Browse Forums Building A New House Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 321Jun 25, 2013 2:11 am BRICK LAYING IS BAD From all the pictures you can see that there is actually no mortar in between adjacent bricks, the bricklayers have only spread mortar along the top of the bricks so when they lay it is much easier because they can just place multiple bricks quickly instead of "buttering" the sides of each brick before laying the next one, this is definitely a sign of a VERY VERY LAZY bricklayer. Also i do believe this brickwork does not comply with Australian standards, as you have to have mortar in between bricks(you have none at all), usually if bricklayers are lazy they might only put a little mortar on the sides which is acceptable, but you have literally zero mortar on "a large majority" of your brick work. I would personally have this fixed or taken up with the building company, Court(maybe, layers=expensive) Structurally however your wall is definitely "weaker" than a normal wall, but as your house is a single storey this shouldn't matter as much as if it were a double storey. Although your wall is weaker than normal it is still strong enough to support it's intended load, for residential single storey buildings there is a huge margin of error for load bearing. Overall, yes the brick work is definitely bad and you should get it fixed, yes it is weaker than a normal wall, yes it will perform perfectly fine for the next 20 years, yes after render you won't notice it and yes if you do nothing everything is still gonna be alright. Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 322Jun 25, 2013 10:32 am That looks shocking.. ive sent the pics to my friend whos hubby is a bricklayer and see what his opinion is.. hopefully itll get sorted but knowing builders im sure they will sweep it under the rug Home Group WA Monte Carlo Timeline on Page 1 Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 323Jun 25, 2013 11:04 am Thanks for your feedback guys. I've gotten feedback from other friends who are in trades + structural engineer and they all said that is quite bad bricklaying...more lazy than anything. They said there shouldn't be any perpend (vertical) joints missing as it may affect the structural integrity of the wall. In saying that, whilst it won't make the wall crumble it is for a fact less sturdy. Thanks Nicci, let me know what he says. Build #2 Builder: In-Vogue Design: Custom 2 Storey Build #1 Builder: New Generation Homes Design: The Monterey My Build Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=60453 Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 324Jun 25, 2013 1:36 pm You could always walk up and give the walls a push, if they fall over they'll need to be dne again? not that I would actually suggest damaging your house intentionally Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 326Jun 25, 2013 4:32 pm I really don't think your internal brickwork meets building codes. I would get an inspector on site to make a report for sure and get the builder to replace the affected walls. Bed joints are supposed to be 10mm +/- 3mm. And there should be BRICKS in the wall, not bloody holes with mortar shoved in there. While your wall may not come down on top of you, it is likely to crack more readily. Also, if you happen to place a screw into the wall where a mortar blob is, you could create a serious crack. If it were me, if an inspector says it doesn't meet code, the builder would have to replace before I'd sign off for any payment. Nitro The Village at Wellard Homebuyers Centre Ultimate Entertainer (Custom) Our Home Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=61358 Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 327Jun 25, 2013 4:43 pm Hi Nitro, Thanks for your feedback. I am also aware of the bed joints, but I think they only apply for external brick walls..? (correct me if I'm wrong) I just spoke to a bricklayer friend of mine and he said whilst the work doesn't look neat by any means, it doesn't affect the wall structure itself. He said gaps in vertical joints actually helps the plaster set in firmer. I have a building inspector who is going to look through once all the brick work is finished and I also have a meeting with my site supervisor tomorrow to discuss my concerns. I will let you know how I go, I will hold off on the payment for the moment as suggested. Cheers Build #2 Builder: In-Vogue Design: Custom 2 Storey Build #1 Builder: New Generation Homes Design: The Monterey My Build Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=60453 Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 329Jun 25, 2013 5:20 pm jaymak Hi Nitro, He said gaps in vertical joints actually helps the plaster set in firmer. I emailed my SS about my concerns with there being no mortar between some bricks and a few gaps, not even half as bad as yours. And my SS told me the same thing, different SS to yours from what I have read. I was concerned about putting up floating shelves and overheads, but apparently its not going to be an issue. The rougher the better I keep getting told. Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 330Jun 25, 2013 7:48 pm Wow. I remember when we had our shower issue with snaked wall and we made a HUGE scene. This makes our issue seem almost ridiculous. I would be seriously making some waves about that brickwork. Same goes for the vanadium. We had quite a bit in our garage as it gets next to no sunlight. Once they sprayed it with chlorine it all but disappeared but you can still kinda see where it was. That is REALLY bad I'd be a little concerned that one wall in particular is going to always look different. It's strange though, the house being built next to our old house had some minor vanadium around it. After they did the brick clean it looked 10 times worse. Not sure why. But liquid chlorine is definitely the best method to get rid of the green. Building the Riva by Dale Alcock Homes. Follow our progress here: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=57075 Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 331Jun 25, 2013 7:53 pm The pictures of ours has gotten a lot worse since they did the brick clean at lock-up. We are waiting to see what the SS says about it. And then what it looks like at PCI. If it isn't looking better we will be asking for them to do something about it. I don't remember seeing any of their display homes with the same bricks that had the discoloration! Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 332Jun 25, 2013 7:58 pm I'm glad we decided against cream bricks now. Pretty sure out current house has green in garage & never went away (shows how much I pay attention to inside my garage) Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 333Jun 25, 2013 10:36 pm Jaymak, I wouldn't be too fussed about the gaps between the occasional brick, so much as the crooked bricks, and mortar blobs. For all intents and purposes, the wall is probably fine if it doesn't have to support a second level, but cracking would be a huge concern for me, due to uneven settling. Nitro The Village at Wellard Homebuyers Centre Ultimate Entertainer (Custom) Our Home Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=61358 Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 334Jun 25, 2013 10:55 pm At least you have Prospec going in to do your inspection so you can get a independent opinin before the roof goes on and someone to support you if its not good enough...hopefully they tell you it's all good so you don't have to start knocking down walls...will be good mony spent even if its just fr your own piece of mind Design by Greater Concept - modified version Evolution Court Build by Premiere Homes My build viewtopic.php?f=31&t=64854 Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 335Jun 26, 2013 10:23 am My cream bricks in garage were slightly green for about 2 years in winter and disappeared after that.. hope all gets sorted out jay and fast Home Group WA Monte Carlo Timeline on Page 1 Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 336Jun 26, 2013 1:35 pm Had my meeting with the SS this morning... Nice guy, spoke to him extensively about my concerns (I sent him the pictures with the poor brick work yesterday) and he's shown them to the bricklaying team regarding it. He has basically said that whilst that part of the brick work (tilted bricks) doesn't look tidy, the structural integrity of it is not affected. He said he could potentially knock and brick out and put a new one in, but then it might cause cracking later on down the track and he wouldn't recommend it. He has assured me that is won't be a problem. With regards to the per-pend (vertical) joints, he said it isn't Australian standard to fill them as it doesn't add any benefits. By having the plaster fill those vertical holes helps the plaster set firmer in place. Again, he has assured it won't be a problem. So here I am with the dilemma...should I make it a problem or trust in his (and various other people's) opinion that while is does look bad, nothing is affected structurally...? Build #2 Builder: In-Vogue Design: Custom 2 Storey Build #1 Builder: New Generation Homes Design: The Monterey My Build Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=60453 Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 337Jun 26, 2013 3:14 pm If your building inspectors overall opinion is that yes it looks messy but is technically fine then Id just leave it. They could cause more harm trying to fix it just to make it look nice than if it was left. It sucks that they have done such a bad job in the first place though Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 338Jun 26, 2013 4:05 pm I'd guess I'd leave it. But yes a shame it wasn't done great in first place. Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 339Jun 27, 2013 10:53 am jay i spoke to my friends hubby and he said exactly the same as SS.. its not neat but structurally it is fine.. goodluck on your decision Home Group WA Monte Carlo Timeline on Page 1 Re: WA - New Generation Homes - Bad Brick Laying? 340Jun 27, 2013 12:12 pm I don't know if I'm most shocked about the actual wall, or the assurances from most people that "it'll be fine". Also, plaster may stick better on rough surfaces, but the fact is, that a) it will stick enough on a less bodged surface, b) it is not evenly rough, so when the plaster is dried/soaked in, it will be slightly uneven, and c): That varying surface with that big mortar joints/missing mortar and so on, will absorb moisture unevenly. I seriously can't understand why the builder wants to use bricks on internal walls, and having to pay a bricklayer (well, I use that term very loosely in this case) work to that standard, instead of using, say, aerated concrete (I think that's what it's called in English): Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ It's quicker, you get uniform results, you can saw in it, it handles moisture and heat excellently, and did I mention it's a dead flat surface and very, very strong? Hell, you can even wall paper it with just some fillings to fill in where they butt together. Oh, yeah, and for a single storey house in Europe (roofs tend to be heavier than in Aus), you can use plates of 80mm to be the load carrying "frame" for the house and roof. (no affiliation to any aerated concrete manufacturers or resellers or anything else. I don't work in the building trade or anywhere near it). Edit: load bearing like this: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ https://form.jotform.com/240284569218058 Please spare a moment to fill out this survey form for a project. You stand a chance to win a digital gift voucher. Legitimate… 0 2814 interesting situation what happened after builder issued final invoice? did you list as defect or not does the building surveyor have any responsibility? ie. issuing… 13 46866 Building Standards; Getting It Right! Hi all, My neighbour has built his 15m long garage on our boundary. It was agreed as part of the planning permit that the wall must be in exposed recycled brick. For some… 0 10892 |