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Bricklaying & Repointing

Blown bricks causing damp

Anonymous user 14/03/2024 - 2.36 PM

I have a horizontal line of damp in my utility room. There is a brick on the south facing outside wall that is blown which seems to correspond with where the damp is coming in. The house is 1890, solid wall construction. Ideally I don't want to have to render the outside wall but is there another way to fix this? If I was to replace the brick roughly how much would this cost and would I ask a general builder? Could I cover the brick with cement to seal it for a short term solution and stop the damp or wouldn't this work? Thanks in advance

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3 Answers

Anonymous user

The spawled brick will definitely be sucking water to interstitial areas, the last mm surface has gone along with any protection, i would charge £70 for a local job to replace the brick
Answered29 April 2015
2

ADR Property Maintenance

Rating: 5 out of 5
Boston
as your house is solid brick it will be built with lime mortar this allows the house to breathe , if it has been re-pointed using a cement based pointing this will trap any water ingress in the wall creating dampness, if you render a building of this age all you will achieve is to hold in the dampness, buildings like this need repaired with N.H.L. mortar or render, you best bet is get a local tradesman one who is used to working with lime mortars/renders and understands how these materials work to keep your home water tight. their is no cement or additives in Natural Hydraulic Lime Mortar/Render/Plaster. good luck Alex
Answered28 April 2015
1

Anonymous user

As your property was built in 1890 it would be safe to assume it was constructed using a lime mortar. As you have a spalled brick this would need replacing, the problem being it would be an imperial size therefore making it difficult to source a new one. How l usually carry out a job like this is to carefully remove the spalled brick and turn it after cleaning and rebed using a 3.5 NHL( Natural Hydraulic Lime) mortar mix. No cement should be used in this mix.
Answered11 May 2015
0