Mortar below paving looks like mud

[mikiex]

I was planning on putting a dished channel at the front of my house as posted on the other sections of this forum. The paving was layed quite some years ago ( not sure when, as we have been here around 2 years) with no drainage and the water pools around the house. The construction of the house is soild wall 1927.

I have pulled up some of the old block paving next to the house, in two different places . In both places the courses below the paving (at least the first course)where the original mortar should be seems to be a sandy mud (damp at the moment since it has been raining recently)

Sliding a screwdriver into the gap I could easly pull out this muddy sand from about one bricks depth, I couldnt tell if it went back any further and did not dare try too hard to dig it out.

Around winter I looked at another area were water had pooled I saw something similar. I was considering just scraping it out and pushing new mortar into the gap. Doing a small section at a time. But seeing as it could be all the bricks at the front of the house maybe I need a more professional job?

Also when we bought the house the full survey did not point out anything about the lack of drainage on the drive.

Should I be looking at:

Insurance?
Getting an engineer to look at it?

What would be the best plan of action be.

Thank you for any advice you can offer me

Mike

[matt h]

The sand layer is obviously saturated at the moment due to the prolonged wet weather. If you open up the ponding area and add more sharp sand, and wacker before laying your blocks again you should sort out the ponding area . you may want to look at installing linear drains. best get a local pavier to look at it as a site visit is essential to gve the best advice.

[seanandruby]

I think you should get a structural engineer to look at the foundations and advice. does the wall form a celler? if so you will need to tank it. but you really need to assess how bad the walls are. maybe a photo of the area and brickwork will show us more.

[mikiex]

I've uploaded some photos from the first time I lifted the paving

foundations

as you can see the bricks below the paving have muddy looking mortar, which is easy to dig out with fingers.

Where do I find a structual engineer? is it just a case of going through the yellow pages?

I am thinking it would be good to get someone independent, who has no interest in the doing any building work?

What sort of cost should I be looking at for them to inspect it?

Many thanks

Mike

[lutonlagerlout]

thats lime mortar,you can repoint if you wish ,but i doubt it will go anywhere
make sure not to bridge the DPC
LLL

[mikiex]

thats lime mortar,you can repoint if you wish ,but i doubt it will go anywhere
make sure not to bridge the DPC
LLL

I did think the mortar was some kind of lime mix, this really just looks like sandy mud. I cant see it holding the house up, but I'm no building expert. The only thing that worries me about repointing, is I might just be hiding something worse.
Also I havent dug down to the next course yet

When you say you doubt it will go anywhere, does that mean the mortar or the house?

[seanandruby]

thats lime mortar,you can repoint if you wish ,but i doubt it will go anywhere
make sure not to bridge the DPC
LLL

I did think the mortar was some kind of lime mix, this really just looks like sandy mud. I cant see it holding the house up, but I'm no building expert. The only thing that worries me about repointing, is I might just be hiding something worse.
Also I havent dug down to the next course yet

When you say you doubt it will go anywhere, does that mean the mortar or the house?

Wonder if a house that old has a DPC? think lll is saying " it wont make much difference." your house isnt going to fall down. houses were built with lime morter which allows the building to breathe by evaporating moisture into the atmosphere. cement morter retains moisture. thats why it cracks and blows the brickwork with freeze thaw cycles. as its not going to be seen below ground maybe you could " bag rub" the joints with a mixture. a drainage channel can only benefit any form of paving.

[mikiex]

Do you guys think I should get a professional to look at it just to be sure? How do I find a structural engineer??

[ODDJOBBER]

are there any signs or smells of damp inside the house. id add drainage along the house walls and be tempted to repoint with a cement based mix with a waterproofer added, i live in southend on sea where all the old victorian house were limed based mortars and most have had to be repointed at some stage as water was penetrating the joints. its a very easy job to do but them im a brickie. im no structual engineer though by any means