Could anyone tell me what is happening with this house wall,I'm presuming it is or will fall down eventually due to poor quality bricks being used.But in the meantime is it possible to fix it or not.If and when it falls down it will be replaced with a fence,so no big deal,just want to know what is causing the bricks to crumble and is it fixable.
Thanks for all answers
Nikos
Only a few bricks have spalled. You could just replace those in situ at some point in the future.
The only immediate problem I can see is the top row. I would replace them and place a capping stone on top, to minimise water ingresss into the wall.
It also seems to be not tied in well to the house wall, and to have some mortar loss/ degredation at ground level.
Owain
As others have said, it ain't going to fall down any time soon. It's just got a bit of frost damage, where water has soaked in and frozen.
It is south facing? Does it often look very wet? As others have said, a capping *may* help. You can also - once it's dried out - apply a water repellent spray - but you'd probably have to repeat that quite often to do any good.
I would be reluctant to do that. I presume there is no damp course, or a failed one, and even if capping stones are used a major source of moisture will still be from the ground.
Adding a water repellent spray may increase water saturation through reduced evaporation so more spalling through water freezing. I feel it's best to allow bricks to breathe naturally.
BICBW
My logic for suggesting that is that it appears to be the upper section of the wall which is suffering. So that's more likely to be due to driving rain than to rising damp.
Nikos,
That wall would appear to around 6 foot high, of a single London 41/2" brick thick, built around the 1970s and it would appear that there are no pillars reinforcing it on the inside of the wall.
The spalling is caused by frost damage and is common with London bricks and it could be repaired and silicone sealed (at least two 'heavy coats so that the brick fully absorbs the stuff with any defective pointing repaired first) by a competent tradesman to prevent further weathering - and that would probably only extend its life for a couple of years or so.
What would concern me, would be any signs of cracking of the cement joints low down, caused by movement of the wall due to wind pressure that would cause the wall to shake or move when pushed fairly lightly - again a common fault in a single brick, unsupported wall of that height, apparent fairly long length and age.
*IF* that wall does shake (and I would lay odds on it would if you pushed it) then the only safe method would be to demolish it and replace it with a 9" 'solid' brick wall with English Garden Wall bonding.The reason being is that wall looks as if it could collapse in any high winds, and if it does and it falls onto children or adults, death or serious injury will certainly occur. (I am not scare-mongering by the way it can and has happened).
As I have not personally examined that wall, and going on a single photo (along with a reasonable experience of such weather damage), I would suggest that the very least, you should ask a trusted local builder or brickie to give it a look over for safety's sake and also ask for a quotation for a) a repair (if that is feasible or b) a replacement wall (far safer and will be cheaper in the long term as that brickwork will only get worse).
Cash
It looks to me to be a fairly solid wall that someone has decided to add extra height to(maybe did not want neighbors looking in) Just do something with the top layers as others are saying
It is in stretcher bond, with a row of brick on end on the top. There is no sign of bonding in the wall that would indicate piers on the other side and it is bonded to the thicker wall in only a couple of places. As Cash says, it looks like a half brick wall, which, at that height, is potentially unstable and dangerous. The maximum height recommended for that type of construction is 725mm.
At the very least, it needs a professional assessment of its condition, but I would agree that it probably needs to be replaced with something safer.
I'm not wishing to get involved in a dispute over this, but some 50 years experience in the Building Maintence area on public buildings, social and private houses tells me that the wall in question needs some serious work on it to make it safe - or better still, knock it down and rebuild it in 9" brickwork (and if the bank balance would stand it, use FL clay bricks [1] instead of a cheaper or like for like version as these give better weather AND frost protection)
[1] FL = Frost Resistant, Low Salt (IIRC) and these can withstant some severe weather over a long period of time and have a very pleasing finish when built.Cash
+1
Really, I'd take a close look at the bottom couple of courses. I have a similar wall, and several bricks could be picked out with very little persuasion. In my case (and maybe yours), the whole thing is not helped by my neighbour's raised flower bed.
OK Everyone,thank you all for the very helpful advice and guidelines very helpful.Like I said in my original post it's not a big deal,was just curious to peoples advice and ideas.
Thank you all very much,extremely helpful as always.
All the best and have a good Easter.
Thanks a lot Nikos
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