First House brickwork advice

[Hfry91]

Hi, I'm in the process of buying my first house,

Upon close inspection I have noticed bad brickwork could anyone possibly advise me on the extent of the damage and possible repairs price as im not sure if I'm worrying unnecessary

Thank you for all your help.

 

[stuart45]

Joints need raking out and repointing in those places.

 

[Hfry91]

Hi Stuart,
In your opinion is this damage to be concerned about or is it just standard cosmetic damage? As worried as its below dpc and could be costly

Thanks h

 

[stuart45]

It shouldn't cost a lot, but isn't urgent.

 

[^woody^]

The image with the window cill shows water getting down the side of the frame or cill and into the bricks. That's a different matter.

Also under the frame the mortar looks broken and soft. Again this allows the wall to become saturated which is detrimental, and should be rectified sooner not later.

 

[Hfry91]

I see thank you very much for your reply what do you think around the dpc? Is this a case of just re pointing or can the dpc be damaged

Thanks again

 

[^woody^]

Some DPC materials are degraded by sunlight, so should be kept pointed up.

Once the weathering face of a mortar joint is lost, the mortar erodes relatively quickly and the joint becomes more sandy and porous, and those bricks are not the best for frost resistance anyway. So what you find is that the joints rapidly get worse and the bricks then start to spall, so when you get around to pointing them up the edges are gone, bricks are chipped and the pointing always looks a right mess.

A stitch in time

 

[Hfry91]

Thanks for your reply woody

Would you say that those photos are too far gone or would just simple repointing fix these issues?

 

[Hfry91]

Its also a terraced house 2nd in the row

 

[mrrusty]

IMHO There's nothing there to cause a great deal of concern. Maybe point it up when you get round to it, but it isn't going anywhere. If you like the house this is not a reason not to buy it. All houses need a bit of maintenance from time to time, and on a scale of 1-10 on potential nasties that need fixing this is at the very low end 1-2.

 

[^woody^]

Thanks for your reply woody

Would you say that those photos are too far gone or would just simple repointing fix these issues?

The mortar needs pointing and that window needs some silicone mastic around it. Simple jobs. They can be left a while if there are other priorities, but best not left for ever.

I misread the OP and thought you had bought your first house not just buying it, so I was trying to say don't leave it for long. It's not something that should put you off buying, but it is something that you could potentially use to get a price reduction along with any other remedial work that is required.

 

[Hfry91]

I understand thank you very much for taking your time to reply to me im a bit of a worrier and 2 doors up just sold for 165k and I got a offer of 145k accepted so dont think they will drop any lower tbh

 

[^woody^]

Good luck with it then. Remember that a specific Homebuyers or Full Building survey will point out a lot of stuff to you - don't rely on the valuation survey.

 

[Hfry91]

Thank you woody would u recommend a survey as I already know most of the damage and have a roofer going to look at the roof?

 

[^woody^]

Knowing the damage is one thing, but knowing the cause (which may need to be remedied before carrying out repairs of the damage) and the implications is another.

Your pictures for instance, are you aware of the high paving level, the reason for that angled fillet against the wall, the reason for those damp bricks at ground level, are those soffits asbestos?

How much life is left in the roof tiles and other components, how much you will be spending on repairs in the next five years? Have any unauthorised works been done?

If all this is clear to you then fine, but if not, a survey gives you information about condition, risk, liabilities and most importantly costs.

The problem with roofers or any trades looking at roofs or anything, is that most often they are looking at work they are going to get. That's in their interest, not necessarily yours. Do you trust them?