New house, mis-matched mortar everywhere

[noseall]

it's not you big T.

i remember having to lay staffy blue bricks in then rain. almost impossible i know.

the job demanded that we get a base ready for two metal shipping containers. it was p1551ng it down.

the work was a mess but functional and pretty level.

we all went home fed up but paid.

the circumstances at the time meant that we had to do the job no matter what.
i cannot help but feel pity for some people that are desperate for money and are forced to do crappy jobs.

rant over!

it is crap brickwork by the way. but don't forget who is cracking the whip.

 

[Thermo]

so how do i get the mud off?

 

[clubsport911]

anyway like you said lets see the finished house!!!

Happy to post pictures, but would you like to see images of the house before, we realised they had positioned the front door incorrectly by 1m (and had to demolish and reposition) .... or after when they had rectified ?

Just to be clear on a few matters:-

1) They started building in June.
2) Completed in Mid December
3) ~10 houses on the site
4) New build and existing properties on the site

The take all the critique on the chin and have not once disagreed with the quality - hence the teams of people arriving daily to perform running fixes.

If you recall, my original question was over the colour mis-match of the mortar - and I enquired if it "settles down" with time. ?

 

[noseall]

If you recall, my original question was over the colour mis-match of the mortar - and I enquired if it "settles down" with time. ?

to some degree, weathering will help, but not enough to disguise stark differences in colour as shown in the photo.

 

[joe-90]

My father was a brickie for 45 years and i ve worked on both the tools and as a surveyour.

About a year ago you posted a picture of a retaining wall in a garden that was curved and very nicely done. Now I know why.

 

[Thermo]

not just a pretty face you know!

 

[martin47]

first 15 years ...what about the rest..... thats says it all to me...........flagging inthe rain is hardly the same...i know this started over the pics of a new build that looked rough...but i carnt stand the crappy comments from dick heads that know nothing about what there think they know .the comment just dont build in the rain..your a prick mate. last summer was the wettist for years it rained for weeks in some places. what do you want a selfemployed bricklayer to do when it rains ..go home. no bricks laid no money....it seems that there a few on here who do know what its like in the real world ( wish i had a pund for every time i have strangled a labourer for messing with the silo ) as for the guy who work for the first 15 years on site.. what could you not make it pay the only comments worth anything on here is the guys who are still doing the job.........them who think it.... but ,who car.nt do it shut up.

 

[Balenza]

martin47 wrote

what do you want a selfemployed bricklayer to do when it rains ..go home.

Yep.
And if he was working on a site of mine he would be chased home.

no bricks laid no money

Tough.

....it seems that there a few on here who do know what its like in the real world

Im beginning to get a picture of what its like in your "real world".
Stetsons and Saddles come to mind.

 

[The-brickie]

On topic, no dont think the colour will ever match, rack out (looking at it some of it wont need racking out!) and re-point.

For Martin47 I said about the first 15 years not Themo.

Still working as a bricklayer but not on large sites and doing my own work. I work, at times, for a contractor on small sites and he pays me a very fair wage (a lot more than a large site brickie) because he knows I would never produce work like that.

All I have said is in my own humble opinion and it saddens me to see brickwork like that because it tars all us 'tradesmen' who take pride in our work with the same brush.

 

[clubsport911]

Thanks for the update - it's as I thought. As of a few days ago, the standing instruction was to re-point as required to match the mortar. OK, It's only the looks, but as you can see, it does really make the work look sub-standard.

Appreciate all the feedback on this post

 

[amwc]

i'm surprised that the NHBC hasn't been more helpful. did they give you a reason for not putting it through there insurance scheme?
is the mortar bad quality i.e. full of holes or weak mix? or is it doing the job just not looking right?
theres a company in oxford called gunpoint they do a some NHBC stuff might be worth speaking to them

 

[joe-90]

theres a company in oxford called gunpoint

That sounds like a cowboy outfit.

 

[clubsport911]

i'm surprised that the NHBC hasn't been more helpful.

Hmm interesting point. I must confess that I had thought that the NHBC were less concerned with looks and more interested in function.

It could be argued that messy brickwork aside, the house will not fall down - hence not an issue for them.

In any case, I think the honourable thing to do, is to get the developer to rectify as much as they can and see where we are at then.

Is your experience different ? Thanks

 

[amwc]

no thats probably right
i know on some sites that the NHBC have paid out its because the mix was too weak 20 part sand to 1 cement on one. or not water tight.
they might not be too bothered if the mortar is doing its job but its messy.
if the mortar takes a long time to go off or has been exposed to frost this can make the colour of the surface go really light and it looks like from your photo thats what has happened.
but there should be no brick laying in temperatures below ( i think) 4 degrees.
was there a mortar specification that the builders were supposed to use?

 

[Thermo]

so youd rather lay brickwork in the wet, knowing the finish it will give, so you can earn money, not giving a toss about the customer. You do it your way, ill do it mine, thanks