How to repair mortar at base of brick house?

[rbellows]

Looking to repair the mortar at the base of my double brick house.

I have searched as best as I could online and have found mixed results on what to use.

Appears damage occurred from water. Storm water drain that goes to water table previously partially blocked which caused water to pool.

I assume I’ll be right to just clear away the damaged section and replace with appropriate mortar?

 

 

[EricL]

Hello @rbellows 

Welcome to the Bunnings workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about repairing a mortar base.

Is water coming out of the bottom of that wall? Can you please tell us why there is such a big gap between the base floor and the wall? Is your wall leaning? If it is a structural issue, I suggest engaging the services of a builder and a structural engineer. You can ask them to assess the condition of your brick wall and ask why such a large gap is appearing under the wall. Patching the wall with mortar is the way to repair the broken section of the render, however, the gap between the floor and the wall is what is concerning me. This must be addressed first before any repair is applied to the surface.

Let me call on our experienced members @Nailbag, @diy_hausdesigns, @Remarka6le and @Noyade for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Nailbag]

Hi @rbellows 

That’s an unusual bottom course. It looks like the bricks are inset 10mm+ then essentially rendered over with mortar. Does this sound right?

If so, that first course of bricks is potentially sound only requiring a fresh layer of mortar. This is of course you have first resolved the water pooling issue which takes priority.

Nailbag.  

[rbellows]

@EricL Thank you for the response! 

@Nailbag Yes, continues in this manner around the house. Online searches haven’t yielded much information or similar situations. Houses in my area of the same age have similar mortar on the bottom row. 

Do you happen to know what type of mortar is best? Some searches resulted in some saying no cement mortar but Im unsure if those comments relate to my situation. 

thanks 

[EricL]

Hello @rbellows 

I suggest looking at the Bastion 20kg Premix Mortar or similar. This a premixed mortar and you only need to add water. My best advice is to mix it very thick so that it will not slump when applied vertically.

Eric

[rbellows]

Thank you! This will do the trick. Much appreciated. 

[AlanM52]

Hi @rbellows,

I strongly suggest at this stage you do not start any mortar pointing repairs.

@EricL mentioned water and looking at the 2nd photo I suspect there is a water issue in the brickwork and the source maybe from above.

I am also thinking your bricks are wire cut maybe the 3 hole type, that corner brick may even be holding water.

All of that culminates to effect the mortar in that weird first course.

Check your roofing and gutters and is there any plumbing on the other side of that wall.

Cheers

[MitchellMc]

I'd tend to agree with @AlanM52 here @rbellows. I get the feeling there is a bit more going on than just the mortar deteriorating from surface water. There are quite a few indications of water in the wall here, which I've pointed out below. Do you happen to know what the pipe is that's coming out of the wall that I've circled? If I had to guess, I'd say whatever that is linked to is leaking into the wall cavity. Is that very dark brick right next to the pipe wet to the touch? It looks like it's saturated.

I'd suggest having a plumber, or even better, a leak detection specialist take a look at the wall, just to be on the safe side.

Mitchell

[rbellows]

@AlanM52 @MitchellMc 

thank you both. 

section of brick is where an old (unused) oil heater sits opposite inside. Above was the stack coming out the roof. I had that cut and roof tiles installed over. That was 10 ish years ago. 

upon seeing the water damage indications pointed out above, I’ll seek further advice as you’ve mentioned. 

thank you all. Very much appreciated!