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Glass Bricks ?


expat paul
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Hi,

I've been offered some glass bricks by a friend in UK and MOH would like them in our soon to be constructed walk-in shower wall.
Does anyone have any first hand 'Do's and Don'ts' for building a shower wall with these ? Also I have seen them in most Bricos here in France but are they exactly the same as those in UK eg are they all the same size and are there many manufacturers, just in case I need to source some more locally.

thanks for any help

Paul
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Firstly, yes you can buy glass bricks in France, although you MAY have to order them. Try a local "Materiaux" place rather than any of the DIY sheds. The ones I got in France were identical in size to those sold in the UK. The French ones were also offered in various colours. We have a few azur blue ones mixed in with the clear ones for effect. Get any except a small amount delivered: they are HEAVY! They come in boxes of 5 or 6, can't remember.

The French catalogue also showed kits of walls of various sizes with everything you need, opening windows with glass bricks in them, framing kits, and even aluminium corners etc.

Forget B&Q, unless you like paying over the odds. Your local Wickes sells clear standard blocks, blue ones, corner ones, and all the paraphenalia you need to do the job, including spacers, expansion strips, bracing rods in stainless, and they also do an excellent free leaflet.

Here's a website with tips, ideas, etc on building with glass blocks.

http://www.shackerley.com/glassblocks/

DON'T attempt to set them in mortar without using the spacers.

Oh and DO plan it VERY carefully. You can't cut them, they don't come in half sizes etc etc.

Alcazar

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[quote user="expat paul"]

[:D] Thankyou just the info I was looking for.

Paul

ps     "The French catalogue also showed "  who's  ??

[/quote]

Dunno, sorry. It was at the Materiaux place, whoever makes 'em in France. AFAIK, there's only one manufacturer. Can't even remember the name on the boxes I have. (Our corner blocks were Wickes, and a perfect match.)

They go on holiday for most of August though, so your supplier may not be able to get any until september, unless you're quick. We were caught that way last year[:(]

Alcazar

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We installed a glass brick wall for a shower for a client last year and had to order it as a complete kit because there is quite a lot to the construction. There are many sizes,colours and we had the basic clear white which cost trade 750€ approx which isn't cheap but exceptional good quality. A good going over with special mastic also provided extra protection to the joints and seals and the client was very very pleased. Don't be tempted to skimp on cheap materials for something like this because to replace anything will cause much upheaval especially where joined to the shower tray.
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Thanks, I'm getting quite a few bricks free, so really cheap [:D], which my friend seems to remember he bought in Wicks. However, I will need to buy cement, fixings etc, I will look in UK when I visit next week and the likes of Brico Depot here, but have also found this french website, which seems good unless someones knows better.

http://www.rouviere-bat.com/

Val_2  Please could you expand on 'special mastic' is it 'kitchen and bathroom sealant' ? or ?

many thanks again

 

Paul

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When I did mine, all my stuff, apart from the ordinary and the few blue, bricks came from Wickes. I even imported sacks of the special white cement. The stuff to build with, (spacers, cement, stainless rods, etc), wasn't cheap, but did make the job a bit easier.

Alcazar

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