ADVICE + GUIDANCE
Straightforward advice and guidance to help with the ordering and installation of AG products.
Product Inspection
All bricks should be carefully inspected for defects or damage upon delivery and prior to being built. AG deem up to 5% (the industry norm) can be expected during transport and site handling – these can be used for cuts and detailing. Above 5% should be set aside for inspection by an AG representative.
Colour blending
All products are manufactured from natural materials and although we strive to provide consistency of colour, variation may occur in the manufacturing process – this applies to all concrete products within the industry.
When purchasing products AG recommend that packs are selected from the same manufacturing DOP (date of production). Products should then be mixed on site from a minimum of 3 packs, within each delivery, to help reduce the effect of banding. Example: When building a one-off unit, it is recommended that the products used solely for this unit are selected from the same DOP (or as close as possible).
NB. products which have been installed for a period of time will weather naturally, so the colour of any new products when compared will inevitably vary.
Efflorescence
The most common form of efflorescence on brick is a result of Soluble Salt, which is not present in the AG brick range, when built in accordance with the relevant British Standard and NHBC technical guidelines.
NB. As these products contain cement they may suffer from the temporary phenomenon of efflorescence. This is in no way detrimental to their performance characteristics and is common in all good quality products with a high cement content. Time should be given for all products to weather in, when they will at this stage look their best.
Installation
All products should be installed in accordance with the latest British Standard and NHBC technical guidelines.
Ordering
Minimum order quantities are required for certain colours and sizes. Before placing an order, please speak to one of our sales team members – they’ll be happy to advise on this and any other product questions you may have.
Please check measurements carefully before ordering to avoid wastage. Ensure you accurately measure the area on site, as dimensions taken from a project plan can vary significantly from the final layout.
AG operate a no returns policy. This does not affect your statutory rights.
Questions + Complaints
If you have any queries or complaints please contact our Dungannon Sales office on 0121 747 0202 in UK and on +44 (0)28 8778 8112 in Ireland.
We recommend that you contact our sales staff for further information at the design stage of your project for the most up-to-date information. AG reserves the right to discontinue products if necessary. The colours shown on this website are as accurate as your screen’s calibration will allow. Whilst every effort is made to match colours and represent textures, we recommend that colours and textures are chosen from actual samples of the products.
Manufacture
AG’s Alphacrete® architectural masonry is manufactured with naturally occurring aggregates. This can lead to subtle natural variations on visual appearance and tone, which enhance the overall appearance.
Alphacrete® is not designed to give the visual consistency of a painted wall. This effect is instead achieved by using AG’s Decoblock® paint grade masonry and applying a recommended masonry paint.
Batch Consistency and Blending
AG recommend selecting and blending products from a minimum of three bales to achieve a good blend of colour when building masonry products.
NB. Products which have been installed for a period of time will weather naturally, so the colour of any
new products when compared will inevitably vary.
Sample Panels
AG recommends that an on-site sample panel at least 1m2 in size is built with the agreed mortar and joint detail. This panel will then become the approved reference point.
In accordance with BSEN 77-3:2011 section 5.3.2.2 the appearance of masonry units will have compliance established based on comparison with the reference panel. Visual inspections shall be made from a minimum distance of three metres in normal daylight conditions to ensure approval prior to the units being used in actual construction.
No section of wall panel should be rejected due to the quality of any one block.
Joint Details
AG recommend pole-jointing as the best joint finish for internal and external architectural masonry. Where external recessed joints are specified extreme care should be taken to avoid damage to the exposed edges of the units.
AG cannot be held liable for damage caused by workmanship when a recessed joint detail is used.
Efflorescence
The most common form of efflorescence on brick is a result of soluble salt, which is not present in the AG masonry range, when built in accordance with the relevant British Standard and NHBC technical guidelines.
NB. As these products contain cement they may suffer from the temporary phenomenon of efflorescence. This is in no way detrimental to their performance characteristics and is common in all good quality products with a high cement content within the industry. Time should be given for all products to weather in, when they will at this stage look their best.
Product Inspection On-site
All blocks should be carefully inspected for defects or damage upon delivery and prior to being built. AG deem up to 5% (the industry norm) can be expected during transport and site handling – these can be used for cuts and detailing. Above 5% should be set aside for inspection by an AG representative.
