The Cavity Tray Cleaner could well be a brickie’s best friend. Professional Builder’s Lee Jones finds out more.
Like so many inventions that have subsequently proven to be invaluable, the Cavity Tray Cleaner is the product of lived experience. Exeter-based bricklayer, Ashley Williams, has been running Smart Brick Services for five years now – and has served 11 years behind a trowel – and it’s that insight that has produced a tailor-made solution for the trades.
“Building Inspectors want the cavity trays between the two walls to be spotless and clean,” explains the 31-year-old. “The problem is that removing the mortar is a time-consuming and awkward job. The current practice is to take out every fourth brick all the way along the run when you’re working at the cavity tray level in order to scrape out the muck from above and between the wall ties.
“You’d invariably use a piece of roofing batten or any old scrap timber for the purpose. It’s actually a job which is pretty hard on your back. Not only that, when you put the bricks you’ve removed back in they tend to stick out against the rest of the run, which is not ideal if you want to produce a high-quality finish. In addition, the trays – and even the wall ties – can be damaged by the action of scraping the muck out.”
The Cavity Tray Cleaner is, by contrast, a straightforward and time-saving solution. It can be inserted or taken out in seconds and thoroughly cleaned in minutes, with the added advantage that you only have to remove two bricks or one block.
So just how does it work?
The product itself connects in series to produce a custom length for each specific job. At the ends of the tray are male and female profiles that snap together via the help of a bump fit to provide a secure join. Integral to the design is the ‘scorpion end’ that flicks up and stops any muck tracking back into the tray. The length can be quickly inserted into the cavity and a lifting eye bolt on the end allows it to be easily pulled out. Moreover, the Cavity Tray Cleaner is made in Britain from recycled plastic and is a patented design.
In common with many budding inventors, the journey from lightbulb moment to finished product has been a long and winding road for Ashley, and he admits to being surprised at how difficult bringing a solution to market has been. It was, however, a determination that his solution would work that would spur him on. “I had the idea five years ago and it’s fair to say that I over-engineered some of the early versions because the key is simplicity, not just for the end user but also in the manufacturing. From the initial design, however, there’s only been three versions in total. The tooling required to produce the Cavity Tray Cleaner was a significant investment, and I’m very proud that it will be made in this country.”
“Every bricklayer I’ve shown it to has said straight away that they want one,” concludes Ashley. “It’s a simple answer to a job that nobody enjoys, saving time and producing a better job at the end of it.”
For further information on the Cavity Tray Cleaner visit Cavity Tray Cleaner.
