Brickie

It may be impossible to tell but is there an opening (door or window) directly or almost directly beneath the upstairs window with the crack?

This crops up on the Brickie social media groups time & again. The consensus is that it’s built vertically,with a steel rod running through & then lifted into position. @ProDave I think giving whoever built that a level or some lines would be a hopeful in the extreme-the phrase “you’ll never be a bricklayer as long as there’s a hole in your #%*e” springs to mind?

I think it’s a solid wall. Above the roof,every 5th course is run as Flemish bond,I assume for the headers to tie across both skins. They could be snapped but I don’t see what for-there’s no aesthetic benefit to having them. @Mags-can you see if the adjacent properties have the same issue? It’s curious that an extension was built with no knock through

Just looks like a settlement crack at first glance. 1920’s is probably lime mortar construction with sand & cement pointing to roughly 1” depth. Getting someone in to repoint the whole back wouldn’t break the bank-probably around £60-70/m2 inc materials. Or you could just do the zone directly under the window. Sand & cement is widely used but probably shouldn’t be-there’s a lot of evidence to show that a lime mortar is more beneficial to the property overall.

Have you tried the Reclamation yards? Solopark near Cambridge is massive-I don’t know if they have an online catalogue but I’d be surprised if not. The Cambridge whites when they’re reclaimed can have a greyish tone,also worth looking at Gaunts & Luton Greys.

You could also save a bit by using the cheapest common bricks for one course behind the lead. If you choose the plinth route-won’t there need to be a sealant detail between the bit where plinth ends & render board starts?

I’m sure Staffordshire Blues do a plinth,or you could just use standard bricks covered with a lead tray going behind the render board surely? Edit- @PeterW I was about to submit my reply when my kids required maintenance & when I returned-there was yours-spooky!

Personally,minimum 450mm from dpc to top of concrete. That leaves enough room to get the pipework in with lintols over the voids before you’re coming out of the ground. You’d hope with those two bed joints on the blocks that you can get over any discrepancies in the concrete but you’re at the mercy of others commitment to accuracy there.

A lot of old school Brickies have been schooled to have the mortar far too strong for blockwork which can cause cracking-they then consider the blocks to be too weak without considering the mortar strength.

Lot of underbuild on that splash-are your ground levels varying much?

+1 many times over. Whatever methods you take to secure that blockwork will a)only be as good as their weakest part & b) getting in the way when you catch up with the outer leaf. Also,you run the risk of your blockwork coursing not matching the outer leaf coursing & having your cavity ties falling in to the house. There are occasions on site where it’s necessary to build out of sequence but to do it just to have the blockwork done is crazy.

I think we’re jumping to conclusions here. It’s highly likely that there’s a perfectly innocent explanation for this. He probably just innocently happened to mention it in idle conversation with Robert Jenryck at a Tory fundraiser.

Looks like a non-porous,engineering style brick. I’d bet @Nickfromwales’s sheepskin sombrero that there was staining as it was built,and the contractor went crazy with the jet wash & brick acid at handover. You’re not supposed to hold the jet wash too close or for too long in one area because it’s detrimental to the joints,but the temptation is often too great.

If your pipes are tight to the floor can you not lay two courses of engineering bricks (so 150mm high) either side as your lintol bearing,and bed a standard 100mm x 65mm concrete lintol level with your first course of blocks? (225mm to top of lintol.)

You would expect to see your brickwork completed to dpc height before any internal blockwork is done. You want to be able to set any openings out so that they work to bond where possible.

If you’re taking down the whole outer skin then it sounds like a 10 minute job to me. Grind out the appropriate bed joint in the inner leaf,slide the DPC tray into position,wedge it or fix with a couple of clout nails (if they’ll take) & fill the joint with mortar. Is it worth not doing it? I can’t see any benefit in leaving it out.

Slides over the lip of the lintol.

Used to be able to get pvc sleeve cover strips for them,haven’t seen them on site for a while though.

It used to be specced as bed joint reinforcement on blockwork fortimber frames which was to be rendered. 3 course below & above an opening.

Yeah,but only a bit. For me,those zones you’ve mentioned won’t exist in reality-you’d overhang the end of the previous tray further than you’ve drawn,so any penetration or condensation will not have a route past the tray system. As for the diagonal cut-you’re only cutting in what-20-30mm? So long as the tray in the actual cavity is intact,that’s what matters.

Down pipes is best place for them. ? TBH,as the Brickie,sometimes they can work in your favour. You whack a profile up at the movement joint,bed the rubber part of the slip tie system in & run that section in before moving along & repeating.

What’s the finish?

Doesn’t look brilliant but as long as nothing bridges it,no problem. I’d be tempted to install a tray above the plinth to prevent a build up on that ledge in the photo,with some coring holes so it can be cleaned out. Maybe you could have a diplomatic word with them about cleaning the back of the wall as they go (known as ‘wiping your a##e’ in London & the South East.)

Not that I’m aware of. The dpc should be laid on a fine skim of mortar to give it a bit of grip & you then have virtually a normal bed joint on top. Personally,I put a fine skim on lintol tray damp too,for the same reason.