Exterior wall maintenance/advice

Soldato
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Hereford
Hi all

I have a 1970's build where the outside walls are looking a bit 'tired'. They're half redbrick (ok) but the lower white half are 'builders bricks' (was told due to brick shortages in the 70's they built lots of places half&half?). Any work on them gives off a horrible black dust (all interior walls seem to be the same - horrible!). People we bought the place from 5 years ago were here for 10 years and painted pretty much everything (and not to a great standard) rather than any real repairs. Prior to them the previous owners we think had it from new. They where competent and anything from their era seems quality. So my maintenance is really deterioration I would figure is from the last 10-15 years. This exterior is damp on walls painted possibly with cheap/non-exterior wall paint?! :eek:

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The flat roof on the garage is not great, will get something done with that soon - in the next couple of years. It doesn't leak but water is starting to stand on it (moss growing). Ideally will put a slope on it, but also want to put panels on the main roof as the rear faces directly south and our rear garden is a 'sun trap', so was thinking to do something on the garage roof too - maximise panel space. The flat roof wraps around the front - a 4-5 foot overhang infront of the left front window and across the front to the middle where the door is, so that would be part of it. All of that wrap around has peeling exterior white paint, so will be stripping that off - on top of plastic/wood/board to repaint it.

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As for the water/moisture, the garage rear wall (faces South & East) is probably the worst and the mortar there is starting to come away between the bricks. So I don't want to just paint over this, how much of a job is to repair this myself (is it called 're-pointing'?) and what sort of tools would you recommend? I want to strip much of this white exterior paint off, so I can repaint it all with the same product all around the property (so I know it's all done well & at the same time & same colour). So what tools to strip this paint, or at least knock the loose off and 'key' the surface so I get good coverage afterwards. I was thinking a large wire brush on something like a hand 'grinder', but I bet there are better ways/tools of doing it. Think you can 'sandblast' but no idea how, or cost of equipment if doing this yourself. Obviously as it's white paint however it comes off is going to be messy. So I'll be wanting to hoover/sweep it up as I go - while not doing it in the windy weather!

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Also around the base of the garage is a 'lip' around the bottom (it is not around the house). This is coming away on the corner, looks to be broken (I bodged it with a couple of screws when it first moved thinking I'd knocked it, but it's continued to come away both sides). This obviously needs to come off - but do I 'stick' it back on? Replace with new? Can it just be mortared back on with what I'm repointing with?
 
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Soldato
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Okay there's a few issues there, I think how I would tackle it is as follows.

1. Strip the paint, I would be looking to try a paint stripper, maybe something like Peelaway? You could be working with lead paint but as you're outside the risk is much lower.
2. Repointing, I would recommend a mortar gun for this and a shaping tool - forget their name.
 
Soldato
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I'd work top down tbh. The roof is knackered, anything beneath it has no chance. You can pay for brick polishing to take off the white paint; is the damp course still correct?

Edit: looks like they've put a drip tray instead of proper DPC? Is there guttering?
 
Soldato
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I agree with the above, start at the top and work down.

You should also consider that it could be the paving that is causing the damp and water ingress issues.

You can get issues because paving is either too high or because there is no gap between the house and the paving next to it.

Rain water can hit the paving and bounce up onto the wall above the DPC.
 
Soldato
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Hereford
Thanks for the input everyone!

Okay there's a few issues there, I think how I would tackle it is as follows.

1. Strip the paint, I would be looking to try a paint stripper, maybe something like Peelaway? You could be working with lead paint but as you're outside the risk is much lower.
2. Repointing, I would recommend a mortar gun for this and a shaping tool - forget their name.
For some reason I hadn't really considered paint stripper, not something I've dabbled in before DIY'ing. Would I have to know the type of paint (lead/not) I'm stripping to know which stripper to use? Anything I would need to watch for with the brickwork below so not be damaged by it (or is that a non issue for stuff like this?)

The repointing I'm really quite interested about and want to learn the skill/technique of doing it myself. Have heard it's very labour intensive - so is expensive to get done professionally mostly for the time involved more than anything else. For someone with zero 'building' type experience is that reasonable?

