Is this mortar lime?

[Scarophion]

Good afternoon,

I have recently moved into a Victorian terrace in the North West that I knew from survey has a problem with damp from a bad rendering job. I intend to remove the rendering and repoint the bricks. Replacing badly spalled ones.
Is anyone able to tell from the pictures provided if the existing mortar is lime? It is currently all crumbling and looks like compost!

Thank you for your help.

 

[Newboy]

It would have been lime mortar when it was built - I not sure that what it is now could be described as any form of mortar!

The render looks to have pulled the faces off the brick - it's going to take a bit more than just pointing.

 

[Scarophion]

Aye,

I'm going to need to replace several bricks too!
Thank you for the reply.

 

[vinn]

Terraced (back to backs?) in the NW were rarely rendered unless there were problems with penetrating damp or perished bricks.
The paint might also have been a remedial measure.

When you've removed the render then grind out the beds and perps to a depth of say, 25mm - 30mm.
Then remove the remaining paint.
Then begin to replace damaged bricks.
No matter the existing mortar mix - lime or black ash - repoint in lime mortar.

Presumably you have interior damp problems, and perhaps various other old house/new buy issues? Why not post anything else on here.

FWIW: whats the purpose of the metal channel?

 

[Scarophion]

Hello Vinn,

Yes, there is damp inside the house. The walls are wet plastered, probably with gypsum. The damp survey suggested £10k's worth of covering the walls in plastic but plenty of Googling seems to say that this is not the thing to do with such an old house (1870s).
The metal bracket is holding the gate on.. The estate agent described the seller as "eccentric". Judging by his grasp of DIY I think it was a diplomatic way of saying "idiot".

One thing I'm really not sure about. When replacing spalled bricks, what is a safe number of bricks to remove at any one time?


Thank you for your replies so far

 

[vinn]

When you have removed the render and paint from the exterior then post pics of all the elevations (I presume that your kitchen is a single story outrigger?) on here.
How to safely replace bricks can then be better explained.

For the interior: why not post pics of the ground floor outside walls?
Are there any roof leaks?

What did any surveyor's say about the property?

 

[Scarophion]

Hello,

Here is a quick update. We've got the rendering off the outhouse, which only seems to have been rendered the once. Have provided a picture of the gap between the outhouse and main building. It's a bit scary. Is this just from the house moving with age?

 

[vinn]

As suggested above you need larger context - full elevations and ground level pics - to show what might be happening.
The outhouse rendering was sloppily done over paint and never did stick.

 

[Scarophion]

Welcome back gentlemen,

Please observe the current cause of my rising stress levels:



I have no lintels.

Thank you for your very helpful advice so far but I'm afraid I'm going to have to abandon this topic until I've sorted out the rather alarming structural problems.

Thanks.

 

[vinn]

AAMOI: this is precisely the time you should perhaps be picking alternative professional viewpoints not abandoning them.
Nothing alarming about "no lintels" its common in codged up old property - but nothing has collapsed so you are ahead of the game.
Worse, so to speak, might be revealed - but there are many ways to deal with things. All approaches are simply another days work - no big deals.

I continue the thread because I'm interested in old properties & their problems - a kind of crossword.
Anyhow, we are here if you need advice.

 

[Scarophion]

I'm glad you're here Vinn!

We were considering fitting the lintels ourselves but because the previous job is a botched job it's probably best to get a builder in. The upstairs window has slumped on the right hand side.

What sort of lintels should be going in?
I've seen inverted-T ones for solid walls. Are they sufficient or do I really need concrete or stone? The bricks are solid and very heavy. No holes or a frog.

Any recommendations are welcome.
Thanks again.

 

[vinn]

Yes, I think that you should use a builder for setting the lintels - make the builder aware of your observations.


Are the window frames set back far enough - best practice has them 75mm from face of the building but its not essential.
A builder on site would select the lintels & padstones.

Thing is, before any lintel work: presuming all the house render is suspect then all the render from all elevations should now be removed, as the render is removed then you rake out the beds & re-point.
You would then be able to see whatever conditions exist.

Any concerning conditions inside the house should now be noted & posted on here - they might tie-in with external conditions? eg sloping floors, gaps under skirting, cracks, & door heads slanting.

Top lift of the tower should be tied into hooks plugged into brickwork esp at the gable.
A bridge will be needed for over the outhouse & steps - thats if you intend to keep the outhouse & not demolish it?

Do you have cellars?
Are you on a hillside with the ground sloping to the left of the pic?

 

[Scarophion]

Hello,

There is the odd cracked brick and cracks in the mortar on the inside wall also. I spoke to someone who remembers the house being rendered originally and he reckons it was first rendered in the 80s. So the brickwork has been damp for that long.

The scaffold tower belongs to the guys removing the rendering. Will probably need our own or hire. Don't fancy repointing on a ladder :/

There is no cellar. Ground is higher at the front and slopes away to the back of the garden.

Yes, I should get the rest of the rendering removed. I'm dreading it as larger windows were put in at the front too.

I have been Googling and getting about £400 per lintel installation. Sound about right?
The hard part is finding a builder in the Stockport area who understands the need for lime mortar...

 

[wessex101]

Are you sure there are no lintels? The old Victorian sliding sash windows have been removed and modern wider casement window fitted (shame). The first floor window is quite wide and I would have expected to see far more movement in the brickwork and severe deflection of the plastic windows if there was no lintel.

 

[vinn]

Until you have all the render off and have compiled a list of defects - interior & exterior, dont concern yourself with the lintels or any further work.

With your defects list in hand you might consider calling in a SE?

Lime mortar is a 3:1 sand to lime mix, applied exactly the same as a S&C mix - where's the difficulty for any tradesperson?
Sometimes its cheaper to buy a tower or Acrows etc. off ebay - keep for the duration of the work & then re-sell.