Are there any Builders amongst us who can give me a little advice regarding some pointing please?

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Yorkie

Well-Known Member
Hi.
I need a little advice from a Builder please. My Bungalow has a brick built gable end. From ground level to roof is that sandy coloured brickwork. It is in need of pointing.

I suspect this will be expensive due to scaffolding needed plus all the work chipping out and re-pointing.

I have noticed several bungalows on my avenue have had their gable ends rendered. I watched them do it and they place like a cloth scree in the render as they do it.

My question is, will the rendering suffice instead of getting the re-pointing done? Does it need pointing and then the rendering applied? The rendering looks really nice and comes with some lovely colours. They are done and dusted in a couple of days.

Not really sure what to do, and any advice would be gratefully received, as always.
 
Pointing looks better! Put value on your building
The council I work for did lots of prefab house in white render any north face houses are now a slime looking green 😳
Brick coloured or terracotta looks ok
Basically any colour bar white
 
Yorkie said:
Hi.
I need a little advice from a Builder please. My Bungalow has a brick built gable end. From ground level to roof is that sandy coloured brickwork. It is in need of pointing.

I suspect this will be expensive due to scaffolding needed plus all the work chipping out and re-pointing.

I have noticed several bungalows on my avenue have had their gable ends rendered. I watched them do it and they place like a cloth scree in the render as they do it.

My question is, will the rendering suffice instead of getting the re-pointing done? Does it need pointing and then the rendering applied? The rendering looks really nice and comes with some lovely colours. They are done and dusted in a couple of days.

Not really sure what to do, and any advice would be gratefully received, as always.
Click to expand...
You would be raking out the joints (or should) fixing angle/drip beads or a baton to finish against where needed.
The scratch coat will get a good key in the raked out joints.

Just get a quote for both or ask who has had it done, but the rates/materials have gone up a lot
 
Forget the rendering, they are mostly using a silicone based mix now which is coloured but cannot be painted. after a few years it looks awful. When getting quotes to repoint, be sure to get it confirmed they will rake out at least 20mm but 25mm is the ideal, what mix they will use and how close it will match the existing on the rest of the house. i assume you have cement at the moment, but if it is lime then youll need a specialist. As for scaffold, most use mobile towers, so much cheaper.
 
Re pointing will cost an arm and leg in man hours
You can get cementitious renders that can be painted as often as you like it can be sprayed on then rubbed back the following day so done and dusted in two days if there are bad areas of brick work you can put a reinforce mesh in the render by far the quickest option cost probably the same
 
Always remember that the pointing is meant to yield which is why it fails and the bricks don't. Get the mix wrong if you DIY and you'll see the bricks start to spall whilst the pointing stays as good as new. That's not how it is meant to work so you need a mix softer than you bricks. Some say 3:1 others I have heard say 5:1. As long as you work safely there's nothing to stop you scraping out the failed pointing to save labour costs and have your "man" do the actual mortar work. The problem with this time of year is there's still a school of thought that your mortar mix needs to change as the evenings become colder, below 9 degrees. Some say no longer necessary others say it still needs to be accommodated. And last make sure the finish to the pointing matches the finish to the pointing on the rest of the wall!
 
wytonpjs said:
Around where we lives virtually all of the render on similar houses has discoloured with algae after 10 years or less. Wife will not contemplate a house with render now. Think carefully.......................
Click to expand...
We have half brick half render, like your wife, we will never buy another rendered house, if it's not getting covered in algae it's flaking off, nightmare stuff
 
You could do all the donkey work yourself, the raking back etc, a bungalow you can use an upturned milk crate as scaffolding if you have long arms, then get a brickie in for a couple of days to do the pointing, £250 - £300 a day and a bag of cement and a yard of nice sand... job done.

I built my dream house 16 years ago... brick plinth, exposed rafter feet, clay pantiles, every room with dual aspect windows.... and render... one of the biggest regrets of my life...
 
Hello, Pointings not that hard to do, Main thing is getting the mix correct and same color when it is finished, use a decent pointing trowel but slightly round off the tip some when you finish off it will join 2 brick edges, use a Mortar Board or brick trowel to hold mix while pointing in, For the mix you could do a test piece, use a water spray bottle if bricks dry, and get enough old mortar out to get a decent amount pointed back in, There is a row Victorian houses near me where 1 was recently done and it looks S**T
 
Bo Diddley said:
You could do all the donkey work yourself, the raking back etc, a bungalow you can use an upturned milk crate as scaffolding if you have long arms, then get a brickie in for a couple of days to do the pointing, £250 - £300 a day and a bag of cement and a yard of nice sand... job done.

I built my dream house 16 years ago... brick plinth, exposed rafter feet, clay pantiles, every room with dual aspect windows.... and render... one of the biggest regrets of my life...
Click to expand...
Hi.
It is the gable end that needs doing. It is flipping high up when you get to the ridge. I go dizzy standing on a stepladder.
 
Hi.
Thank you everyone for replying.
I do not have the skills to do it. It is a big gable end and the bricks are small. I realise there will be a lot of hours in chipping out.

The bricks are a sand colour and the mortar is a similar match. It is not falling apart, but is ready for the work doing if that makes sense?

The other houses that have had the rendering were painted when the job was done, it was not coloured render they used. They seem to be standing up to weathering ok, but having said that they have only been done a few years.
 
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