Crumbing Garden Wall

condord

Hi All,

The wall in my backyard is in bad shape.
The middle part of it is crumbling apart. I'd like to put a finish on it to smooth it all out.

I believe this is called render?

It's an old boundary wall, facing inwards into my yard. I don't mind if the finish isn't 100% perfect, as long as I stop any further bits falling off it.

I've attached a few pictures here:

imgur(dot)com/a/akhYi

(I can't put the link in, because I don't have enough posts yet. If someone could post the link for me, that would be great.)

I removed a soil bed from around the base of the wall. That's the "trough" that you can see. I'm going to extend the paving over that part. As you can see, the wall is in bad shape at the bottom. If that damage was below the level of the new tiles, then that would be ok, but it's not, so I'm going to need to patch it up. There used to be ivy all over the wall, so I'll be scraping all that off before attempting any repairs.

Do you think this is a difficult job requiring a professional? Or could someone with middling DIY ability be able to handle it? I'm not looking for a perfectly smooth finish with no blemishes, just patching it up and being able to paint it would be nice.

Thanks,
Cd

PaddyWilliams

http://imgur.com/a/akhYi

Calahonda52

So thats what the strange shaft looks like from the inside
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=100184498

Nothing in the picture to suggest the wall is crumbling, looks like just the render so I wouldn't be overly concerned, you could just make up some plaster and, having cleaning it all out of loose material and dust, just fill the holes at the bottom.

If you want a proper rendered finish all along then its a pro job

condord

Calahonda52 wrote: »

So thats what the strange shaft looks like from the
inside

Ha! Well spotted. Now you see why I wanted to do something with it. It takes up some of my tiny yard. I'm going to follow advice on last thread, and leave it be.

Thanks for your advice on the wall. It's strange that both ends of the wall seem to be rendered perfectly fine, but the whole middle section has fallen away. I wonder if the Ivy was responsible for that. It certainly dug out those holes under the wall with its roots.
Ideally I'd have the whole wall smooth, so maybe a job for a professional...

cd

Calahonda52

Yep, the ivy did that.

The painting will make render more difficult to stick to it but if it is prepped properly then it can be done.
One rolls royce option would be to nail expanded metal across all the wall and put on new plaster.
Don't accept just a bit of polybond....

condord

Calahonda52 wrote: »

Yep, the ivy did that.

The painting will make render more difficult to stick to it but if it is prepped properly then it can be done.
One rolls royce option would be to nail expanded metal across all the wall and put on new plaster.
Don't accept just a bit of polybond....

Had to Google for both Polybond and expanded metal there!
I can see how the expanded metal would work. That would be a nice finish afterwards, but probably beyond my capability to plaster the whole wall without making a hames of it. I'd imagine that's be quite expensive to get done too.

Found some info on repairing old rubble walls on Period Properties with lime render. Here's what it says:

"If there are deep hollows in the surface of the wall dub them out first using lime mortar and small bits of stone or tile, and allow this to firm up before applying the first coat of render. There is no need to try to create an absolutely smooth flat surface as on most old buildings lime render and plaster looks best if it follows the contours of the wall.
Lime renders must be applied using as much pressure as possible to force the mortar into the surface crevices or between the laths to form a close contact between mortar and backing. For masonry walls, whilst it is possible to apply render using either a gauging trowel or a plasterers trowel the best result is achieved by throwing the mortar on from a trowel. This technique ensures the best bond between the mortar and the wall, expels any air in the mix and ensures that the mortar is well compacted."

Sounds challenging enough, I might have to leave it to a pro. I'll get some quotes today and will ask how they'd handle it.

Thanks,
Cd

antiskeptic

condord wrote: »

It's strange that both ends of the wall seem to be rendered perfectly fine, but the whole middle section has fallen away.


cd

Judging by the capping and the straight vertical line, it might be an infill section added later and with poorer finish than the original.

It looks like random rubble build - stones and rocks bonded together with a mortar, often rendered to give a smooth, weatherproof finish.

The rest of the wall could be same or brick. If appearances important then re-rendering. If simply wanting to stabilise then consider limewash - a finish that was traditionally used to add a protective coating to such walls if not rendered (consider typical Irish cottages). It'd be more DIY than rendering (which is a pro job). Read up on limewash paints, which contain additives to make them durable and not leave you with a dusty finish. You'd have to brush all the loose stuff off and perhaps infill with mortar where big gaps in the mortar crumbling away, then limewash.

condord

antiskeptic wrote: »

Read up on limewash paints, which contain additives to make them durable and not leave you with a dusty finish. You'd have to brush all the loose stuff off and perhaps infill with mortar where big gaps in the mortar crumbling away, then limewash.

Great advice. Thanks.
I'll see what the quotes are like. If they are too much, I'll do what you suggest.
Thanks,
Cd