repair wall under steel

[shardy]

Hi all,
we have had a chimney breast removed in an upstairs bedroom. The remaining chimney in the loft above is supported by a steel beam at loft floor level. This chimney steel is connected to the 2 main floor steels that run across the width of the house, in the new loft conversion.

I'm wondering about the condition of the wall where the chimney breast has been removed.
There are 2 good rows of bricks immediately below the bearing plate of one of the main floor steels. Then the rest of it directly below this bearing plate, is in pretty bad shape all the way down. Broken bricks, loose bricks, very little mortar and gaps big enough to put my hand in.
Some of the gaps are 2 bricks deep, ie the full width of the party wall.

Should this be refilled with mortar before plaster boarding, and is it a time consuming job?
I've attached a couple of photos.
thanks in advance

 

[vinn]

I cant make out how the steels go in the second photo but if you are satisfied that its safe and secure then OK.
Wire brush the soot remains on the brickwork and make good all the defective pointing, remove any loose bricks and re-bed. Then render in sand and cement, do two coats if its a deep recess. Then finish with a board finish skim.
But first, put a straight edge across the edges of the old wall plaster to check for lippage bumps.

 

[shardy]

thanks for reply and technical advice Vinn. The side with soot marks is in better condition. Its the left side that seems in poor condition. There are some deep holes about 20 cm deep. I'll ask the builders to repoint and re-bed any loose bricks, and render as advised. I've attached another picture illustrating where steel goes into wall. Some more of the mortar has fallen out since this picture was taken. The loft room is still empty but once the king size water bed is up there, we are expecting serious vibration