Re making outside chimney

[Mudfish]

I am re doing my chimney to my converted kiln. The chimney will be around 9ft high. My question is "can brickwork on a structure like this be completed in a day or does it require doing it in sections to allow for the mortar to set up?"

[Bill Kielb]

22 minutes ago, Mudfish said:

I am re doing my chimney to my converted kiln. The chimney will be around 9ft high. My question is "can brickwork on a structure like this be completed in a day or does it require doing it in sections to allow for the mortar to set up?"

In construction this is based upon the assembly compressive stress of the mortar which most often results in a ten foot high assembly of let’s say face brick (just supports itself) easily remains underneath the assembly compressive stress. So it’s not uncommon to be able to build self supporting assembly’s ten foot high in a days time and be well within the tolerance of the mortar.

Since we really don’t know your mortar spec as well as the bricks you are using and any testing why not assemble it in two days. Maybe non ladder work and ladder work.

Anyway, a super astute question in my view! Not many folks would give this a thought in advance without some prior brick experience.

[Mudfish]

Thanks again, Bill.  So I'll play it safe and make it a two day Op

[neilestrick]

If you're using soft brick, then no mortar is necessary. If you're using hard brick, a simple mortar of fireclay and coarse sand works well, and you only need a very thin coat- just enough to seal gaps, not  1/4" thick visible mortar joint like the bricks in a house. Even if you're using a high temp bonding mortar, the mortar joint should be as thin as possible. So you can do it all in one day just fine.