This channel is now my 'Go To' place for all things DIY. Roger has a knack of publishing the things that matter and backing up what he says with evidence facts and good reasoning. On this particular subject (as with damp-proofing) he calls out 'Surveyors' who lack his practical experience. My recent appreciation is that houses must breathe and move.
I live in London and another common effect we're seeing at the moment of clay shrinkage due to the drought is jammed doors! The shrinkage can cause changes in the shape of door frames, jamming the door tightly shut, or misaligning mortice locks - even small changes in shape can cause this. Absolute PITA!!!
Be afraid home owners, be very afraid! When that cold rain hits your scorched scalded badly pointed sub standard brickwork, the thermal shock will shatter your dreams into a million pieces and you will be left with a worthless pile of rubble, very similar to houses built by Lecch and Barrat not too many years ago - sell your home, rdeem your mortgage, buy a tent and go and live on the streets of San Francisco ! Got to give it to Roger on this one! I can just see hundreds of worried home owners and DIY'er's running out trying to rake out all of that cement pointing they just spent the last week applying.
I enjoy your videos especially your explanations. I’ve commented before about differences in British and American construction. I live in the U. S. and I’m interested in construction techniques and design differences so anytime you can campare and contrast the building’s construction between the two countries would be great. Maybe a series of shows comparing the two. I feel like we Americans could learn a lot after all some if your buildings are so much older than ours. Hey whatever you do is great and appreciated. Just a suggestion.
@@Storm.Z.4u due to the size of the US population and the access to internet / fact that a lot of media (platforms) is US-based or focused, this may not be a good representation. Cultures do differ obviously
My observations on USA is that it was built much faster than the UK. Until very recently there was must timber framing which the Americans could teach us Brits a great deal!
Good job Roger. I hear NHBC are looking to revise the depth of foundations due to climate change. I think you should add that cracks are not just caused by clay shrinkage, but by trees, drainage and water main pipes or sometimes made up ground or voids. Not all surveyors are bad, just the unpractical ones.
My house is a 1930s semi, and the mortor is black old foundry sand & cement never cracks but let's the house move with the seasons . Only crack is on the render in the corner of the 45' bay upstairs, as it's built on the floor joists and they sag overtime, good video cheers.
I've saw a nice big crack in a house today actually, I've got to stop walking in on my neighbours 🙃. "Just because you fit this bathroom, doesn't mean you can just walk in whenever you like!" she said.. pff...🙄 the cheek of it.
I used to work in a house in Cardiff and the council built an extension but because the land was reclaimed the only option was to build on a raft which was fine but a little disconcerting as you could feel the structure vibrate if you jumped up and down lol 🤣🤣
Great video, thanks Roger. Liked the last statement. Interesting thing on the stitching is do the foundations also need doing(?) Part 2 Follow up video might be good. Other reasons for cracks e.g. insufficient mortar used.
Get the garden hose out and dampen the house surround? Thanks Roger, your right about lime build, most are pre nineteen century build on shallow footings and often show course cracking through ground movement. Interestingly the cracks you talk about get “healed” when rain dissolves small amounts of lime and fills the cracks.
@@SkillBuilder lime or chalk houses would be the subject of great interest to many restorers Roger and it would be appreciated by so many to gain a better understanding of this wondrous material. I would love to know the difference in application and durability between putty and hydraulic? Yes I know what they are and how they are produced etc but the differences in mechanical strength etc is a wall built in hydraulic and one in putty different? Perhaps one of your knowledgeable pals could throw some light on this grey area and teach us struggling lime workers more about the material we are using because getting good advice is rare and often wrong or misleading.
Hi Roger, thanks for the reassurance. I have what you have drawn at 3:15 mark but the stepping goes up the mortar and directly straight up through 2 of the bricks. Is that cause for more concern?
It can be but a good firm can keep costs down. Give us a shout if any help need. On a side note, check out @pint sized biker Chris, you may like it! Great channel
@@targetstructural Thanks for that, I've made a note, though I'm in South East and I see you're Berkshire, if I get any sites West of Reading, I'll give you shout. I checked out that channel you recommended, I'm more construction'y than beer'y, but thanks all the same 👍
If you were able to get a flat top on the concrete all the way through it may be an option but dry packing is the accepted method of tightening the gap.
Seems like the more sophisticated we try to make buildings the worse they end up being in longevity. Victorians chucked a few bricks in the ground, built with mortar so weak it's basically sand, and the building is able to move without cracking and last 100s of years. We dig meter deep foundations, use strong mortar, only for any movement to crack the entire wall in half
The water table is dropping and it ain't coming back so the clay will continue to dry over time and cracks will continue to grow. Google houses subsiding in Europe .... It's very educational.
Hi mate, I've used Porcelain tiles around my bungalow to prevent rainfall around the property etc. Would this also help keep moisture in around the ground aswel to help with clay drying up?