Acceptable Damage (from manufacture, loading, transport and site-handling)
Any units with single face chipped edges or corners should be rotated to hide this damage. If this is not possible these units should be set aside to be used as cut units.
AG stipulate the maximum dimensions of any chip at a block corner of 6mm or less in any direction is acceptable. Similarly, arris or edge damage is considered unacceptable when there are more than two chips of 3mm in depth and 6mm in width on any one arris or edge.
AG can only be liable for products that are not fit for use. These should be set aside for viewing by an AG representative.
Ordering
Minimum order quantities are required for certain colours and sizes. Before placing an order, please speak to one of our sales team members – they’ll be happy to advise on this and any other product questions you may have.
AG recommends that the entire quantities required for the project are placed as one bulk order.
Please check measurements carefully before ordering to avoid wastage. Ensure you accurately measure the area on-site, as dimensions taken from a project plan can vary significantly from the final layout.
AG operate a no returns policy. This does not affect your statutory rights.
Questions + Complaints
If you have any queries or complaints please contact our Sales office on 0121 747 0202 in UK and on +44 (0)28 8778 8112 in Ireland.
We recommend that you contact our sales staff for further information at the design stage of your project for the most up-to-date information. AG reserves the right to discontinue products if necessary. The colours shown on this website are as accurate as your screens calibration will allow. Whilst every effort is made to match colours and represent textures, we recommend that colours and textures are chosen from actual samples of the products.
Product Inspection
All products should be carefully inspected for defects or damage upon delivery and prior to being installed. Delivery documentation is required to be signed and should include a record of such defects, which will need to be notified to an AG Sales representative within five working days of delivery.
AG are BS EN ISO 9001:2014 registered and use an integrated quality management system.
Colour Blending
All products are manufactured from natural materials. Although we strive to provide consistency of colour, slight colour variations are inevitable with all concrete product manufacturing processes.
When purchasing products, AG recommend that packs are selected from the same date of production (DOP). Products should then be mixed on site from a minimum of three packs to help reduce the effect of banding.
Products which have been installed for a period will weather naturally, so the colour of any new products, when compared, will inevitably vary.
Efflorescence
Efflorescence is a white crystalline deposit that can occur naturally on the surface of all concrete materials. AG use market leading technologies to significantly reduce the frequency and occurrence of efflorescence but these cannot totally prevent the phenomenon in all instances.
Where it does occur, efflorescence may mask the colour of the product for a period of time but this tends to gradually weather off naturally with rainfall given time. AG will not replace products affected by efflorescence.
AG recommend that customers ensure that packs of products which have had their packaging removed should be recovered to prevent secondary efflorescence.
Waste
AG recommend that customers can expect that up to 5% of delivered product may be damaged due to loading, unloading, transport and site handling. Any product damaged should be set aside and reused for cutting or detailing and AG will not be held liable for such waste.
Where the customer experiences waste of greater than 5% of the total quantity ordered, an AG Sales Representative should be informed without delay.
AG recommend that customers ensure that their contractor accurately measures the area on site before ordering products. Dimensions taken from a product plan can vary significantly from the final layout. When ordering, customers should allow for an additional 5% to cater for detailing, cutting and acceptable waste. This quantity may need to be greater in the case or curved or circular designs.
Jointing widths
Butt Jointing – AG do not recommend “Butt jointing” as this removes the ability to adjust alignment and can also cause shear failure on the edges of adjacent units.
Close Jointing – a joint width of between 2-5mm in accordance with the installation code is recommended for a flexible bedding design.
Open Jointing – a joint width of 6mm + is deemed an open joint and applies to a minimum width requirement for use with a structural joint compound within a bound bedding and jointing system.
Canterra / Granaza jointing guidance
Butt Jointing – AG do not recommend “Butt jointing” Canterra or Granaza flagstones.
Close Jointing – AG recommend close jointing. Joints of between 2mm and 5mm should be created when laying with fine, dry jointing-sand used to fill the joints.
Open Jointing – AG’s preference is that installers use open joints when laying Canterra or Granaza, whereby >5mm joints are created and filled with a solid jointing compound.
Jointing sands
AG provide two types of jointing sands for a flexible bedding and jointing design.
Standard jointing sand – suitable for all products.
