Apparatus for use in building

A device for applying mortar to the tops of the walls and webs of a hollow brick comprising an elongated plate having a back wall and handles whereby it may be manipulated. Mortar is carried on the plate and the amount so carried is determined by the height of the back wall.

This invention relates to methods of and apparatus for use in building. 
The invention is particularly concerned with such apparatus and methods 
when using hollow bricks (also known as breeze blocks) in the building 
operation. 
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION 
In known methods of building using hollow bricks, it is conventional to use 
a trowel to place the mortar on to the bricks. The trowel used is that 
which normally is used for placing mortar on to solid bricks. Unless the 
trowel is used with considerable skill, a substantial amount of the mortar 
will fall between the walls of the hollow brick. Additionally, to place 
the correct amount of mortar onto the walls of the brick is a task of some 
difficulty which is inordinately time consuming. 
PROVISIONS OF THE INVENTION 
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a 
method of building using hollow bricks comprising using an elongated 
narrow device to lift and to transport mortar to the bricks and by tipping 
the device to place an elongated mound of mortar onto the brick walls. 
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a device 
for use in building using hollow bricks, the device comprising an 
elongated plate, handle means for manipulating the plate and stop means 
for controlling the amount of mortar that can be placed on the plate. The 
stop means is conveniently a wall located at one of the longer edges of 
the plate and preferably running the entire length of this edge. The plate 
and wall are preferably integral and may be made from a length of angled 
metal, preferably steel. 
The handle means may comprise a single bar upstanding from the wall, a pair 
of spaced bars or a continuous bar. Alternatively, the plate and wall may 
be formed from sheet material and an aperture may be cut in the wall to 
form a grip whereby the device may be handled by a workman.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a hollow brick 20 having two side 
walls 22 and three transverse webs thereof the outer webs 24 form end 
walls for the brick and the other web 26 forms a central stiffener for the 
brick. For building purposes, mortar is placed in an elongated mound 28 on 
the upper edges of the walls and webs as shown. 
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF INVENTION (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4) 
The device 30 of the invention for applying the mortar comprises an 
extruded or rolled steel angle member which is of the same length as the 
brick 20. The member comprises two elongated narrow webs 34 and 36 both of 
which are rectangular in shape and are located at approximately right 
angles to each other. Two handles 32 are welded to one of the webs 34 of 
the angle member close to its ends and being inwardly sloping to 
facilitate handling of the device 30. 
In use, the workman holds the handles 32 with the lower web 36 extending 
towards him and draws the device into a mass of mortar. Mortar will now be 
picked up on the lower web 36 which forms a carrier plate. The amount of 
mortar thus picked up will be controlled by the upright web 34 which forms 
a back wall and stop means for the device. The workman brings the device 
to the brick 20 so that the edge 38 of the plate 36 butts against an edge 
of a side wall 22. The device 30 is then tipped about edge 38 and the 
mortar 28 is thus placed on to the upper surface of this side wall 22. The 
process is repeated for the other side wall and building can continue in 
the conventional manner. 
The angle member may be of any convenient dimensions. Typically, however, 
the angle member is a 38 mm .times. 38 mm .times. 3 mm member which is 
about 470 mm long. It will be noted that the ratio of length to width of 
the lower web 36 is about 12 to 1. The ratio of length to height of the 
wall 34 is also about 12 to 1. The handles 32 are conveniently about 50 mm 
from the ends of the member and about 95 mm of the handles extend above 
the upper edge of the web or wall 34. The inclination of the handles is 
conveniently 70.degree.. 
FURTHER EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
The device 40 shown in FIG. 5 is generally similar to the device 30 save 
that a single centrally located vertical handle 42 is provided on the 
upright rear web instead of the pair of handles 32. 
The device 44 of FIG. 6 comprises an angle member 46 which is identical to 
that of the member 30. However, the handle 48 is here formed from a 
continuous length of bar or tube which is arranged parallel to the plate 
50 and which has its ends 52 bent down and welded to the ends of the back 
wall 54. 
The device 56 of FIG. 7 is generally similar to the device 44 having a 
continuous bar or rod handle 58. However, the ends 60 of the handle 58 are 
bent down and welded to the upright edge about a third of the way from the 
nearer edges respectively. Also the length of the device 54 is 
considerably smaller than that of the device 44 so that the device 54 can 
be used for applying mortar to the upper faces of the brick webs 24 and 26 
where this is required to comply with specification or architects 
requirements. 
In FIG. 8 there is shown a device 62 which is formed from sheet steel. The 
device has its lower portion 64 bent at right angles to the remainder of 
the body to form a carrier plate. An aperture 66 is cut into the body of 
the device 62. This aperture 66 is of such dimensions and shape that the 
device 62 can be easily grasped by a workman for carrying out the 
operation described above. 
GENERAL 
It will be understood that a fairly firm mixture of mortar must be used 
when carrying out the above operations. 
I have found that the operations above described can be carried out much 
more quickly and accurately than can the application of mortar to hollow 
bricks using conventional methods and a conventional trowel. Further, I 
have found that the amount of mortar spilling over the sides of the walls 
(and webs) of the hollow brick can be held to a minimum so that there can 
be a large saving in material when building by the method of the 
invention. 
The invention is not limited to the precise constructional details 
hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the 
angle member may be of different material, and the handle means may be of 
different shape. The handle means may be secured to the device in any 
desired manner, e.g. by rivets or bolts. A wooden, plastics or other grip 
device may be mounted on the handles to facilitate manipulation thereof.