My idiotic neighbour recons that my ivy is damaging his brick work, is the old bugger senile or is he right?

Question

Not so ignorant as to not be able to construct a sentence in something aproaching English, eh

Answer 1

I removed the ivy from the wall of my old house in the mistaken belief that it would be better for the wall. The sand dashing on the area that I took it off from was in far better condition than the exposed part of the wall. If the wall is cracking then the ivy stems push in and lever the crack wider so your answer does depend on the condition of your neighbors house. If/when Ivy reaches the guttering it will cause havoc of course.

Answer 2

Your neighbour is right. The tentacles and tendrils of some climbing ivy can,over a period of time, dislodge mortar and masonry units.The tendrils and plant growth may discolour the brickwork,plus plant growth (ivy) on the face of brick masonry may tend to keep moisture entrapped and in contact with the masonry. This may lead to or contribute to efflorescence or staining of the wall.Removal is difficult at best and may damage the masonry.

Answer 3

it is damaging... and like the other poster said, mostly when you try to remove it!!!.... so... in order to make him happy and to not do damage, too, you need to not pull it off..... but.... cut the vines, in fact remove a good section of them from the soil to where they start up his house..... then (this is important!) you wait until the vines are dry and the leaves are dead... this will help the little 'hold=fasts' to be less able to hold on and the less damage will occur when you THEN pull the vines off..... some damage may occur on old or cracked mortar between the bricks... or on any painted surface, like around windows where they may have attached.....it could take a year or so for the vines to be completely dead....

Answer 4

He is spot on, it does indeed damage bricks and mortar. I suggest removing it, because it is damaging yours too! At the very least limit its growth to just your side - that way hhas nothing to complain about.

Answer 5

It really depends on the condition of the brick walls. If they and the mortar are sound, ivy should not cause too many problems. It will make routine maintenance of the wall (e.g. repointing), very difficult to achieve, and may mask the presence of early signs of potential structural failure. If the walls and mortar are frail, ivy can damage them.

Answer 6

he is right....are you in a condo or something how could your neighbors house be so close...?

Answer 7

He is right and unless the bricks are very old and need the ivy to keep them together, the  vines will eventually damage the mortar and bricks.

It looks pretty, but when grown on a wood fence is more manageable.

Answer 8

He is right I'm afraid !! Wont cause too much damage but over time will destroy it especially when you try to remove it... it will then pull his bricks to pieces.... I would leave it and not let it reach the roof as then it will lift slates off the roof and then your up poo creak with diy oar made of chocolate

Answer 9

Yes your neighbour is right.

Answer 10

he's right!

Answer 11

if the cement between the bricks is damaged or the render is cracked and old then the ivy could anchor itself in the damaged wall and could make the damage worse

Answer 12

He is right.Ivy roots can and do cause damage.To masonry.

Answer 13

he is right if the ivy as spread to his wall

Answer 14

sorri but hes rite

Answer 15

He's right and he can claim on your insurance.

Answer 16

Remember them oldies usually know a thing or two about plants!

Roundup (glyphosate) is the chemical herbicide I would use. If you're worried about toxicity, then maybe horticulture vinegar. I've never used it but it's apparently a 20% mixture of acetic vinegar vs. the 5% stuff for home consumption.

What you can do is cut all the stems coming up from the roots at about a 2 feet level leaving some ivy leafs alive. Anything above will die. Spray the Roundup onto the live leafs as that's how it works. It should kill everything within 72 hours and you can remove the dead material. Watch for new shoots coming up and just re-apply the roundup every few weeks, this should permanently remove all your ivy.

Answer 17

It'll only cause damage if the wall is already in a poor state although it can start to cause other problems such as damp and blocked gutters. If the wall's in good condition, the ivy is unlikely to cause harm, but you have a responsibility to keep it in a state where it doesn't cause any problems.

Answer 18

Oh, yes, it's quite possible.  What's your ivy doing on his wall, anyway?

d**n stuff can indeed damage mortar and even brickwork if it's getting on a bit.  Gets in everywhere too, I've just removed some for a neighbour who'd only had it about 5 years climbing up the porch. It had forced its way into the roof void, pushed the door frame askew and started to lift the roof tiles . . .  Harboured hundreds of spiders too - shudder!

Answer 19

Your neighbour deserves a little respect from you as it seems he knows a bit more than you about the damage ivy can cause to brickwork and mortar.As it's his wall you are damaging you should remove it before you have a solicitor to deal with!

Answer 20

old buggers right!  It works its way into the mortar between the bricks

Answer 21

yes, hes right!

Answer 22

YOUR ivy is damaging HIS brickwork?  And you are wondering what the problem is?

You need to be a good neighbor and not allow YOUR property to creep into your neighbor's property.  Ivy does ruin brickwork and I don't even know why people bother growing that stuff.  You can tear it out by the roots and the stuff grows back.