I'd work top down tbh. The roof is knackered, anything beneath it has no chance. You can pay for brick polishing to take off the white paint; is the damp course still correct?

Edit: looks like they've put a drip tray instead of proper DPC? Is there guttering?
Damp course is all ok, we had an internal insulation layer put into the living areas downstairs, so had an inspection of all the exterior walls (including the garage/this section) and they determined it was intact. They had talked about possibly injecting something into the brickwork at the corners to strengthen the anti damp layer, but determined it wasn't required for the living space we had insulated (we'd seen damp in some corners, but it was determined due to lack of insulation - walls where not cavity).

The roof is pretty poor, but isn't leaking anywhere I can see. There's guttering down one side of it - the longest side on left most of the picture, but not across the front. The garage below it is open rooved & not insulated, there's even an internal downpipe which drains inside the garage from the flat roof (I've cleared it of debris & moss a couple of times to keep the roof clearing, but water does sit on it in some places). The garage must have been an addition at some point - with the part across the front.

The roof we know is going to be a professional job and something which is going to cost to get right - possibly even getting planning for it (raising it up from flat & adding panels?). That will have to come at a future point when we have the money for it - We've been looking towards the end of our fixed term and will hopefully have the mortgage paid off in 6-8 years. So after then!

I agree with the above, start at the top and work down.

You should also consider that it could be the paving that is causing the damp and water ingress issues.

You can get issues because paving is either too high or because there is no gap between the house and the paving next to it.

Rain water can hit the paving and bounce up onto the wall above the DPC.

See above - me sorting the walls & masonry is something I would like to tackle myself and imminently. The roof will have to come in future.

Good point with the paving, it will be splashing up from the patio slabs around it. What can I realistically do about that, except repair what I have? Any other options?

Getting a decent layer of paint on that brickwork, with the right paint, will give it more protection than it seems to have at the moment. I think that's my primary aim right now, before winter/autumn comes around again.
 
Soldato
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The paint should only be cosmetic, just make sure what ever you use allows the walls to breathe. If the walls can’t breathe it will cause problems.

To be honest, unless your going to lift the paving and create a channel and relay, then not a lot. If there are no damp/ingress issues on the inside then it’s probably not a problem.

Exterior paint isn’t infallible and it is something you have to periodically refresh. The pealing could be water, it could be that it didn’t have a good bond to the brick or it could be the wrong kind of paint.

Considering the state of the door frame at the edge of the image, it may not have been pained for a long time.
 
Associate
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Repointing wouldn’t be difficult. The hardest part will be colour matching the existing.
The easiest way to remove it would be with an angle grinder to about half the depth of the brick, very dusty work though, or, Arbortech do a specialist tool for doing it:
Or you could use a hammer and plugging chisel. That would take longer but would [largely] mitigate damaging the bricks.
Painting wise, personally I would use a mineral paint. They are as breathable as limewashes and come in lots of different colours - KEIM are up there. Go here for their external range:
As others have pointed out, painting won’t solve the problem, ensuring correct ground levels and drainage are more important.
 
Soldato
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Jumping on this thread as need to do some repointing on my house.

Any special requirements for the mortar mix for compatibility with the existing brick and mortar? Not fussed on how it looks as it's the side that nobody sees.
 
Associate
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Jumping on this thread as need to do some repointing on my house.

Any special requirements for the mortar mix for compatibility with the existing brick and mortar? Not fussed on how it looks as it's the side that nobody sees.
Depends on the house. Some older ones need a lime mortar mix. Using the wrong mix will damage the bricks.


That's a property in Sunderland using concrete mortar when it should have been lime...
 
Soldato
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Make sure you use breathable exterior paint, the wrong type of paint previously could be one of the causes of your damp issues.
Ok thanks, have not decided on an exterior yet - have not even looked! Any recommendations? I think I'm after something I'll do 1 coat of but happy to apply manually by brush. Probably something capable of covering this masonry/brick and the external wooden below the flat roof wraparound so it all looks the same.

Exterior paint isn’t infallible and it is something you have to periodically refresh. The pealing could be water, it could be that it didn’t have a good bond to the brick or it could be the wrong kind of paint.

