Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 Jun 11, 2016 1:22 am Hi All, After some advice. I have a late 1890's terrace with a complete exposed wall on an entire side. In the recent Sydney storms - I am seeing water leakage. Replaced the roof recently and now need to look at the wall. The wall has been stripped back to plain brick at some point. I like the plain brick look but don't think it is easy to waterproof. The point is in okay condition - but probably can't see it all from ground. Options I am thinking about: 1. Some sort of clear coat, probably need to repoint - maintain look but seems very difficult 2. Paint wall - repoint where needed. 3. Render and maybe paint. I am a little less keen on render as I have seen so many instances of cracking/failure. Do you normally paint it? 4. Other? Other points - it is two stories high- probably 100-150 sqm in total for both sides. freestanding terrace. Any thoughts welcome. Re: Waterproof unsealed old brick wall 2Jun 11, 2016 11:08 am sydprop The wall has been stripped back to plain brick at some point. I like the plain brick look but don't think it is easy to waterproof. . Hi sydprop It depends on a number of factors, the condition of your bricks, cavity, windows, flashings etc,etc Photos would help Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Waterproof unsealed old brick wall 3Jun 11, 2016 11:32 am We've done this to a few older places - both render + paint and clear lacquer. In the ones we did as per what SBG says above, the walls were in OK condition in one and poor in both the others. The walls were re-pointed, in some cases bricks replaced, lintels over windows replaced etc before we either rendered or clear coated the walls with a lacquer. The old lime mortar can sometimes be very friable and needs to be raked out and replaced. It is labour intensive work. Whichever way you go you need to spend some time and money on the wall before you do the surface treatment otherwise like rust on a car, painting over it would be only a short term fix. Stewie Re: Waterproof unsealed old brick wall 4Jun 11, 2016 11:42 pm Hi All, Appreciate the initial thoughts. This is the representative photo but probably too far away to really help: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ There are two of these walls. Structurally sound - no movement or cracks. The wall is in ok condition - there are a few timber bits showing through - assume these are some sort of old ties. Given the rain ingress, it must be porous even if I can't see it from the ground. Assume it has been un-maintained for at least 20 years in this state. There are also some rising damp issues so will have to address them at the same time. Re: Waterproof unsealed old brick wall 5Jun 12, 2016 11:38 am Thanks for the photo & info That distant photo eliminates the possibility of windows and flashing damage as a cause of water ingress. Closer photos of the brickwork would give a better idea of the condition of the bricks & mortar? If you intended to paint the wall you will need to check the brick and mortar characteristics, ie substrate, porosity, strength, etc. HTH Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Waterproof unsealed old brick wall 6Jun 12, 2016 12:43 pm Is it at all possible that at some point in the past there was another terrace home in between yours and your neighbour? (where the carport is). I'm just taking a wild guess because the gap between them is almost the right size, and there doesn't appear to be any windows which would indicate possibly it was once a partition wall? If so, maybe the wall was not intended to be an "external" wall? Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Waterproof unsealed old brick wall 7Jun 20, 2016 11:10 pm Pretty good theory - I have the original council plans and it has always been freestanding. The adjacent terraces support your theory. However, there was definitely a low rise structure between the walls previously. The neighbours also had exposed brick although they appeared to have used a much more aggressive sand blaster (early 80's??) and their wall essentially had no flat surface - whereas it intact on ours. The double width block was one of the attractive features when it was bought... lots of potential... 1960sModernistHome Is it at all possible that at some point in the past there was another terrace home in between yours and your neighbour? (where the carport is). If so, maybe the wall was not intended to be an "external" wall? id suggest getting an engineer to give you an opinion rather than a builder. 1 11909 I am saying that double brick has similar thermal performance due to thermal mass effect. It will be still very interesting to see the state of your framing after 10-15… 10 23128 can’t tell from the photo, a tie down rod will be 12mm, is it a steel beam? he should be able to work it out 1 3372 |