To some extent but over the course of a few months the ground will dry out. Very often they use clay boards to separate the clay from the foundations, that could help.
So.. im looking at buying a house that is covered in Rend. The house has a big crack on the rend which has been filled with what looks like Silicone. There are damp patches on the inside around where the crack is on the outside of the building. My Question is, Is it a big job to get this repaired or is it fairly simple? I should note its a victorian house, probably solid wall not 100% sure though.
They did mine a few years ago. Injected down 2 metres at a cost of £20,000+. Eighteen months ago the cracks opened up again so Geobear came back and injected down another two metres (4 metres total) with no additional charge. Recently the cracks have appeared again but this time they're only hairline. I'm waiting to see what happens when we get some rain. We are on London clay.
Thanks for that information I have an 1890 end of Terrace.A have also noticed a bulge about first floor level on the outside wall any suggestions.I took the chimney breasts out of the two bedrooms and I’m thinking of taking the lounge and dining room breast out.Any advise wound be appreciated.
As long as the bulge isnt beyond reasonable structural limits it should be ok if you put lateral restraint straps around every metre or so at floor level screw then to youre joists and to the brickwork with plugs and screws or if youre bricks are soft use chemical studs bear in mind taking youre chimney breat out will weaken youre walls slightly
@@yvonfem it all depends on the state of everything and an inspection by someone who knows what there doing would be advised. Chimney breast can act like structural props and serious consequences can result if removed. Beware of the dangers once you start pulling these old properties apart
A dodgy builder might suggest filling the cracks but are you seriously suggesting a qualified surveyor is unaware of the effects of heave and the correct remedies?
According to the correspondence we have had with one homeowner this is exactly what happened. Their advice was to fill the cracks and repoint the brickwork and monitor the situation. If he gave this advice to one homeowner then it is likely he gave it to several more. If the surveryor is employed by the insurance company who say "send in photographs" you can assume they are looking to reduce costs and limit claims.
Hi Tony I value your comment very highly, there are not many people who pick up on this aspect, but it is good to know that somebody out there appreciates what I am trying to do with regards to clarity.
maybe you can help me I've got an issue with rat under my floorboards and in the loft, I've done everything possible so far but no joy! and it's bought a mate long now😟 I do get them now again and taps normally work! this is a funny looking rat it's grey and white, i have set the traps on numerous times but never caught it and even use the sticky pad under the floorboards dragged somewhere got out of it, poison it will not touch it general is useless anyway, and the live trap it will not go into. try different peanutbutter's haven't tried chocolate. it's under the floorboard and in the middle of the night it wakes me up! noring at the end worried about the joist, I wondered about smoke you can get smoke bombs for chimneys or maybe these joststick balls might do it. I need somebody with a snake lol any ideas!
We’ll, good advice, what you think , about filling silicone, if the cracks it’s outside the building , I believe it’s even worse if water goes inside a brickwork during the raining seasons which is very common in U.K. 🧱?
This channel is now my 'Go To' place for all things DIY. Roger has a knack of publishing the things that matter and backing up what he says with evidence facts and good reasoning. On this particular subject (as with damp-proofing) he calls out 'Surveyors' who lack his practical experience. My recent appreciation is that houses must breathe and move.
Thanks for reassuring people. I spent a lot of my adult life worrying about things that never happened in the end. Made me go grey too early.
I haven't had walls or mortar cracking but my recently caulked and painted skirting has... really glad I spent all that time caulking and cutting in 🤦
I live in London and another common effect we're seeing at the moment of clay shrinkage due to the drought is jammed doors! The shrinkage can cause changes in the shape of door frames, jamming the door tightly shut, or misaligning mortice locks - even small changes in shape can cause this. Absolute PITA!!!
Thanks Tony, that is a new kind of lockdown when you can't open your door
@@SkillBuilder China style lockdown 🇨🇳
Be afraid home owners, be very afraid! When that cold rain hits your scorched scalded badly pointed sub standard brickwork, the thermal shock will shatter your dreams into a million pieces and you will be left with a worthless pile of rubble, very similar to houses built by Lecch and Barrat not too many years ago - sell your home, rdeem your mortgage, buy a tent and go and live on the streets of San Francisco !
Got to give it to Roger on this one! I can just see hundreds of worried home owners and DIY'er's running out trying to rake out all of that cement pointing they just spent the last week applying.
Nothing a bit of expanding foam won't sort out
Especially said and executed by shady landlords thinking they're basically builders
The ol' TEC7 will do just fine
I enjoy your videos especially your explanations. I’ve commented before about differences in British and American construction. I live in the U. S. and I’m interested in construction techniques and design differences so anytime you can campare and contrast the building’s construction between the two countries would be great. Maybe a series of shows comparing the two. I feel like we Americans could learn a lot after all some if your buildings are so much older than ours.
