Poor quality brick wall

tony3619

Hey
I have noticed that one of the walls on my property has missing mortar on the perp joints and other areas. 

The wall is only 4 years old and I could try and go to nhbc but could attempt repointing sections myself if it's only a minor repair Job.  Ignore the dirty bricks...that's my fault! 

Any advice? Could get a bricklayer to repoint ?

danrv

Not sure why there’s gaps in the mortar on a four year old wall.
If you can reach it ok, it’s not too difficult to do yourself. I’m currently repointing the side of my property. Mortar is over forty years old.

tony3619

Yea I'm not sure either, i've read the horror stories about week mortar mix on new builds which did concern me but it looks more like it wasn't filled / pointed property in the first place. There is clear evidence of the builder pointing in extra mortar over the original which makes me think it was poor workmanship.

I was going to use one of those premixed cement mixes in the sealant style tubes to literally fill in the holes rather than rake out and redo the whole wall but people tell me the colour won't be a good match... 

stuart45

Must be something wrong with the mortar to pack up after only 4 years. 
Is that flank really exposed?

danrv

In my case, it’s the whole wall so matching isn’t quite so important. I had to do a fair amount of research on mortar mix, with a lot of help on here.
I’m using 5/1/1 sand, cement, hydrated lime. Not sure what mix is used on that wall though. 
The sand choice is the main factor with mortar colour. Maybe could use a dye too and try in a small area to see. 

tony3619

stuart45 said:

Must be something wrong with the mortar to pack up after only 4 years. 
Is that flank really exposed?

It's a third story balcony wall which has moderate exposure to wind/rain in the winter.  

tony3619

I was just researching  it and if it's a problem with the mortar mix it seems it would need raking out between 10-20mm and repointing to protect the weaker mix behind? That's what nhbc seem to offer most people anyway...

danrv

tony3619 said:

I was just researching  it and if it's a problem with the mortar mix it seems it would need raking out between 10-20mm and repointing to protect the weaker mix behind? That's what nhbc seem to offer most people anyway...

Yes, that’s what’s recommended. Don’t know anything about nhbc but raking out can be hard work. 
I’m not even attempting to get to 20mm as the mortar is solid at 10mm. It rakes out quite easily by hand to this depth. 

tony3619

Did you just remove loose mortar by hand and fill in the gaps? 

danrv said:

tony3619 said:

I was just researching  it and if it's a problem with the mortar mix it seems it would need raking out between 10-20mm and repointing to protect the weaker mix behind? That's what nhbc seem to offer most people anyway...

Yes, that’s what’s recommended. Don’t know anything about nhbc but raking out can be hard work. 
I’m not even attempting to get to 20mm as the mortar is solid at 10mm. It rakes out quite easily by hand to this depth. 

ARH_2

tony3619 said:

I was going to use one of those premixed cement mixes in the sealant style tubes to literally fill in the holes rather than rake out and redo the whole wall but people tell me the colour won't be a good match... 

Premixed sand & cement is often made with sharp sand. You need soft/building sand for pointing, especially if using a mortar gun as otherwise it just won't flow out properly.

Having done occasional DIY pointing, I'd strongly recommend making your own mortar so you can get it how you need it, and would suggest just using a trowel and a bit of hose pipe to get a nice bucket handle finish. You get the hang of doing it with a trowel by the second square metre. 

tony3619

The one I saw was "bostik express cement mortar" for light repointing. Comes in a sealant tube to touch up areas of missing mortar. It's got very mixed reviews...

I worry about mixing my own incase I make the mix too hard. If I'm going down that route I'll probably hire a bricklayer or builder.