Repairs: electrics and miscellaneous items

Many brick-built garden boundary walls become retaining walls by default, as earth levels are built up over time well above the original ground level.

If this becomes apparent and resetting to the original ground levels is not feasible (for example, the neighbouring property has a higher ground level than the client's), it may be appropriate to look at drilling drainage holes through the brick to relieve the weight of retained earth and water and some of the load on the wall. Check ownership of the walls first!

Ownership of fences and boundaries can become a hot potato, particularly in rural areas where stock fences were erected perhaps a metre or more inside the real boundary (and used to prevent animals pushing through the actual boundary line), but then become reinterpreted and the stock fence is adopted as the 'real' boundary.

Sometimes party wall issues impact on walls and fences. This does not mean that you necessarily have to choose the most obvious solution when constructing or repairing a boundary. For example, it may be possible to cantilever one end of a wall or fence to avoid the provisions of the Party Wall Act affecting a scheme.

Careful maintenance of records, checking of title registration documents and so on is appropriate if there is any doubt about works being carried out to, or up to, the boundaries. Wherever possible, avoid a simple building job turning into a boundary dispute as well.

Delays to the programme caused by such disputes can have a significant cost attached to them. Also, if builders have allowed a particular schedule for the work, they may not be able to come back and resume the same timetable once a dispute has been resolved. Pre-planning and communication pay off in this respect.

Ensure that the builder is quite clear about the ownership of the boundaries and any protection measures that might be needed in advance (see Neighbourly matters).

COST SEQUENCE – Fence post repair

Assume 5 no. timber fence posts are to be repaired at nominal 2m centres across the run of the fence.

1. Provide temporary propping to existing fence posts as required.

2. Excavate pit adjacent to fence post between 750mm and 1m. Nominal pit diameters, say, 400mm.

3. Fill base of pit with wet mix cement-rich concrete. Insert pre-cast concrete stub post and align with timber post. Back-fill post hole to ground level with wet mix concrete.

4. When concrete is set, drill through the timber posts (align drill bit through bolt holes in the concrete stub post). Insert engineering stud bolting nominally, say, M12.

5. Allow for timber plate to pack out between concrete post and timber post as required. Fit washer and bolt to each outer side of fence post and the stub post, and tighten up stud bolt across stud post and timber fence post. Saw off the end of the stud bolt and paint on rust inhibitor to exposed fresh metal.

6. Strike temporary supports.

Fence post repair – COST £225

Small works pricing

Since the original price estimating in 2008 the economic turmoil of the last few years has caused some disparities in pricing - if you are reviewing these figures in the London area they may look laughable - if you are located in Hull they might still look a bit expensive. Please treat them with caution and of course always consider obtaining more than one quote against which to test prices. Reference to the BCIS or a small works pricing book such as Spons or Laxton's will help assess costs and the hourly labour rates upon which they are based.

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Problem 1: Expansion cracks in garden and boundary walls

Boundary walls are often constructed in considerable lengths and with little regard to expansion jointing requirements. If fissuring to the walls is caught at an early stage it is sometimes possible to cut in expansion joints at appropriate intervals without the need for additional substantive works to construct supporting piers or even rebuild sections of the wall.

Solution

By carefully cutting a slot through the wall to open up the expansion joint to perhaps 10–15mm in width and inserting plastic-sleeved stainless steel expansion joint bars (something similar to wall ties), it is possible to tie together both panels of the wall and still accommodate some movement. This is relatively simple to do.

The plastic tube sleeves need to be carefully secured within the mortar joints and, where appropriate, an epoxy-modified cement mortar should provide good adhesion.

Note: this technique may not be appropriate if significant jointing and repointing is carried out in a wall that was originally constructed with lime mortar, because this could cause water to be retained and result in subsequent frost action damage.

Ensure that any slot cut providing a new expansion joint is appropriately filled with a fibre or compressible foam to prevent any stones falling in and preventing movement to the wall occurring and causing further cracking in the future.

COST SEQUENCE – Cutting-in expansion joint to freestanding half-brick-thick boundary wall

Assumed wall is of no greater height than 2m.

1. Provide temporary support from raking shores or screw jacks as required.

2. Using rotary masonry saw, cut slot through existing expansion crack using battens nailed to face of wall to provide guidance.

3. Pass 2 cuts to open slot through wall, say, 15mm in width.

4. Carefully chase out mortar bedding courses on each side of the expansion joint slot. Opposing slots are to be cut through the joints. Allow for, say, 4 evenly spread across the height of the wall.

5. Grout in using epoxy modified cement mortar plastic 4 no. sleeved stainless steel expansion joint ties. Grout into the centre of the thickness of the wall. Ensure face pointing is neatly completed in bucket handle finish on completion.

