External garden wall issue

[dallymehat]

Hello
Can I have some advice please, I brought a new build home and I was shocked and disappointed at the standard KIER homes have built my external wall please can you give me your knowledge and experience regarding to the standard of this wall. This wall is next to a canal and I am responsible for the any repair. Anything will help please. 

[nod]

Perhaps would have looked better starting a fresh

But they have saved a chunk of money building onto the exhisisting 

Not great for a new build 

I would plant against it 

[Russell griffiths]

What springs to mind immediately is this,

if they have built the new wall on top of an old existing wall, how have they qualified the quality of the foundations under the old wall. 

 

Having built many  of these low garden walls on sites many years ago, I would be Not like to say how good they will be without further examination. 

 

I have seen huge footings ripped in with a huge excavator and filled with concrete, well over the top, and I’ve also seen footings completely missed as they where in the wrong place, so it was just built of the dirt, 

 

i would want  some sort of guarantee before the buck passed to me. 

[dpmiller]

Is it actually *your* wall or is it a pre-exsisting boundary that's been tidied?

[Onoff]

You would have thought they might at least have cleaned and locally repointed the original wall!

[Brickie]

Is your concern purely aesthetic?

The quality of the work doesn’t look fantastic,but a touch up with some brick acid would help a lot. 

Structurally,as you’re next to a canal I’d want to see a sign-off from an SE,saying that the existing wall has the structural integrity to carry the additional load imposed by the new masonry. 

[dallymehat]

1 hour ago, dpmiller said:

Is it actually *your* wall or is it a pre-exsisting boundary that's been tidied?

It a pre-existing wall and a new wall  built togather which fall into my garden wall. I am responsible for the entire wall

[dallymehat]

My concern is both aesthetic and I’m worried about the brick work underneath the new bricks. It making my new build look unattractive and potentially I’m worried about the old brick work decaying in the future.

[Cpd]

I am not an expert on bricks, but it does look like some of the old bricks are starting to spoil / break up in the old section, you dont want to get into a situation where you are having to repair the old section on a regular basis..... as people have said i think you need a professional report to strengthen your case if you want them to replace the old wall. 

[bassanclan]

You have to hope they have put some ties in the brickwork where they have changed bond

[Brickie]

17 minutes ago, bassanclan said:

You have to hope they have put some ties in the brickwork where they have changed bond

Looks like a maximum of 8 courses before the brick on edge ties the top in,which is acceptable (max  vertical spacing 600mm.)

We put them in at 6 courses (450mm) on cavity walking as that matches two courses of block. 

[dallymehat]

what is your opinion on how they built this wall. Would it not been more effective to have a fresh wall throughout? What are the problems that I will be looking out for?

[Temp]

+1 on the foundations. They should have dug trial pits to see what was there.

 

 Any movement/expansion joints?