Forum Topic

re-pointing of back walls of the house

Good morning. I was wondering if you kind folks could help me.I am trying to find someone who can repoint the back walls on my house.For as long as i can remember, the back room of our house which faces the garden has always had damp and maybe that is why my daughter has develped ashtma. The room is always cold and the walls are wet and black.We called in 2 builders who specialise in this to give us a quote.one quoted under £1000 and said it would take a few days and another man quoted £5000 and said the job would take a month to do properly. When questioning him why so long, he said just taking out all the old pointing and prep work would take a few weeks and scaffolding alone costs £1000.I am even more confused.On scrolling through the forum, there was a builder who is often mentioned but when i tried to ring him, he never picks up and only texts.so if anyone personally has used or knows someone who is professional please could you let me know.much obligedRhys

Rhys Smith ● 4394d19 Comments

Damp is nearly always rainwater goods.Which is a good thing because new gutters are hugely cheaper than new pointing.All lime mortar will by now appear to be somewhat 'receding'.  This does not mean that it _necessarily_ needs redoing, yet...It depends upon the aspect of the wall (does it face into the prevailing wind / weather, is the space immediately adjacent adequately open to the drying effect of wind and sun - i.e. not in a narrow passage).

Tony Colliver ● 4386d

I have just re-read the first post and the quote "always had damp" and "the room is always cold" are quite telling. The damp is coming from somewhere - have you checked the loft for signs of water ingress? During or immediately after a heavy shower of driving rain is a good idea. What type of heating and glazing do you have in the room? Is it over a garage? What type of insulation do you have?

Steven Diver ● 4389d

It  may sound perverse but you need to consider letting more air into the room in question as it would appear to be condensation causing your dampness problem. Perhaps an air vent of extractor fan to draw out the moisture before the dehumidifier is needed.

Nigel Brooks ● 4391d

Any chance of naming the builders who said the entire wall needs doing?  I may want to use them :)

Charles Campbell ● 4391d

At least now I know that there is nothing wrong with the pointing. I had 4 builders who came over. Two of them said i needed the whole back of the house doing and two said there was nothing wrong with it and it was just that the sun never really reaches that part and i would be better off getting a dehumidifier which will collect all the water from the walls. I have now purchased one from John lewis and had it plugged on since yesterday. I have collected over 2L of water so far just from that small bedroom. That was a small investment compared to spending over £5000 on unnecessary work.

Rhys Smith ● 4391d

I don't think I'll bother in future...what's the point( npi)

Keith Iddon ● 4392d

Thanks Nigel, most interesting - I'll have the weather struck and cut pointing as I believe it's good for exterior walls and it looks good when finished. Thanks again.

Gerry Tan ● 4392d

Whatever matches Gerry unless you are having the whole house done.There are pictures here to determine the type that you havehttp://www.brick.org.uk/resources/brick-industry/mortar-joint-profiles/

Nigel Brooks ● 4392d

I don't know Gerry. If I were you I would either google it or have it inspected by a brickie.

Keith Iddon ● 4392d

"There is also several styles of pointing depending on what type of wall..."What's the best for exterior old yellow stock brick house wall which still has the original softish pointing which needs re-doing?

Gerry Tan ● 4392d

The cost involved with repointing is mainly labor, it takes time.  From what I understand and to confirm what Nigel said, if there are holes/gaps or if it is crumbling or falling out of the wall then it needs re-doing.I'm doing my own wall right now, so have done all the googling very recently.

Christine Daniels ● 4393d

RhysIf the pointing looks good, it probably is.Are there holes and gaps in the pointing, is it crumbling away?Get your rainwater goods and guttering checked anyway (as I posted earlier)this may well resolve your damp problem at minimal expense.

Nigel Brooks ● 4393d

Maybe if the pointing breaks down a little if you run a screwdriver at pressure along it. That may be a sign that it needs re-doing. You can buy a clear waterproofing 'paint' that can be applied to dry bricks to further weatherproof them. Google might advise about signs of old pointing that needs renewing.

Keith Iddon ● 4393d

I had another builder come to have a look yesterday and he said there was nothing wrong with the pointing at all and it could be the guttering. He will be coming over today to go up on the ladders.When I questioned him about the other builder who quoted me £5000 (I got his number from a house he is working on in Elers road), he said well these people are just after work and money.So now, even more confused. Who is right or wrong. Do my walls need repointing or not?

Rhys Smith ● 4393d

Sorry I read that as 'back wall'. If it's 'walls' I would say Nigel's guestimate is probably about correct.

Keith Iddon ● 4394d

I had house done ( bed end of terrace) in 2003 for £3000 and it took 2 blokes about 9 days inc. scaffolding..Obviously costs will have gone up by now but £5000 seems a heck of a lot. I would think about £2300-£2500 would be reasonable. There is also several styles of pointing depending on what type of wall you are having done. The style they put on mine is an angled style and apparently is the best for houses. Pointing also has to be done so that it doesn't pop out when it freezes in winter. I would recommend the blokes who did mine but they have retired now.

Keith Iddon ● 4394d

Thank you Nigel. It confirms what i suspected when the first builder said it would take 3-4 days to complete.Thanks Guy. I will give Noel a ring.

Rhys Smith ● 4394d

Noel Sullivan - absolute gentleman - only failing is he's a QPR fan!Call him on 07709 584655 and mention that "Lumpy" recommended him. Hope this helps...

Guy Edema ● 4394d

Hello RhysSadly, I cannot recommend a builder to do this as the guy who re-pointed my home has moved to rural Kent.However, it was not cheap. All of the old pointing was raked out to a depth where the new pointing was 'viable' rather than decorative. This took him well over a week of long days, the repointing took equally as long, if not a little longer.Scaffolding is also expensive (mine was over £700 and that as six years ago).Materials cost is minimal.If you budget on £170 per day for two weeks (£1700) plus the scaffolding and materials and clearing up you could be looking at £3000+Before you do this though blown pointing is not likely to be the major source of damp. Do get your damp course and downpipes checked first, especially if you have cast iron rainwater goods' on an old house as these can leak 'like a sieve'. Look for darker stains around the backs of the pipes.Hope this helps.

Nigel Brooks ● 4394d