Time

Not more than 600 Min
 Material Selection – Crush Sand

Silt Content should be less than 5% by mass.

Grading of sand should fall within the below limits.

Sieve Size % Passing by mass

4.75 mm 100
2.36 mm 90 to 100
1.18 mm 70 to 100
600 micron 40 to 100
300 micron 5 to 70
150 micron 0 to 15

Relevant IS code 2116 : 1980

Material Selection – Water

Potable water to be used

Lab tests should reveal

•pH Value - not less than 6

•Chlorides - 2000mg/l (Max)

•Sulphates - 400mg/l (Max)

Relevant IS code 456 : 2000 Clause 5.4 Table 1

 FIELD TESTS FOR AAC BLOCKS

No Cracks and
Size Of the damages
Blocks

Dimensional Tolerance
For Length Max +/- 5mm
For Width & Height +/- 3mm

Relevant IS code 2185 Part 3 : 1984 Clause 3

LABORATORY TESTS FOR LIGHT WEIGHT BLOCKS

Compressive Strength for Grade 2 block

Ovendry Density Kg/m3 Not less than
551 to 650 3 n/mm2
651 to 750 4 n/mm2

Relevant IS code 2185 Part 3 : 1984 Clause 4 Table 1

 Material Selection – Block Adhesive

Benefits Of Using Block Adhesive –

 Ready to use.

 High bond strength.

 Self cured.

 Less wastage.

 Good pot life up to 1.5 hours.

 Increase the speed of construction.

 Material Selection

Shop Drawings

Pre Construction Material Management

Workmen Training

Preparation
 Shop Drawings

A : Architectural floor plans

A B : Doors & Windows Schedule

C : MEP Coordinated Services

D X B D : Specific Details

C
X - SHOP DRAWING AAC BLOCKWORK

APPROVED & STAMPED

 Material Selection

Shop Drawings

Pre Construction Material Management

Workmen Training

Preparation
 Material Management

 Quantity Estimation
 Shifting Arrangements
 Mortar Mixing Equipment's
 Scaffolding Arrangements
 Accessories, Tools & Tackles
 Estimate quantity required floor wise, flat wise
 Consider wastage factor for
• Material handling
• Cutting wastages
 Shifting Arrangements

Horizontal Shifting

Vertical Shifting
BOBCAT
WHEEL BARROW
MATERIAL LIFT
MATERIAL HOIST
 MORTAR Mixing Equipment's

Mixing to be done at Work place in clean tray Volume Batching By Farma

Mix Proportion 1:6

Scaffolding
 Scaffolding
Do not allow contractor to use blocks for scaffold, ensure contractor brings the scaffold
material before starting the activity.
 ACCESSORIES, TOOLS & TAKLES

Guiding Tools Usage Tools

 Plumb Bob  Mason Trowel & Adhesive Trowel

 Spirit Level  12mm thick Ply piece

 Straight Edge  Block Cutting Machine

 Measuring Tape  Wooden Float

 Tube Level  Hammer & Chisel

 Try Square  Spade / Shovel

 Wire Brush

 Ghamela / Tray
 Material Selection

Shop Drawings

Pre Construction Material Management

Workmen Training

Preparation
 WORKMEN TRAINING
Conduct training session for workmen, to prevent the bad quality works.
 WORKMEN TRAINING
Conduct training session for workmen, to prevent the bad quality works.
 Material Selection

Shop Drawings

Pre Construction Material Management

Workmen Training

Preparation
 PREPARATION
Clean the floor where blockwork to be done
RCC surface hacked
All binding wires, nails, masking tapes and stuck shuttering material is removed.
Patching of honeycomb if any completed and curing of it monitored
All binding wires, nails, masking tapes and stuck shuttering material is removed.
Patching of honeycomb if any completed and curing of it monitored
Mark the wall lines on floor to get proper layout of blockwork, check the clear height
between the floor top and the beam bottom / slab bottom.

h
y

D
Measurement of Height
Marking on Floor
Check all Embedded MEP cutouts are correct, if not then correct it before blockwork
Decide on the thickness of leveling course mortar to avoid wastage / cutting of blocks
at top course and to maintain the gap of 10 to 15mm at top of block work. The
thickness of leveling course mortar should not be more than 25mm.
Blocks should be cut only with cutting machine by trained mason.
 Light Weight Block
Masonry Stages

Pre Construction

During Construction

Post Construction
 Base Course
Mix quantity of mortar, which will be consumed in next 1 hour only. Mixing shall be done with
proper measurements of ingredients in proportion of 1:6 with pharma.

Add water to the dry mix of cement crush sand in required quantity.
Fix one block at the ends of walls in level as per layout.

Blocks should be wet before placing to avoid absorption of water from mortar.

Carry out leveling course of Blockwork with ‘‘dry bond’’ (i.e. without mortar in the vertical joints,
lay the blocks in position) by fixing line thread on end blocks. Use piece of plywood to have
uniform vertical joints.
Lay mortar for full bed width and for a length of 3 blocks at a time.