Hey whatever you do is great and appreciated. Just a suggestion.
B Come on that is clearly not true. There are stupid people everywhere but they do not represent the population as a whole
@@Storm.Z.4u due to the size of the US population and the access to internet / fact that a lot of media (platforms) is US-based or focused, this may not be a good representation. Cultures do differ obviously
My observations on USA is that it was built much faster than the UK. Until very recently there was must timber framing which the Americans could teach us Brits a great deal!
Good job Roger. I hear NHBC are looking to revise the depth of foundations due to climate change. I think you should add that cracks are not just caused by clay shrinkage, but by trees, drainage and water main pipes or sometimes made up ground or voids. Not all surveyors are bad, just the unpractical ones.
This was drought related, I did say there is a lot more to talk about.
"Very few things in life are worth worrying about"...love it!
My house is a 1930s semi, and the mortor is black old foundry sand & cement never cracks but let's the house move with the seasons . Only crack is on the render in the corner of the 45' bay upstairs, as it's built on the floor joists and they sag overtime, good video cheers.
I've saw a nice big crack in a house today actually, I've got to stop walking in on my neighbours 🙃.
"Just because you fit this bathroom, doesn't mean you can just walk in whenever you like!" she said.. pff...🙄 the cheek of it.
Thanks well explained and interesting. Common sense and practical advice.
I used to work in a house in Cardiff and the council built an extension but because the land was reclaimed the only option was to build on a raft which was fine but a little disconcerting as you could feel the structure vibrate if you jumped up and down lol
🤣🤣
Great video, thanks Roger. Liked the last statement. Interesting thing on the stitching is do the foundations also need doing(?) Part 2 Follow up video might be good. Other reasons for cracks e.g. insufficient mortar used.
As always, wise words from Roger! Another great vid thanks Roger, stay cool!
Those helical ties are the way forward, great bit of kit.
Get the garden hose out and dampen the house surround? Thanks Roger, your right about lime build, most are pre nineteen century build on shallow footings and often show course cracking through ground movement. Interestingly the cracks you talk about get “healed” when rain dissolves small amounts of lime and fills the cracks.
Yes I have talked abot the autogenous qualities of lime in previous videos. Stalatctites and all that.
@@SkillBuilder lime or chalk houses would be the subject of great interest to many restorers Roger and it would be appreciated by so many to gain a better understanding of this wondrous material. I would love to know the difference in application and durability between putty and hydraulic? Yes I know what they are and how they are produced etc but the differences in mechanical strength etc is a wall built in hydraulic and one in putty different? Perhaps one of your knowledgeable pals could throw some light on this grey area and teach us struggling lime workers more about the material we are using because getting good advice is rare and often wrong or misleading.
"Crack house" has a very different meaning here in the US.🤣
They knew what they were doing
Na crack house Here means the same lpl
Hi Roger, thanks for the reassurance. I have what you have drawn at 3:15 mark but the stepping goes up the mortar and directly straight up through 2 of the bricks. Is that cause for more concern?
You Crack me up Roger 😂
The first bit was spot on thank you roger for a dose of common sense a some what mental world at the moment.
Nice one Roger, fyi anyone, in Kent the going rate for underpinning is around £2500 per linear metre, for a typical house.
tHAT'S pAINFUL
@@michaelfraser5723 Just a lot!
It can be but a good firm can keep costs down. Give us a shout if any help need. On a side note, check out @pint sized biker Chris, you may like it! Great channel
@@targetstructural Thanks for that, I've made a note, though I'm in South East and I see you're Berkshire, if I get any sites West of Reading, I'll give you shout. I checked out that channel you recommended, I'm more construction'y than beer'y, but thanks all the same 👍
@@bikerchrisukk No worries, we work all over the UK just so you know
cracking video, thanks
:-)
Hi Roget , what about no fines non standard construction ? Would that be also be affected as the brick houses ?
A foot deep foundation on rubble on clay. Sounds scary!
why not pack the top of the new concrete foundation with slate instead of dry sand and cement?
If you were able to get a flat top on the concrete all the way through it may be an option but dry packing is the accepted method of tightening the gap.
Seems like the more sophisticated we try to make buildings the worse they end up being in longevity. Victorians chucked a few bricks in the ground, built with mortar so weak it's basically sand, and the building is able to move without cracking and last 100s of years. We dig meter deep foundations, use strong mortar, only for any movement to crack the entire wall in half
Wrap a ratchet strap around the house 😀
The water table is dropping and it ain't coming back so the clay will continue to dry over time and cracks will continue to grow. Google houses subsiding in Europe .... It's very educational.
Builders show too many cracks.
Hi there any advice on thermal expansion? How to repair vertical cracked bricks
The punchline at the end was worth waiting for. Best point of the video.
