Hi - inexperienced DIYer here hoping for some sense! We have some gullys which separate the house from a raised patio. This was none of my doing - was here when we moved in, though I'm fairly OK that the theory's fine - looks like the damp course was uplifted to 3 or 4 bricks above the black brick shown here, and the gully prevents / minimises splashback from the patio. The gullies had got filled up with soil etc so I dug them out to find big old holes in the pointing (if there was any).
My question is - presume I should be filling these in / repointing? Or, as there's no evidence of any mortar there, are they meant to be some kind of ventilation for any underfloor space? (we don't have a cellar, but the house is on a slope and there are underfloor spaces in some rooms)
A note on the pic - you'll recognise the lighter colour is paving blocks upended, so the gulley's at least 10cm deep. The boittom of the gully seems brick here but not all the way along, so I don't know what their idea was there - it's just soil & hardcore for the vast majority of the length.
Hope you can help - thanks!
My question is - presume I should be filling these in / repointing? Or, as there's no evidence of any mortar there, are they meant to be some kind of ventilation for any underfloor space? (we don't have a cellar, but the house is on a slope and there are underfloor spaces in some rooms)
A note on the pic - you'll recognise the lighter colour is paving blocks upended, so the gulley's at least 10cm deep. The boittom of the gully seems brick here but not all the way along, so I don't know what their idea was there - it's just soil & hardcore for the vast majority of the length.
Hope you can help - thanks!
