Damp Problems? Mortar loose on my house

[chris_red_lion]

Please see images-










Underneatht the blue bricks (is this the dpc?) the bricks seem fine - i.e. not crumbling or wet but the mortar has crumbled away.

My first question is - is all I need to get done is the brink repointed.

Should I be exploring where the damp has come from? The air brick is clear (if this has any relevance). However there is a strip of grit which you
can see in the picture whihc is also very damp.

I think what I'm after is as much advice as possible from the pictures. I have a couple of builders coming round to look at this but I am female and live alone and am worried about being ripped of. Especially as I have to pick these builders out from the telephone book.

I know its a long shot but any advice - even if its what questions to ask thebuilders would be very helpful

Christine

Edited to embed pictures

[leebwk]

Hi,

From the pics provided this does look like the DPC, firstly all work below DPC is subject to damp the DPC stops the damp rising above it, secondly judging by the pics you have no problems at all, unless you have damp problems in your house then i would not even entertain the idea of having any work done, the walls shown look absolutely fine and normal and you will be ripped off if anyone tells you, you need work carried out
All brickwork below DPC does start to look a bit discoloured maybe a bit ropey overtime and judging by the age of your house (ie english bond) your brickwork looks far better than most new houses.
So do not panic and i would cancel the builders appointments

[stuart45]

I would agree that the brickwork looks to be in good condition for its age. The bottom courses look to have been re-pointed in the past. I would be interested to know what work the builders tell you is needed, which is none looking at the photos. Have you got timber floors?

[chris_red_lion]

Thank you for your advice - I feel a lot happy now.

However shouldn't I have the bottom 4 rows of bricks repointed as in areas the mortar is falling out?

Thanks once again

Christine

[leebwk]

Hi Chris,

This brickwork looks like it has been repointed at some stage, but from what i can see it does look ok, i think you will be causing yourself a whole lot of unnecessary work and also damage if you try and have it raked out and repointed, unless you are having damp issues inside then i would leave it


Leebwk