New extension, brickwork crap? Insulation concerns.

[boxrick]

Hello folks!

 

I'm having my house completely gutted and a new extension built. I don't know much about building but I have a couple of concerns:

 

- The quality of the brickwork going up seems poor. I can see gaps in the internal skin between the mortar. This concerns me greatly.

 

- I am having glasswool full fill insulation, but won't all these wall ties block the insulation going in the gap properly?

 

- I'm guessing they shouldn't be using broken bricks?

 

 

[Pocster]

It is poor . Even me blindfolded with both arms amputated would do a better job .

[JohnMo]

20 minutes ago, boxrick said:

glasswool full fill insulation

They are supposed to add as they build. Like this

 

 

Think a chimp could do better block work.

 

You really need to stop proceedings and if they can't do better - bluntly sack them. The details you see are shocking, the details you can't are likely to be completely unacceptable.

 

Do you have an architect or structural engineer - call them in. 

[Spinny]

Yes indeed. I very strongly recommend employing a qualified experienced building professional in some way. Even if just on an occasional as required basis. And constantly being eyes on with what builders are doing - you can see how everything should be done on t'internet. I have seen builders order and try to use the wrong materials, and builders try to deny the most obvious truths to customers. Once a building professional appears they start to take notice, even if the building professional is just telling them the same obvious truths you were. It gets their attention because I think they realise in any dispute between bob the builder and a well qualified and experienced building professional with an alphabet soup of letters after their name there will only ever be one winner in a court or arbitration.

 

I know they are expensive, but so are trades people these days, and nothing, repeat nothing, is more expensive than not catching problems early.

[boxrick]

It's really unfortunate since I get on with him very well, at least so far. 

 

I really don't want to sack him... I did raise it and basically said

 

"Just had a nosey. Some shoddy cement work on internal wall (gaps) I can see light through in a few places and a smashed damaged external brick which will need patching up / replacing."

 

And his reply

 

"Don’t worry all gaps will be pointed and patched

 

There’s plenty time until the other blocks arrive"

 

So the question is do I take him at his word. Since this is one of those things that should be done right from the outset. And as has been mentioned the insulation isn't even right. It's never going to go in properly with metal rods in the way

 

 

Edited Saturday at 11:05 by boxrick

[nod]

Seen worse

[Spinny]

They are using string lines and the blockwork looks decently straight.

Looks like insulating thermal blocks. I had issues with some such blockwork as apparently they can suck the moisture out of the mortar too quickly giving a poor bond. Gently check some blocks where the mortar has dried to see if they wobble. 

Check the blocks to see they are using the right strength - there are 3.6N and 7N blocks. Check the expiry date on bags of cement on site, if it is out of date skip it.

Check stuff when it comes on site - is it the right specified materials - is it being protected from rain or sunlight as appropriate ?

 

You seem to be building in a wood ?

What's with the weird temporary roof cover held up on plywood stilts ?

Edited Saturday at 11:20 by Spinny

[Spinny]

16 minutes ago, boxrick said:

So the question is do I take him at his word

OK I have bugger all experience in the scheme of things, but I'd say, never take any builder at their word. Trust can only be earned.

 

Always remember the builder is not working for you, they are working for themselves. Their objectives are not the same as yours.

Obviously there are excellent builders and trades people out there, there are OK ones, and there are crappy ones. They will all 'get on with you', it doesn't mean anything. You are not looking for a new best friend, you are looking for a building that will stand for 100 years.

 

[boxrick]

The insulating bricks at the bottom are marmox

 

inside skin is thermalite outside is thermalite heavy duty.

Edited Saturday at 11:48 by boxrick

[Mr Punter]

With mineral wool batts the wall ties are normally placed every 2 block courses, except for near openings where they are every block.  He may be going for pushing the batts over the wall ties before building the outer leaf, but it is not the normal way to do it.  Ask the Building Inspector to have a look and see what they say.

 

Like @Spinny spotted, the location and scaffold look rather bizarre.

[Spinny]

Buy yourself a decent 1.8m spirit level, run it over stuff.

