Hello New to the forum and looking for some advice! I've noticed that there are a few holes in the mortar between the outer bricks of my house. I've checked the mortar with a screwdriver around about 100 bricks and on a few when I've pushed with the screwdriver it has gone in quite deep and there seems to be a void behind that part. Around the holes themselves and elsewhere the mortar is rock solid. Interestingly it's only on the vertical joins, I haven't seen it on any of the horizontal joins. Seems to be quite random and there are no other problems with the house. House was built 1986, all the houses in the street seem to have the same issue, some have the gaps patched - can't see any houses that have been fully repointed. My questions are; Could this cause a structural problem or is it just cosmetic? Can I patch or would full repointing be needed? I'm a bit worried about this so would appreciate any advice from the experts! Thanks
Just looks to me as though the brickie didnt fill the perps properly when pointing (easily done) if you can knock up a mortar of a similar/same colour id just carefully clean out the offending perps without loosening any bricks and repoint them
This is quite common on site work, the horizontal bed is a full bed of mortar, but the perps tend to only have mortar on the outer edge of the bricks, this is down to brickies being on price work, so speed is of the essence, as above re repairs.
Yes patch as said the exception would be weep holes near doors windows bottom of cavity walls etc. http://www.askthevirginiabeachhomeinspector.com/a-hole-is-not-always-a-hole/
Its down to poor work practices. The bricks should be buttered fully on the ends and made like an ice cream (this is the term the tutor used). I think the term used is tip pointing.
Yes that's exactly what causing it, you'll proberly find there's only mortar on the outer edge as well.
Thanks, appreciate all the replies. So if I haven't got any issues with the horizontal bed should I be concerned about any structural problems if it's been built this way? I was looking at the bricks earlier and they are patterned so the mortar is sitting in the 'grooves', would this cause an issue with removing and repointing? Thanks
There are hundreds of thousands of house's built this way with no real problems, just mix some mortar to match the existing and re-point the damaged perps and all well be good.
I wouldnt worry about trying to remove every last bit out of the "grooves" if it doesent want to come out otherwise youll be there for ages, Just remove the main perp and then repoint with similar coloured mix (i tend to use this stuff obviously comes in different colours http://www.everbuild.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=137 )
You shouldn't have any structural issues. The loading is going onto each horizontal bed. Your issue is just a result of speedy laying.
Many thanks for the responses guys. After taking down some trees I've been taking a closer look at the brickwork and the issue does seem more widespread than I thought. The front, part of the side and part of the rear of the house have holes/gaps, or areas where the pointing looks like it has receded. I've looked at a number of houses with these type of bricks and they are all suffering the same issue (other houses in the street built the same time with different bricks look much better). It's almost like the bricks have prevented the mortar being solid, the rough edges have left small holes which have got worse. If I push on some of these areas with a screwdriver it pretty much goes straight through. Horizontal beds seem solid. Originally I was going to get the patches re-pointed, however with the quantity it may end up looking bad, also according to a local builder apparently it has a recessed profile (he mentioned a bucket handle profile is usually recommended) so what little mortar is in the vertical perps may look ok now but could be thin and would eventually fail meaning more pointing and it would end up looking like a patchwork quilt. So (unfortunately) I'm thinking about biting the bullet and getting the whole house re-pointed. Few more questions if I can..! Do these type of bricks typically have this issue and would a full repoint solve the problem long-term? Gun-Point seem to get good recommendations online, does anyone have experience of them? Will changing to a bucket handle significantly change the look of the house? Apologies for the essay but would very much appreciate any further insights anyone has. Cheers
I've laid that type of brick a few times, can't say as I had an problems, but as time goes by it might have gone the dame way and nobody said anything, I always do a full perp joint though so hopefully no problems have arose. As for your repointing as long as it's raked out deep enough any method should be fine.
Thanks, it's just weird that all the houses with this brick are suffering a similar issue while others on the street with less rough bricks seem to be ok.. has anyone had this issue before? It's almost like the roughness has caused the issue or stopped the mortar getting a good bond leaving holes which have got bigger. Of course the fact the perps are probably not full hasn't helped. I'm considering Gun Point as they seem to inject it in and do a bucket handle finish which is more flush and might help to stop it happening again. Cheers
Gun point are going to be expensive to hire to do the job. A good builder will be able to re-point the house for you. Is the house and end terrace or semi?
Hi, thanks. It's just a 2 bed semi. I got a rough quote from them of £2k+vat plus scaffolding to do the whole house. Initially that seemed about ok from what I read online. Is it considered a good system vs standard pointing? Thanks
The price doesn't seem very bad, that is working out to around £30 a square meter. With the VAT and scaffolding it could come up to about £2900-3000. As you have mentioned to problem seems to be with localised to the vertical joints. If you maybe hired someone to just repoint the vertical joints as the building isn't very old, could save more money. Its just a case of matching up the mortar to the same colour.
Thanks yes that might be an idea. The horizontal joints don't seem to have anything like the same issue, What's shocking to me is that a 30 year old house should need this at all! I guess they don't make them like they used to. It does worry me that there could be other issues if the mortar is deteriorating because it's the wrong mix etc. I hope it is just a combination of the brick design and the fact the vertical joints aren't full (plus maybe the recessed profile which does seem quite deep).
I live in a house that was built in 1893, the mortar is still good as the day it was done. Have had builders over the year to re point, but none have been able to do as a good job as the original. It can take great skill to stop mortar getting on the surface of the bricks, as this will lead to staining. Especially with the bricks you have. Because they used lime mortar then it is more flexible so cracking doesn't occur. The pointing isn't a structural issue, but the gaps will get larger over the years due to thawing. There is very likely to be a cavity inside between the outer faced and inner blockwork. It may not be filled with insulation.
I guess they don't make them like they used to! Applies to most things these days.. I was looking at Gunpoint as they seem to get good reviews and you can verify what you're getting, more difficult to select a builder to do it though I am looking around now. Good point on the staining, thanks. I'll make sure I see an example of previous work and talk that through with whoever I get out to do it. I'll ask them to do a small section on my house to see what it looks like before going ahead. Yes it has a cavity, it's not got the insulation though.
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