Lay one block at a time & gently pressing it in the mortar bed. Use 12mm thick plywood piece to
ensure uniform vertical joints.

Excess mortar coming out on the edge (while pressing block in position in bed mortar) to be
taken by trowel and reused.

Use straight edge / sprit levels on top of the blocks laid & check the top level. Make sure that the
spirit level is in working condition & read the bubble carefully.

Lay the last closure block in the course, to close the bond and locate it to be near the center of
the wall normally.

Floor
Check the layout of leveling course Blockwork and then fill all vertical joints of blocks with cement mortar.

As soon as mortars in the joints have initially set, use a proper tool and strike the vertical joints to the
depth of 12mm.
Curing to the base course should be done for next 7days.

Floor
 Curing
In hot & dry weather the mortar is likely to dry up before it has attained its final set in the block
work. This leads to crumbling of mortar and resulting in weak block masonry. This shall be
prevented, by keeping the base Blockwork layer constantly wet, for at least seven days.
Blockwork done with adhesive doesn’t required curing.
 Blockwork with Adhesive
After completion of the base course Blockwork should be done with approved block adhesive.

Block adhesive should be mixed thoroughly with water in proportion as specified by

manufacturer (For Weber Blockset proportion is 2.5:1. Where 2.5 parts is adhesive and 1 part is
water by volume).

Block adhesive should be applied with adhesive application trowel only to ensure the uniform
application.
Before starting the block fixing work above base course, the positions of full and cut (required size) blocks
should be finalized to ensure the staggered vertical joints at least by 6” and to minimize the wastage of
blocks. This can be done by making elevation sketch/drawing for walls and pass on the same to Workers for
execution.
Adhesive should be applied on both faces where block to RCC joint comes and on one face where block to
block joints come.
Clean the surface of block and apply adhesive on it from end of the wall. Fix the block on
adhesive by pressing it within 3 minutes.

For fixing next block apply the adhesive on two sides (i.e.- face of the block fixed earlier and at
the top of below block) and fix the block in position with the help of wooden mallet.
Each fixed block should be checked for its line, level and plumb by mason.
The thickness of adhesive is 3 to 4mm if not checked at the time of fixing will result in unleveled
blockwork with the cavities in joints.
While fixing the block between two laid blocks, adhesive should be applied on all three sides of blocks.

Floor Beam

Adhesive to be applied on
all three sides of block
Column

Floor
Repeat the above points for building more courses.

All joints should be sealed from all sides while fixing blocks.

Floor Beam

Fill the top

gap as per
specifications
Repeat the process
Apply Adhesive on
Column

to build more
all of
Check line and level three faces of
courses.
installed block
each block immediately
Apply Adhesive
after on
installation
RCC + Apply
block Adhesive
face and on two
on below
facesblock top block
of installed
face

Floor
Clear gap of minimum 10mm should be left between top most layer and RCC bottom.

This gap should be filled with very lean mortar and 10mm aggregates should fixed on the surface.
This is to prevent the cracks afterwards in the wall plastering (due to presence of different
materials like block and RCC).

If the gap is bigger than 20mm the mortar with aggregate should be made to fill it.
In walls where, the gap between Blockwork and RCC bottom is 100 to 150 mm flyash
bricks should be fixed at the top instead of cutting blocks.
In double wall area, opening for water drainage and circulation of air should be made in chajja.
After doing three layers of blockwork, ghotai to the chajja should be done with slope towards
opening. Ghotai should be done on all sides of box up to 300mm height.
 Light Weight Block
Masonry Stages

Pre Construction

During Construction

Post Construction
 Post Construction

Perform Checks for

1. Horizontal Level

2. Verticality

3. Line

4. Right Angle

5. Hollow Joints

6. Opening Dimensions
Check For Horizontal Level
Check For Verticality
Check For Line
Check for Right Angle
Check For Hollow Joints
Check For Opening Sizes
 Post Construction
Completed work should be duly certified and recorded.

Record Checklist
Sample Checklist Format
 Do’s & Don’t

Do stack the blocks on a proper platform & clean surface in direction it is going to fit in wall.

Do stack blocks at just convenient location for immediate use.

Do not over rule safety aspects to achieve timely completion.

Do not raise any part of wall during construction by more than one and a half meter above the
general construction level.
 Do’s & Don’t

Do not use blocks as a platform, it’s a costly material.

 Do’s & Don’t

Do not throw cut blocks in debris, stack them properly.

Common Mistakes
Base Course not done in level
Base course level of all walls which are interconnected should be same.
Whenever a wall is left incomplete, for whatever reason then the procedure is
Material left unused during lunch break.
Forgot to put lintel
Blocks used by someone, who is not suppose to
Bad Housekeeping
Quality is nothing but the shift in perception.
Just don’t see the activities, Observe it.
- Deshmukh D S