Gap between old & original patio and wall???

[SteveSoton]

Hi everyone,

Thanks to help and advice on here we've finally renovated the house and moved in. Fingers crossed everything has gone well.

We've now moved on to the garden area and after removing moss, bushes, rubble etc we have noticed a bit of a gap between the original pebble dash patio and the kitchen wall.

It looks as though the original owners filled with concrete/cement/mortar???? But much of this has cracked, been displaced etc.

So the question is what do I need to do with the gap (below) between patio & wall and the remaining cracked cementy stuff???? Also planning on filling in the crack from corner to grass.

House is 1928 detached, much of it in it's original state and looking to keep the original pebbledash patio (we like the character).

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• SteveSoton
• 19 Aug 2013
• 2

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• SteveSoton
• 19 Aug 2013
• 2

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• SteveSoton
• 19 Aug 2013
• 2

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• SteveSoton
• 19 Aug 2013
• 2

Happy to give it a go myself (I've learnt so inch over the last 6 months), but don't want to bodge anything or create a problem.

Any help would be brilliant!!!

Thanks in advance for any help.

Steve (& Kelly)

 

[kbdiy]

Your 'patio' is just a plain concrete slab that has settled and cracked over time, hence the gap between it and the brickwork. The surface has worn/weathered away exposing the aggregate. Do you need to fill the gap? Not really and probably better not to, so I would remove the remaining infill done by the previous owners and leave it at that if you like the slab as it is.

The main consideration is that the patio is at least 6" (2 bricks) below the level of the DPC. If it is, then you're ok as you are.

 

[SteveSoton]

Thanks for the response, really appreciated.

The DPC is three bricks above the "patio" with a few airbricks in the middle row. The bricks are a bit weathered and a few have spalled, also need some repointing where mortar has blown, but hopefully they and the DPC are OK.

Certainly, not second guessing you and hope you don't mind me asking, but my worry was that water will collect in this gully and then cause problems???
I cleaned the patio the other day and was horrified that this gully was 2 inches full of water afterwards!!!! (in much the same way that I was horrified that under the downstairs floorboard there was just dirt, apparently normal, but I was expecting neat concrete!!!).

Or is it the case that even if water is there, then as long as the DPC does its job then it doesn't matter????

This house (and forum) has been a fantastic learning curve and just like to know how it all works.

Cheers

Steve

 

[r896neo]

fill it with mortar well packed in and then smoothed off with a small trowel

4:1 sand to cement