What happened to this wall?

[ClaphamLondon90]

What happened to this wall? And can it be fixed without rebuilding it? It's not supporting anything, just used to block off a passage but it doesn't look right to me...

 

[blup]

Looks like a very weak sandy mortar that spilled out before drying. Get a proper brickie in to take down and rebuild.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

It looks like it was built using just wet sand. But there's a (slim) chance it's fine now, and the damage occurred before it got chance to set.

Is there a water source? E.g. is it holding back soil or is there a downpipe? It's possible that it was just that some of the bricks were very wet when it was built, and the water oozed out of them. Or it was left half-built then the holes in the bricks filled with rain, which got squeezed out when it was carried on later.

Can you dig out the mortar with a screwdriver? If so it needs taking down and rebuilding, this time using some cement. If the rest is firm then perhaps it just needs a tidy-up with a brush and some brick acid and a repoint.

 

[ClaphamLondon90]

It looks like it was built using just wet sand. But there's a (slim) chance it's fine now, and the damage occurred before it got chance to set.

Is there a water source? E.g. is it holding back soil or is there a downpipe? It's possible that it was just that some of the bricks were very wet when it was built, and the water oozed out of them. Or it was left half-built then the holes in the bricks filled with rain, which got squeezed out when it was carried on later.

Can you dig out the mortar with a screwdriver? If so it needs taking down and rebuilding, this time using some cement. If the rest is firm then perhaps it just needs a tidy-up with a brush and some brick acid and a repoint.

It's a new wall, no water source, soil, downpipes. Believe they did it in the same day. Screwdriver test, in the section with the holes in, the mortar comes out, the rest of the wall the mortar is very strong, just appears to be that section, so about 3 rows of mortar affected.

 

[noseall]

What happened to this wall? And can it be fixed without rebuilding it? It's not supporting anything, just used to block off a passage but it doesn't look right to me...

The bricks could have been laid wet or frozen or both. The mortar could have been laid during below freezing evenings, killed the muck then thawed. Bricks could be very hard/weepy.