6. Insert compressible foam or fibre fill to expansion joint to prevent obstruction from entry of dirt and debris.

7. Clean away all arisings and remove temporary support.

Cutting in expansion joint to freestanding half brick thick boundary wall – COST £96

Small works pricing

Since the original price estimating in 2008 the economic turmoil of the last few years has caused some disparities in pricing - if you are reviewing these figures in the London area they may look laughable - if you are located in Hull they might still look a bit expensive. Please treat them with caution and of course always consider obtaining more than one quote against which to test prices. Reference to the BCIS or a small works pricing book such as Spons or Laxton's will help assess costs and the hourly labour rates upon which they are based.

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Problem 2: Inadequate supporting piers or bowing to wall

If the degree of bowing to the wall is relatively slight, it should prove possible either to:

• reconstruct existing piers that are underperforming; or
• install what is, in effect, a new pier as a raking buttress.

Check the wall first to assess the quality and condition of the mortar joint bonding.

If the wall can be noticeably rocked, it is unlikely that the mortar joints are sufficiently strong and it would be more appropriate to rebuild the wall with adequate strengthening rather than risk collapse. This is particularly important in any location where young children might play beneath the wall or climb over it.

Solution

If the wall is reasonably firm but has started to distort with age or perhaps under the influence of tree roots, it should be possible to excavate around an existing pier or, if there is no pier, to construct a new foundation adjacent to the wall and build in a raking brick supporting pier to provide additional support.

Ensure that the raking pier drains properly, because frost will soon attack and damage any exposed brick surfaces.

The BRE Good Repair Guide 28 Repairing brick and block freestanding walls (2nd edition) is worth reading. It recommends that half brick walls should probably be rebuilt if the distortion is 13mm across the height of the wall; likewise 70mm for a single brick wall or 100mm distortion in a one-and-a-half brick wall. The guide does not explicitly state, but the author assumes, that this is for walls that are 2m high or less.

Choice of materials for boundaries There is often pressure to apply the cheapest solution but the consequences of a collapsing brick wall do not bear thinking about. This problem frequently arises when properties come up for sale and are subject to a condition survey. The vendors are frequently strapped for cash at that point, but the advice must come from a ‘safety first’ point of view, regardless of the financial consequences. If a brick wall has to be demolished it may be more cost-effective to replace it with a timber post and panel fence or equivalent. If you are involved with social housing you will find there is considerable pressure to use timber fence posts because of the sustainable renewable scoring under the EcoHomes rating for Housing Corporation grants (or the Code for Sustainable Homes). While this is broadly to be encouraged, timber fence posts have a fairly limited lifespan, and use of a timber fence set within concrete posts, which are properly secured in a concrete base, is probably more efficient in the long term. (Trying to dig out and repair timber posts is generally a messy operation, particularly once a garden or common areas have matured.) Installing (preferably) concrete gravel boards at the bottom of the fence will potentially extend the life of the fencing dramatically by reducing contact between the timber and damp ground. If you must specify timber fence posts, these should be under 'Category A' of BS 5589 where a target life of 40 years is specified. (Category B is for a target service life of 20 years.) Timber quality for most domestic fences is unlikely to comply with most of the British Standard requirements, so check in advance. BS 1722 provides details of timber qualities for selection purposes (see Building contracts and tenders), but there is always a risk of the timber rotting (even if a quality control process has been followed). Assuming you are specifying a traditional wooden post fence with rails and boarding, refer to BS 1722-7: 2006 which provides the main specification criteria. If specifying railing enclosures, carefully consider whether you really want spikes on the top. They can have unforeseen implications – for example, how can window cleaners obtain access to the main elevations of the building, and is there a risk that they could fall onto railings?

COST SEQUENCE – Repair to garden boundary wall in brick

Construction of buttressing pier. Assumed wall height is 2m.

1. Provide temporary support by raking screw jacks or timber buttresses to each side of the repair area as required.

2. Excavate around defective existing pier. Allow for excavation of pit, nominally 1m by 1m and depth nominally 0.5m.

3. Pour concrete pad to nominal depth, say, 200mm.

4. Construct solid brick raking buttress to height of, say, nominally 1.5m and to maximum depth of new footing pad, say, 1m back from face of wall. Face point new brick joints in cement-rich Portland mortar mix to improve moisture resistance and bucket handle joint face to assist with shedding water (unless works are executed in lime mortar).

5. Strike all temporary supports and clear away on completion of works and remove all arisings.

Repair to garden boundary wall in brick – COST £400

Small works pricing

Since the original price estimating in 2008 the economic turmoil of the last few years has caused some disparities in pricing - if you are reviewing these figures in the London area they may look laughable - if you are located in Hull they might still look a bit expensive. Please treat them with caution and of course always consider obtaining more than one quote against which to test prices. Reference to the BCIS or a small works pricing book such as Spons or Laxton's will help assess costs and the hourly labour rates upon which they are based.