securing anchor bolts in a block foundation

[magilla]

my builder just finished the block wall, and I noticed one of the helpers filling the cells which will hold the anchors bolts with sand to within two inches of the top. I then noticed they pushed the bolts into the sand and topped it off with 2-3 inches of mortar, not concrete. Is this proper? Should'nt the bolts be in concrete, not mortar and no sand.
Help :?:

[Rich]

I can't say that I would want it that way - or that I've ever seen someone else do it that way either.

[colonial carpentry]

I am currently laying up my own block work on my house.I was talking to a friend of mine today about the exact thing that you are asking about. He told me to place a broken piece of block down in the core then fill it up with the standard mortar.No mention of the sand that your mason is using. Personally i would think that the sand would continue to flow downward in the core until it hit something solid

[Rich]

Yep.. and it surely isn't going to provide any structural integrity to the wall. I wonder if they do it to save on labor :) or maybe the labor of mixing the mortar is offset by the cost of the sand? Who knows..

[Shanley]

We used to fill block walls with sand for sound proofing in schools (at the band and practice rooms as an example)...We also typically seal off the bottom of the knock out bond beam with the block tabs prior to grouting...of course the top course should be a bond beam with about 6 inches of grout...In this case mortar would be OK although I would prefer grout...but 2-3 inches should be considered unacceptable and you should insist that this be remediated

[mjpliv]

2-3 inches of mortar is not going to hold much of anything, vertical or horizontal loads.

[colonial carpentry]

I hope they are not using my method of placing concrete when i do a deck with 6x6 posts,I hate to mix concrete by hand so I just drop a bag of ready mix into the hole and pour a bucket of water over it.SHHHHH,dont tell anyone that i just said that.HAHA!