Granite jointing sand – designed specifically for products containing silver and dark granite aggregates (e.g. Plaza and TerraPave). Use of this sand lessens the risk of staining the paving products when brushing in the sand.
Surface marks
Minor surface scuff and scratch marks can occur during installation when using plate vibration compaction. AG’s experience is that these marks weather off.
AG strongly recommend using a rubber vibration plate when compacting embossed or riven surfaces to further reduce the risk of scuff or scratch marks.
Installation
AG recommend that all products should be installed in accordance with the latest and relevant British or European Standard.
Ordering
Minimum order quantities are required for certain colours and sizes. Before placing an order, please speak to one of our sales team members – they will be happy to advise on this and any other product questions you may have.
AG operate a no returns policy. This does not affect your statutory rights.
Questions + Complaints
If you have any queries or complaints, please contact our Sales office on +44 (0) 121 747 0202 in UK and on +44 (0)28 8778 8112 in Ireland.
We recommend that you contact our sales staff for further information at the design stage of your project for the most up-to-date information. AG reserves the right to discontinue products if necessary. The colours shown on this website are as accurate as your screens calibration will allow. Whilst every effort is made to match colours and represent textures, we recommend that colours and textures are chosen from actual samples of the products.
Product Inspection
All products should be carefully inspected for defects or damage upon delivery and prior to being installed. Delivery documentation is required to be signed and should include a record of such defects, which will need to be notified to an AG Sales representative within five working days of delivery.
AG are BS EN ISO 9001:2014 registered and use an integrated quality management system.
Colour Blending
All products are manufactured from natural materials. Although we strive to provide consistency of colour, slight colour variations are inevitable with all concrete product manufacturing processes.
When purchasing products, AG recommend that packs are selected from the same date of production (DOP). Products should then be mixed on site from a minimum of three packs to help reduce the effect of banding.
Products which have been installed for a period will weather naturally, so the colour of any new products, when compared, will inevitably vary.
Efflorescence
Efflorescence is a white crystalline deposit that can occur naturally on the surface of all concrete materials. AG use market leading technologies to significantly reduce the frequency and occurrence of efflorescence but these cannot totally prevent the phenomenon in all instances.
Where it does occur, efflorescence may mask the colour of the product for a period of time but this tends to gradually weather off naturally with rainfall given time. AG will not replace products affected by efflorescence.
AG recommend that customers ensure that packs of products which have had their packaging removed should be recovered to prevent secondary efflorescence.
Waste
AG recommend that customers can expect that up to 5% of delivered product may be damaged due to loading, unloading, transport and site handling. Any product damaged should be set aside and reused for cutting or detailing and AG will not be held liable for such waste.
Where the customer experiences waste of greater than 5% of the total quantity ordered, an AG Sales Representative should be informed without delay.
AG recommend that customers ensure that their contractor accurately measures the area on site before ordering products. Dimensions taken from a product plan can vary significantly from the final layout. When ordering, customers should allow for an additional 5% to cater for detailing, cutting and acceptable waste.
Installation
AG recommend that all products should be installed in accordance with the latest and relevant British or European Standard.
Health + Safety
Care must be taken when handling / working with individual products to avoid risk of injury from manual handling, sharp edges, abrasive texture and dust fragments. Inhalation of any dust produced from aggregates must be avoided. Protective clothing must be worn and is activity dependent.
Further information may be obtained by contacting AG or the HSE/HSA.
Visit our website for Health + Safety information for our Anchor segmental retaining walls.
Capping Blocks
Adhesive is required for fixing caps and partial units. For advice on Capping Blocks please contact AG.
NB: The recommended adhesive for fixing caps and partial units is Montagefix, which is available from AG.
Ordering
Minimum order quantities are required for certain colours and sizes. Before placing an order, please speak to one of our sales team members – they will be happy to advise on this and any other product questions you may have.
AG operate a no returns policy.
This does not affect your statutory rights.
Questions + Complaints
If you have any queries or complaints, please contact our Sales office on +44 (0) 121 747 0202 in UK and on +44 (0)28 8778 8112 in Ireland.
We recommend that you contact our sales staff for further information at the design stage of your project for the most up-to-date information. AG reserves the right to discontinue products if necessary. The colours shown on this website are as accurate as your screens calibration will allow. Whilst every effort is made to match colours and represent textures, we recommend that colours and textures are chosen from actual samples of the products.
