ᐅ Disposable e-cigarette disposed of within the masonry

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are currently building a single-family house, which is still in the shell stage (masonry). During our last visit to the construction site, I noticed something inside one of the insulation cavities of the bricks that looked at first like a pen.

After pulling the supposed pen out of the insulation cavity of the exterior wall brick, we realized that apparently one of the masons had tried to dispose of his (most likely empty) single-use e-cigarette (vape) inside the brick.

The brick contains a fine, wool-like filling made of "pure softwood fibers." Since the construction has been ongoing for several weeks now, my wife and I are concerned that the e-cigarette we found might be just one of several.

Do these pose a fire hazard or any other risks? The scenarios we are imagining include the battery leaking or exploding after several years, which, combined with the softwood fibers, could quickly lead to a fire hazard… or accidental drilling into the vape when fixtures are installed in the masonry years later.

How should we raise this issue with the construction company? Is this just a minor issue and we are worrying unnecessarily, or is our concern justified?

Thank you very much and best regards

In the cavities, we found cucumber slices, a bakery paper bag, candy bar wrappers, and numerous cigarette butts. If I may say this officially: this behavior is antisocial!!!

If I had caught someone red-handed, I would have removed them from the construction site.

Definitely contact the contractor and ask them to stop this immediately. It unfortunately didn’t work for me, which is why I ended up doing rounds on the site every evening. The invoice, along with the corresponding photos, will be presented to him when the final payment is made.

How should this issue be addressed with the construction company? Is it just a minor matter and we are worrying unnecessarily, or is the concern justified?

I don’t understand this thread. Of course, you go to the company and tell them what happened. What are you afraid of? The best outcome is that the contractor sees you are keeping an eye on the situation.

sysrun80 schrieb:

"How should this issue be communicated to the construction company? Is it just a minor detail and we are worrying unnecessarily, or is the concern justified?"

I don’t understand this thread. Of course, you go to the company and tell them what happened. What are you afraid of? The best outcome is that the contractor sees you’re keeping an eye on things.

And the worst outcome could be that the workers get punished and then cause even more problems that no one notices right away.

That is exactly what we are worried about… hence the forum post asking whether the issue mentioned is truly something serious or just a minor matter.

Many thanks in advance for all the replies so far!

I wouldn’t mind cucumber slices or paper bags. However, when it comes to hazardous waste or liquid remains of construction chemicals, that’s where I draw the line.