New house, mis-matched mortar everywhere

[clubsport911]

I've just moved into a new home from a "very reputable" builder who builds IRO 130 houses per year - max.

However on my property, apart from accidently fitting the entire front door 1m off centre (and then re-fitting later.. ) I have noticed that the mortar is completely different colours all over the place.

However, the builder is using a ready mix mortar dispenser and claims that it's purely down the the brick being of such a colour that matching becomes very difficult. It's true that my neighbours house has a totally different brick and you can hardly see a thing.

The site manager and construction director have also said that i need to be patient as the colour will "settle down" with time.

Well, we're still in only the 4th week of ownership and as I see it, the mis-matched mortar is as clear to see as ever.

So, I'm going to tough this out and push for remedial work on the entire house. To prove I'm not entirely mad, one of the post-build brickies has been going around with brick acid and is trying his level best to blend in new mortar to match old (again using the readymix) and is not making a bad job of it

To me, this proves that it can be done...

So, what's the view ?
How has a house with mortar coming from one of those giant readymix devices gotten so mismatched on the colour ?
Should I keep pushing ?

Thoughts welcome !

Photo below shows pre-completion view of brickwork. Since taken, the brick faces are now relatively clean, but the mis-matched colour still exists on large parts of the construction (that have not been worked on)

 

[2scoops0406]

Not exactly top quality brickwork that if I may say so. I suppose you'll have to let them try some remedial work, but I don't reckon there'll be any way they'll repoint the lot. May come down to some sort of compensation for poor workmanship.

 

[NS215]

looks to me as though the bricks were wet when pointing up which always makes the pointing whiter than with dry brick

maybe they have different coloured mortar for different brick colours and someone poured a tub from the wrong silo

 

[2scoops0406]

The bricks are still pretty messy though, should have been laid cleaner than that.

 

[Robert too]

That is a mess ,

It may be less intrusive to the overall look if the mortar was tinted by one of the many specialists around

 

[clubsport911]

Will it "settle" with time or am I being played like a kipper ? I suggested to the site Mgr that I could bet a months ££ that it wouldn't settle in 10years with that difference...

Am I being too -ve ?

 

[2scoops0406]

Unless cleaned, they are always going to look a bit of a mess regardless of whether the mortar colour mellows. I wouldn't be happy with that quality of brickwork.

 

[noseall]

lighter smudges do weather off in time. this weathering can be accelerated using brick acid.

thicker gobs of mortar will need to be scraped first.

looks to me like the brickies were in too much of a hurry to get it brushed off.

this, coupled with wet mortar and what looks like fairly hard or wet bricks, has created a bit of a mess.

 

[Thermo]

its called a pile of **** in my books!

 

[clubsport911]

a bit of a mess.

Believe me... I dare not show you the shots I took of the house as it was being built.

It transpires that the builder has certain gangs that they use. for the first lift (is that the right terminology ?) they used a gang they had never used before from the local area. However, I went loopy at the quality and they changed the team

The difference between 1st and 2nd lift is chalk and cheese (which makes it all the much harder to see the crap quality at the bottom of the house)

Q:- I've seen brick ties in the mortar on one or 2 courses. The rectification man is sorting it out but are there risks in having the ties visible in the mortar ?

More horror scenes below

[/img]

 

[clubsport911]

Just messy brickwork. How do people do this ?

 

[Nige F]

you should`ve seen `em going up in the 60`s

 

[NS215]

Just messy brickwork. How do people do this ?
you pay peanuts you get monkeys.
we had to re skin the brickwork on a house on one site we worked on never seen anything like it in all my life. the house had a bullseye window on the front and came all bricks cut and bonded together in 2 halves and the gang who built it still managed to get it looking like an egg. it also had an rsj across the front, then when we rebuilt it, it was sticking out of the brickwork it was that ot of plumb. the guy was telling the site manager from early on, and all he got told was, it will be alright whan its finished, clearly it was far from alright and came down

 

[roughcaster]

Just messy brickwork. How do people do this ?
you pay peanuts you get monkeys.
we had to re skin the brickwork on a house on one site we worked on never seen anything like it in all my life. the house had a bullseye window on the front and came all bricks cut and bonded together in 2 halves and the gang who built it still managed to get it looking like an egg. it also had an rsj across the front, then when we rebuilt it, it was sticking out of the brickwork it was that ot of plumb. the guy was telling the site manager from early on, and all he got told was, it will be alright whan its finished, clearly it was far from alright and came down

The brickwork up the right hand side of the door frame is all over the place. I think the quality here overall, is rubbish!! Sorry... Bring in the Site Manager and Construction Director and show them these comments on the Forum and ask who they're trying to kid!!! This looks like an amateur DIY attempt at building, rather than a professional job.

Roughcaster.

 

[Balenza]

What a mess.
Have you considered having it demolished ?.