 

Is the hole at the bottom of the walling in one photo supposed to be for a 110 drainage pipe ? If so I think it should have a lintel over it not just a hole cored in the block ?

[boxrick]

The weird structure was purely thrown up quickly from bits of leftover fence and roof to keep the rain off. It was done in a rush when we had weeks of dry then terrential rain from no where.

 

 

I had a local bricklayer come by to take a look at some of the recent work on my build and got some honest feedback. Thought I would share the main points he talked about

 

He did said it was fairly typical and far from the worst he's seen

 

1. The bricklayer pointed out that some of the mortar joints are quite thick. He mentioned this could be hiding issues underneath possibly out of level blocks and recommended I check the walls carefully with a level to see what is really going on behind those thick joints.

 

 

2. There are a few spots where holes have been left where the wall ties have been pushed in. These could be potential ingress points for moisture. The advice was that these should have been sealed up properly easily done with a quick thumb close

 

 

3. Not Enough Mortar ‘Buttering’
One recurring issue is that some of the the Thermalite blocks haven’t been ‘buttered’ with enough mortar, this is particularly obvious on one wall. This means that the mortar has dried out and shrank back which isn't great for the overall finish or for thermal performance.

 

4. He did notice there are a lot more wall ties than you would typically see. He said this usually suggests the builders are making extra effort on that front, so that’s at least one positive.

 

 

5. The good news is, he didn’t see any structural issues with the brickwork. It’s just a matter of getting the finishing up to standard.

 

6. He flagged that the cavity is getting a bit messy and should be cleaned out before any further work is done.

 

 

7. Finally in regards to the insulation he said it was fairly common for people to cut the insulation and just slot it in, but its generator better to build it in as the wall goes up.

 

Overall, the main takeaway is that the structure itself seems fine, but the quality of the finishing needs attention.

 

Has anyone else had similar issues with thick joints or gaps in the mortar?

 

Is it common for builders to overdo the wall ties day?

 

I'm assuming I'll loose a lot of thermal performance from this randomly placed insulation?
 

Edited Saturday at 16:03 by boxrick

[boxrick]

And for some more info, holes are for the back of airbricks that are going to the subfloor we are using antiflood ones.

 

Walls look pretty straight 

 

[goodbyegti]

For the wall ties have a read of https://www.labc.co.uk/news/installing-cavity-wall-ties-masonry-walls-0

 

You don't need to overdo them, just follow the standard. You definately shouldn't be poking then in. You are supposed to lay them on to the mortar.

 

Some people parge coat over the cracks at the end, or you could wet plaster. You will always have some cracks, especially if the thermalites get wet. They shrink as they dry out.

 

You definately don't want any gaps in the insulation. Some people on here recommend EPS beads, which is what I would use if I had my time again.

[boxrick]

2 hours ago, goodbyegti said:

For the wall ties have a read of https://www.labc.co.uk/news/installing-cavity-wall-ties-masonry-walls-0

 

You don't need to overdo them, just follow the standard. You definately shouldn't be poking then in. You are supposed to lay them on to the mortar.

 

Some people parge coat over the cracks at the end, or you could wet plaster. You will always have some cracks, especially if the thermalites get wet. They shrink as they dry out.

 

You definately don't want any gaps in the insulation. Some people on here recommend EPS beads, which is what I would use if I had my time again.

I was going to put EPS beads in the existing wall, but are you saying this is the approach I should have perhaps taken for the extension too? It was originally spec'd for PIR but I changed it to the mineral wool. 

Re the builder I have raised these in an email and asked him to fix it and take more care for the rest of the build. Hes been reasonable so far, and I have confidence this will be sorted. 

Edited Saturday at 23:28 by boxrick

[DannyT]

So it’s level, plumb and straight but guilty of not using a jointer to point it up and the crap blocks are falling to pieces as they are coming out of the packs ( common at work to throw half a pack at a time in skip )

I’d tell him to flush the joints up, get the insulation in now and leave him to crack on. I’ve seen a lot worse than that.
 

How much are you paying a m2 labour.