Really helpful video Roger….I’ve got a 1910 London house with exactly these cracks….how can I determine if the mortar is lime or cement? Thanks.
If you can rake out a bit of mortar with a screwdriver it is very likely sand and lime. The age suggests it will be.
@@SkillBuilder and by now it has turned to chalk, the mix will usually contain some course grit to act as a binder to bolster the chalk.
Hi mate, I've used Porcelain tiles around my bungalow to prevent rainfall around the property etc. Would this also help keep moisture in around the ground aswel to help with clay drying up?
To some extent but over the course of a few months the ground will dry out. Very often they use clay boards to separate the clay from the foundations, that could help.
not my house, but my garage has dropped by around 4 inches on one corner
same issue?
thanks
So.. im looking at buying a house that is covered in Rend. The house has a big crack on the rend which has been filled with what looks like Silicone. There are damp patches on the inside around where the crack is on the outside of the building. My Question is, Is it a big job to get this repaired or is it fairly simple? I should note its a victorian house, probably solid wall not 100% sure though.
Relax, we can fix ANYTHING.
Re-bar will rust, don't do it..
Hi Roger. Have you come across Geobear? Remarkable.
They did mine a few years ago. Injected down 2 metres at a cost of £20,000+. Eighteen months ago the cracks opened up again so Geobear came back and injected down another two metres (4 metres total) with no additional charge. Recently the cracks have appeared again but this time they're only hairline. I'm waiting to see what happens when we get some rain. We are on London clay.
That is why you pour a layer of sand above the clay before you cast your concrete foundation rails there.
That is why you build a house on poles.
Thanks for that information I have an 1890 end of Terrace.A have also noticed a bulge about first floor level on the outside wall any suggestions.I took the chimney breasts out of the two bedrooms and I’m thinking of taking the lounge and dining room breast out.Any advise wound be appreciated.
Don't take the chimney breasts out
The breasts act as buttresses. If you think the bulge has appeared since you took them out upstairs I would caution against removing them downstairs.
As long as the bulge isnt beyond reasonable structural limits it should be ok if you put lateral restraint straps around every metre or so at floor level screw then to youre joists and to the brickwork with plugs and screws or if youre bricks are soft use chemical studs bear in mind taking youre chimney breat out will weaken youre walls slightly
Best you contact a structural engineer. He may reccomend installing a tiebar with external plates to prevent collapse.
@@yvonfem it all depends on the state of everything and an inspection by someone who knows what there doing would be advised. Chimney breast can act like structural props and serious consequences can result if removed. Beware of the dangers once you start pulling these old properties apart
We like a bit of Common-Sense Roger ..... It's Got VERY SCARCE! since Lockdowns 'Withered' the Old Grey-Matter 😉
Lets hear the ‘more to say’ on this 👍
BTW, " air source " heat pumps are useless at the moment, unless you have shares in electricity supply.
How much is it costing yoy to run?
A dodgy builder might suggest filling the cracks but are you seriously suggesting a qualified surveyor is unaware of the effects of heave and the correct remedies?
According to the correspondence we have had with one homeowner this is exactly what happened. Their advice was to fill the cracks and repoint the brickwork and monitor the situation. If he gave this advice to one homeowner then it is likely he gave it to several more. If the surveryor is employed by the insurance company who say "send in photographs" you can assume they are looking to reduce costs and limit claims.
Another plain English masterclass. Thank you.
Hi Tony
I value your comment very highly, there are not many people who pick up on this aspect, but it is good to know that somebody out there appreciates what I am trying to do with regards to clarity.
maybe you can help me I've got an issue with rat under my floorboards and in the loft, I've done everything possible so far but no joy! and it's bought a mate long now😟
I do get them now again and taps normally work! this is a funny looking rat it's grey and white, i have set the traps on numerous times but never caught it and even use the sticky pad under the floorboards dragged somewhere got out of it, poison it will not touch it general is useless anyway, and the live trap it will not go into. try different peanutbutter's haven't tried chocolate.
it's under the floorboard and in the middle of the night it wakes me up! noring at the end worried about the joist,
I wondered about smoke you can get smoke bombs for chimneys or maybe these joststick balls might do it.
I need somebody with a snake lol any ideas!
Used to do lots of helical bar for insurance
Who wants their house to look like Michael Strahan🤣
Frightens me - Maybe it’s the eyes
Crack house horror lol
👍👍👍
We’ll, good advice, what you think , about filling silicone, if the cracks it’s outside the building , I believe it’s even worse if water goes inside a brickwork during the raining seasons which is very common in U.K. 🧱?
You make a good point and a flexible mastic might be a good idea but I would tend to use a spray foam.
Those guys who can do a perfect brick and mortar match have a special name ……..
Magicians 🧙😬🧱👍🏽