Bond strength of construction adhesives

[Sparky4598]

I am hoping to find some sort of adhesive to replace mortar in an application for a free standing decorative patio wall. I plan to do the work myself, so mixing mortar and laying blocks will be quite intensive and time consuming. I was wondering if anyone could suggest a construction adhesive that could just be applied with a caulk gun or similar with a very good or better bond strength than type S mortar.

I found RedHead T7+ but it's pretty pricey to use in place of mortar on a wall that will be about 80ft long and 4ft high. But may be worth it in labor and time savings.

How would this compare to something much cheaper like Liquid Nails Heavy Duty at almost 1/5 the cost? Or Liquid Nails Fuze-it max at almost 1/2 the price?

Any other thoughts or suggestions?

 

[ANE91]

You're describing what is generally considered to be an non-engineered landscaping wall in most jurisdictions. These are typically built with mortar. I've never heard of a mortar substitute for laying block; is that what you're asking — whether an alternative product can be used to bed the masonry units? Epoxies such as RedHead T7+ are for anchorages, like if you want to hang something off of the wall. I cannot conceive of a cheaper/more efficient material for laying blocks than mortar. Perhaps I've misunderstood your question...

 

[Sparky4598]

You're describing what is generally considered to be an non-engineered landscaping wall in most jurisdictions. These are typically built with mortar. I've never heard of a mortar substitute for laying block; is that what you're asking — whether an alternative product can be used to bed the masonry units? Epoxies such as RedHead T7+ are for anchorages, like if you want to hang something off of the wall. I cannot conceive of a cheaper/more efficient material for laying blocks than mortar. Perhaps I've misunderstood your question...

Yes, it would indeed be a non engineered landscape wall. And yes, basically a mortar substitute? Could a construction adhesive achieve the same or better bonding characteristics as mortar basically.

Indeed mortar is very cheap, but it's substantially more labor intensive and more specialized skill and thus overall more expensive than just squeezing some adhesive out of a tube that could be done by nearly anyone.

I understand typically the epoxies are intended for anchorages, but could they reasonably be used in another application.

Compressive strength isn't a concern in this case since it is such a low wall. Bonding strength is more important here I believe, no? So I thought perhaps a construction adhesive would provide better bond strength than mortar and the overall cost be comparable or cheaper due to the much less labor needed.

Not necessarily the redhead t7+ specifically for the adhesive. Even something like liquid nails would be very cheap. But I am wondering if it would have comparable or better bonding than mortar.