Considering the state of the door frame at the edge of the image, it may not have been pained for a long time.
Probably all of the above. Property was built in the '70's and I can see evidence of at least 2 coats of this white paint on there, possibly more. Peelaway looks good for that.

Repointing wouldn’t be difficult. The hardest part will be colour matching the existing.
The easiest way to remove it would be with an angle grinder to about half the depth of the brick, very dusty work though, or, Arbortech do a specialist tool for doing it:
Or you could use a hammer and plugging chisel. That would take longer but would [largely] mitigate damaging the bricks.
Painting wise, personally I would use a mineral paint. They are as breathable as limewashes and come in lots of different colours - KEIM are up there. Go here for their external range:
As others have pointed out, painting won’t solve the problem, ensuring correct ground levels and drainage are more important.
As I'm only looking to repoint the sections where the surface looks to have peeled where the moisture has lifted it and the paint above (pics - really just the corner sections of the garage, maybe lower 5-6 levels of brick), not too concerned about colour matching... As I'll be painting back over the top after!

That Arbortech looks good, but complete overkill for me (& price) but could maybe hire one?!

But if getting a good angle grinder and a 'rake' is enough that's what I would start with. Or better to use a 'cutting' blade on an angle grinder? The blade is probably quicker, but makes more mess and can damage the brickwork? As I'm likely only going to do the corners of this garage (in pictures) where the moisture is worse and has lifted the top layer of mortar and doing it myself is the speed (+damage) of a blade really much of an issue so better to use a rake type thing?

Don't have a grinder but is something I've meant to get, probably a battery based one so more useful for other jobs. Any recommendations? Something quite 'basic' but for various jobs, including this type of job.

Any special requirements for the mortar mix for compatibility with the existing brick and mortar? Not fussed on how it looks as it's the side that nobody sees.
I'd read that you can't mix & match old and new mortar. You have to wet bricks and existing mortar, else they'll draw all the moisture from the new mortar too quickly and it won't set. So you can't 'patch' new mortar into gaps in old, have to rip it out and replace it in sections - which I think in essence is what 'pointing' is. It's not quite a 'patch up' kind of job, more a strip back to a certain point/depth (half a brick?) and then replace it.
 
Soldato
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Well started this in earnest weekend just gone... Have taken it upon myself learning how to re-point brickwork. I went the plugging chisel route - more control for me and less chance of damaging bricks. It has been backbreaking working on what has been a very hot weekend - but also good to make a start and actually feel like I'm doing something constructive rather than just reading about it... :D

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Which has lead to discovering I need to repair some damp proofing below the plinth thing as I've ripped it off. There's other damage to this layer all around the house - cracked render/brickwork. So think this will be my primary target for now. I've plugged 4-5 courses of this rear wall, probably more than I needed to, but won't need to do that elsewhere. Plan tonight is to mix some mortar and actually repoint it.

See how tidy I can get that done, then consider if I'm going to knock out that spalled brick (term where the water has compromised the front of the brick and it blows off) and replace it. It sounds simple enough to do...!

I've put a new thread up which will evolve with how the re-pointing leaning goes. ;)

 
Associate
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The repointing I'm really quite interested about and want to learn the skill/technique of doing it myself. Have heard it's very labour intensive - so is expensive to get done professionally mostly for the time involved more than anything else. For someone with zero 'building' type experience is that reasonable?
I had some repointing work done recently front, side and back on a day rate. Cost £270. think it was three runs down the side, probably a similar smattering on the back and a few bits on the front.
There are some good tutorials on youtube for doing it yourself, I didn't as I wanted someone with a bit of practice handling matching the mortar colour-wise somewhat to what I already have. Chap worked hard and I kept him going on strong, sugary teas.
Your chiselling looks good, good luck with the rest. On the plus side, I think you'll probably end up not settling until you have a really good looking finish.
 
Associate
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When I had a part of the house repointed the guy used an angle grinder to remove the mortar. It looks like you can buy purpose made 'mortar raking' discs. It maybe quicker with less effort required than a hammer and chisel!
 
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