Waterproof Building Blocks?

[themissingelf]

I'm blocking up the main garage door into my garage; building a fake timber door facade in Cedar on timber/ply faced timber frame.

I propose to run a single course of brickwork across the base of the door, topped with DPC, to protect the timber frame / base plate. Also to stop water flowing inside in heavy downpours (we have a drain running across the front of the garage but it does not always cope!). The external facade will run down in front of the brickwork, stopping c. 30mm from the ground.

At this stage I'm a little stuck on the best choice of blocks / bricks to stop the water? I'm not proposing to introduce a full DPC solution - simply stop the physical flow of water when there is exceptionally heavy downpours. Builders merchants seem to have many flavours of blocks - I'm bewildered and would be grateful for any suggestions.

Cheers.

PS. I had hope to go for the light weight blocks I can cut with a saw!

 

[Malc2098]

TME,

My limited experience with lightweight blocks is they act similar to a sponge because of the amount of air space they have within the structure.

Others on this forum are far more qualified to recommend a block to use.

I got one of these to cut lightweight blocks which it did very easily,

https://www.toolstation.com/shop/Hand+Tools/d10/Saws/sd70/Irwin+Concrete+Hardpoint+Saw/p43010

And they say it will cut through cellular concrete blocks.

 

[9fingers]

At least two courses of "hard as a whores heart" engineering bricks with multiple coats of bitumastic paint on before you build the timber frame infill.
With luck if you space out your bricks carefully you could get a whole number of stretchers in the gap and just one cut brick to give two headers and one less stretcher on the second course.

Or N stretchers and one header on each course. either way only need to cut one brick for the whole job.

Bob

A stretcher is the long face of a brick and header is the short face.

 

[Rod]

Engineering bricks come to mind but these might also work:

http://forterra.co.uk/thermalite-and-ag ... ete-blocks

Rod

 

[Woodster]

At least two courses of "hard as a whores heart" engineering bricks.

I don’t know much about building but I thought this was standard practice, or at least it was?
On a personal note I’ve always liked the blue engineering bricks.

 

[9fingers]

At least two courses of "hard as a whores heart" engineering bricks.

I don’t know much about building but I thought this was standard practice, or at least it was?
On a personal note I’ve always liked the blue engineering bricks.

Indeed I was trying steer the OP away from blotting paper blocks and onto standard practise.

I too like the blue ones and you used to be able to get them glazed as well but I've not gone looking for those in years. I do have a decorative garden project in the back of my mind that I could use some for but that is a round-2-it project.


Bob

 

[Rod]

Staffordshire Blues - I think I’ve still got one for oldtimes sake [emoji3]

Rod

 

[Rod]

On highways, the spec for drainage works was unperforated Engineering bricks class??
I finished up with a lot of “condemned” perforated ones which I used in a paving scheme which was a great shame as they all failed at the first frost!!

Rod