Bricklaying & Repointing

Soft mortar in garden wall / cap stones

Anonymous user 28/02/2024 - 3.52 PM

I have purchased a new build property and the house and garden wall are built/faced with a reconstituted Cotswolds-looking stone. I have noticed a damp patch appearing on our garden wall (wish I could provide a pic), it's near the top and is against where the wall buts up against and end-pillar made of the same stone. We've been told the stone is porous and will hold some damp but so are the cap stones on top of the wall. I can see when it's been wet the stones hold the water and dry at different rates (depending on where sunlight is etc) but this is a persistent damp area maybe spanning 40x50cm. Also, more worryingly is that in places the mortar/pointing seems to be very soft within the wall and similarly the pointing between the cap stones on top of the wall. In areas I can actually brush it away pretty easily when it's dry but if I get a a wet toothbrush and apply water it's easy to wash away the mortar top surface. I'm being told this is within tolerance. Any thoughts? I'm worried I'll need the whole lot re-pointing within 10 years but I'm concerned about the persistent damp patch. It's been built coming up 2 years.