Flemish Bond Conundrum

[parkview094]

Here is a diagram of how the side of our house looked:

As part of our kitchen plans, we're removing the old outside store, back door and outside WC. So the builder took the necessary wall out leaving us with this:

Today I came home from work to find this:

Conundrum for the evening.. what's the problem?

 

[malcolm]

Is it a real question or a fun quiz? Are lintels acceptable as part of the answer? Headers removed for no good reason leaving a poor joint and misaligned bond maybe?

 

[parkview094]

Sadly it's a real question. The plan was is to brick up the entire hole, the brickie is currently 11 courses into his task..

 

[Flyfisher]

Based on that drawing, the brickie has used Flemish bond for the six new courses of brickwork but has not joined them correctly to the existing brickwork. It should have been possible to follow the existing brickwork above the original doors/window. Also, if he's bricking up the entire hole, you'll want the top course to exactly blend with the existing course.

It's hard to tell how noticeable it actually is from a drawing, is it possible to post a photograph?

Hopefully this won't turn into a big argument with your builder but I'm guessing that this was not explicitly discussed in detail at the beginning of the work - which is not a criticism as it's exactly the sort of detail that is so easily overlooked until it's staring you in the face.

We once had an extension built onto a previous house and the existing windows had a row of bricks-on-end above them as you've shown in your sketch. i came home from work one evening to find that the brickwork above the extension window did not match and spent the evening fretting about having to argue with the builders the next morning about taking them out and redoing things to match. When the builders arrived the next morning I quietly mentioned to the head man that there's a bit of a problem, to which he said "show me" and I pointed out the window brickwork, whereupon he immediately said "that's not right, it doesn't match the other windows, leave it with me". By the end of the day the brickwork had been changed and was a perfect match.

Good luck!

 

[malcolm]

That would bother me. Can't fix that without messing the verticals and making it really ugly. Or continue the headers from the window to hide it and make it ugly. It's not right either way.

He is only a day in. I would have him knock it out and start again rather than waste another 2 days doing it more wrong.

 

[MikeG]

Take it down whilst it's still green. There is an established bond above the opening. All he has to do is start properly, in line with what is above (I presume the bricks are the same size?), and all will be well. Right now, that looks awful. I'm assuming he didn't tooth-out properly back to the headers under the window.

Who pays for it is another matter, but you can't leave it like that, particularly if it is red bricks with white mortar.

 

[MikeG]

Right, I've had a closer look. There's more to this than meets the eye, if the drawing is accurate.

None of the bond below the window lines up with the established bond above. Is this area of brickwork original?

 

[parkview094]

Right, I've had a closer look. There's more to this than meets the eye, if the drawing is accurate.

None of the bond below the window lines up with the established bond above. Is this area of brickwork original?

I'm glad you spotted that. I spent some time drawing it like that so I feel it was worth the effort! Indeed - the brickwork beneath the window doesn't line up with the brickwork above the window. It's original and I think it was done like that to avoid a 'thin slither' where the back door used to be. I also think that's what's caused the problem as the brickie started the new brickwork matching up against the pattern beneath the window..

 

[parkview094]

Funny the things you notice on second inspection..

You can see the brickwork to the left of the leftmost door and between the leftmost and middle doors is original, but clearly doesn't align with the mortar lines above the doors..

 

[plasticpigeon]

That's a tricky one. Have you an idea of how you would like the bond to progress?

 

[a twig]

Carry on as you are, paint it all with a few thick coats of Sandtex and you won't be able to see it, problem solved :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

*Runs away cackling madly*

 

[MikeG]

Well, you can't strip out the entire original area below the window, so I think I would set out again from the left hand end of the new opening, and insert Queen closers as necessary when I ran into the original brickwork. Whatever you do is going to be visible, so be visible in an organised and understandable manner.

-

Did someone mention Sandtex? Catch the blighter, haul him off to the flogging tree, and don't spare the lashes!

 

[MikeG]

......to avoid a 'thin slither'......

Well worth avoiding, in my view.

Sliver, methinks. :wink:

 

[plasticpigeon]

Well, you can't strip out the entire original area below the window, so I think I would set out again from the left hand end of the new opening, and insert Queen closers as necessary when I ran into the original brickwork. Whatever you do is going to be visible, so be visible in an organised and understandable manner.

That does sound like the most sensible option.

 

[steveb]

how about put in a pair of fake bricked up window something like this

https://www.samizdata.net/2016/07/have-they-brought-back-the-window-tax/

might at least allow you to mask the problem ?

 

[stuart45]

Hard to be sure without being on site, but I would probably work the bond from the right. It looks like it could work brickwork from the frame, so a stretcher and the next course header and closer would work with above. A closer should really only go next to the quoin header if possible, although on the other side it's next to the stretcher.
I would tooth out more to get rid of the zipper joint.

 

[parkview094]

how about put in a pair of fake bricked up window something like this

https://www.samizdata.net/2016/07/have-they-brought-back-the-window-tax/

might at least allow you to mask the problem ?

..funny you should suggest that, I did think of that myself the other night. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, on my way home from work yesterday I wondered why we'd taken the doors out at all and not just left them in as dummy-doors with a wall immediately behind. Mrs P didn't like this idea, so I suspect it probably wouldn't have been a goer..

I went for a wander round the local area yesterday morning and checked out all the neighbours brickwork. Amazing how many houses have mis-aligned or 'wrong' bond patterns if you look..