Urgent brickwork repair advice

[danlightbulb]

Hi,

I have some very deteriorated brickwork on the corner of my house at ground level, possibly below and a few courses above. Pictures below.

I think I need to get the corner rebuilt.

Ive been in touch with a local builder and sent some photos. Can anyone offer any advice please, to help me get the job done properly and safely?

 

[23vc]

Looks like about 5 mins of repointing unless my eyesight’s going

 

[Mr Chibs]

It's ropey, but suspect you just need it repointing.

Does the drain work properly, does it overflow?

 

[danlightbulb]

Its been overpointed numerous times by the looks of it, very badly. There are also lots of holes where pipes have come out of the kitchen in the past, that have been patched in with mortar. There is a bulge in the bottom of the wall at the corner, and the corner below ground level is very badly deteriorated, I can get several fingers into some of the gaps.

The whole corner has dropped compared to the surrounding brickwork, but I think that may have happened a long time ago.

The drain gulley works but the fall isn't right, it doesn't capture water from the corner area near the gate. I broke out the kerbstones that were surrounding the gulley and I think some kind of drainage needs to be installed at the base of the wall going around the corner.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Is the gullly leaking?

Andy

 

[danlightbulb]

Is the gullly leaking?

Andy

I have no way to know. No obvious signs at ground level.

 

[danlightbulb]

This slab was angled down towards the house instead of away from it. Water comes down the slope at the side of the house and pools in this area, flowing towards the house.

I have removed the slab and broken out the old gulley kerbstones today.


The old mortar in some areas is falling out like dry sand when I touch it.

 

[danlightbulb]

Hi is the consensus still that it just needs repointing please, or is anyone thinking different?

Do I need to dig out deeper around the house to check the condition of the sub-surface bricks? Do you repoint sub-surface bricks in the same way as above ground bricks?

What can I do about the drainage in that area and looking at the side gulley what do I need to do there?

 

[Deluks]

The old mortar in some areas is falling out like dry sand when I touch it.

My whole house is like that, still standing.
Nothing I your photos looks urgent, bit of pointing, maybe you could have a go?

 

[danlightbulb]

My whole house is like that, still standing.
Nothing I your photos looks urgent, bit of pointing, maybe you could have a go?

Yes and I was intended to do some repointing work myself on other areas of the house.

This seemed more urgent and far more damaged than a bit of repointing.

* Below ground level damage
* large voids in brickwork
* missing bricks (patched in with big areas of mortar)
* a visual droop in that corner of the wall
* clear issues with the drain gulley

 

[Deluks]

Any missing/damaged bricks can be chopped out and replaced, you can take a couple out at a time without any issues, but be aware that the damage you're seeing is only the surface of the brick. The other 95% of the brick is solid and doing its job.

Are your gutters ok? If they are leaking they will be contributing to the problems.

 

[danlightbulb]

Any missing/damaged bricks can be chopped out and replaced, you can take a couple out at a time without any issues, but be aware that the damage you're seeing is only the surface of the brick. The other 95% of the brick is solid and doing its job.

Are your gutters ok? If they are leaking they will be contributing to the problems.

If the mortar is literally falling out, and I can get my whole set of fingers inside the void left by the mortar, the brick is essentially just floating there.

The gutters are 'ok-ish' but do need some future attention. I had them all cleaned out of debris a few months back as some areas were overflowing.

I need a way of ensuring water doesn't pool in that corner against the house in future, but its a low point compared to surrounding ground.


Do I need to expose more sub-ground level bricks around the house please? How deep?

 

[Koolpc]

I dont see anything that some good pointing wont fix...

 

[cdbe]

I would dig it all out, check the drains (probably replace them all in plastic for peace of mind unless in perfect condition). Repoint/fill brickwork. Relay slabs/path to correct falls. The reason repointing in areas like that fails is because they don't rake out all the dust, soil etc. Give it a proper clear out - if you have a pressure washer give it a blast with that. Nothing will fall down even if a few bricks come loose. When filling large voids, do it in thin layers as large lumps of mortar will shrink and crack.

 

[danlightbulb]

Thanks. One of my main concerns is that the mortar is so fragile. I could just keep scraping and it comes out like sand.

So I could repoint like an inch all the way, but if the middle is like sand, what does this mean?

Do o just keep scraping it out and filling ever deeper voids or what?