This is just speculative, i won't be getting anything done about it until summer comes. I am just planning what order to do some of the bigger jobs and ear marking where money will be going.
Basically the rear of my house is dashed, over paint. It is a mess, cracks and bits falling off.
The lower section, from the top of the door down has horizontal cracks along the full width and a minor bulge in a pillar (between a window and the door). The [cast iron] cavity ties have visibly failed in the lower part.
The upper section has some horizontal cracking although not major. The dash is falling off all the same though [probably because of the paint underneath].
The ties in the upper part, from what i could see when i had a window out, are, for the most part in one piece. Although obviously i could't check if they are all solid (the ones around the window is are solid). The mortar was a bit dusty but probably just about ok.
I think the lower ones had failed from all the cr*p in the cavity, i just dredged out a massive amount of dirt over the past couple of days. The lime mortar in the outer leaf looked very dusty/damp.
I was thinking of approaching it in one of two ways:
1) Get a new outer leaf of face brick laid by someone, at the same time somehow get something done to stop the cr*p from the neighbours cavities from filling mine back up (not sure what though, perhaps brick the cavity up at each end [leaving a small gap at the end of the brick to avoid wicking moisture inside] and vent my own cavity well).
2) Rebuild the pillar myself, tie the outer leaf back into the inner leaf (seen some 'bolts' designed for this). Make good any loose bricks and give it a good scratch coat. I will get someone in to wet dash it though, that is beyond my current ability i'll make a mess if i try it. Obviously there will be a lot of scraping of paint in this too so that it sticks properly this time.
Option 2 is probably cheaper, but i am suspect if i would really be saving in the long run. I have not had quotes, perhaps a bit early until i know more specifically what i want but i suspect they are probably going to be comparable prices.
It is difficult for me to assess just what the cause of the cracking on the upper section is, probably the paint underneath but it could well be the wall ties being in loose mortar. It is an old house, 110 year old terrace.
I am leaning toward a new outer leaf, but would like some opinions on what might be a good alternative for both cost and function. It would also be good to hear whether re tying the wall and dashing is practical for cost and function or a waste of effort. I suspect that re tying the wall might be a feeble effort and that knocking the current render off could further weaken the existing outer leaf. Perhaps the new render would give it strength, i am told it would but am sceptical.
Cheers
Basically the rear of my house is dashed, over paint. It is a mess, cracks and bits falling off.
The lower section, from the top of the door down has horizontal cracks along the full width and a minor bulge in a pillar (between a window and the door). The [cast iron] cavity ties have visibly failed in the lower part.
The upper section has some horizontal cracking although not major. The dash is falling off all the same though [probably because of the paint underneath].
The ties in the upper part, from what i could see when i had a window out, are, for the most part in one piece. Although obviously i could't check if they are all solid (the ones around the window is are solid). The mortar was a bit dusty but probably just about ok.
I think the lower ones had failed from all the cr*p in the cavity, i just dredged out a massive amount of dirt over the past couple of days. The lime mortar in the outer leaf looked very dusty/damp.
I was thinking of approaching it in one of two ways:
1) Get a new outer leaf of face brick laid by someone, at the same time somehow get something done to stop the cr*p from the neighbours cavities from filling mine back up (not sure what though, perhaps brick the cavity up at each end [leaving a small gap at the end of the brick to avoid wicking moisture inside] and vent my own cavity well).
2) Rebuild the pillar myself, tie the outer leaf back into the inner leaf (seen some 'bolts' designed for this). Make good any loose bricks and give it a good scratch coat. I will get someone in to wet dash it though, that is beyond my current ability i'll make a mess if i try it. Obviously there will be a lot of scraping of paint in this too so that it sticks properly this time.
Option 2 is probably cheaper, but i am suspect if i would really be saving in the long run. I have not had quotes, perhaps a bit early until i know more specifically what i want but i suspect they are probably going to be comparable prices.
It is difficult for me to assess just what the cause of the cracking on the upper section is, probably the paint underneath but it could well be the wall ties being in loose mortar. It is an old house, 110 year old terrace.
I am leaning toward a new outer leaf, but would like some opinions on what might be a good alternative for both cost and function. It would also be good to hear whether re tying the wall and dashing is practical for cost and function or a waste of effort. I suspect that re tying the wall might be a feeble effort and that knocking the current render off could further weaken the existing outer leaf. Perhaps the new render would give it strength, i am told it would but am sceptical.
Cheers
