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Repointing a stone wall to help bees

Ferdinand2000Ferdinand2000 Posts: 537
edited August 2021 in Garden design
I have a stone boundary wall in my garden which is about 150 years old and ready for a repoint. It really needs doing, and in real event years has been under a bit of an ivy attack, which has now been eradicated.

Technically this is next door’s wall, but they will not be paying to repoint my side of 15m of it when they have that 15m plus another 60m or so round part of the rest of their plot.

At the moment there are a number of bees that live in the cavities I think.

Can anyone give me any suggestions about how to repoint to help bees, or other things I could do to mitigate.

Thanks.

F

Detailed pic


“Rivers know this ... we will get there in the end.”

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 86,913
    Whatever you do, don't use cement mortar ... it'll ruin the wall.

    Use only lime mortar on a stone wall. 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FireFire Posts: 18,056
    It's a lovely wall.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 86,913
    I've found this to explain what I mean about the damage done to stonework by cement mortar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gndu7k5BuT8

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Ferdinand2000Ferdinand2000 Posts: 537
    edited August 2021
    Fire said:
    It's a lovely wall.
    It is, but I have 30m of it (not mine - boundary is the face my side) that needs repointing, and another 14m that needs repointing both sides and raising in height by 18" - so that bicyclists and basketball players and supermodels on pogo sticks can't see me bathing in the nud in my planned south facing courtyard garden.

    And one bit of N's wall has fallen down on my side, so 2m run needs rebuilding.

    Ns are not going to pay for repointing my side of their wall, so I am staring down the barrel of a largish invoice, perhaps  8k or more.

    F

    “Rivers know this ... we will get there in the end.”
  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,721
    At 8k you could take a few courses and do it yourself. the only way I can see to help bees would be to leave some of the holes, some of the deeper ones so that they can continue to use the wall.
  • Ferdinand2000Ferdinand2000 Posts: 537
    edited August 2021
    Skandi said:
    At 8k you could take a few courses and do it yourself. the only way I can see to help bees would be to leave some of the holes, some of the deeper ones so that they can continue to use the wall.
    There's enough to take a long time I think - a number of weeks, perhaps a month.

    Need to get quotes in the next few weeks.
    “Rivers know this ... we will get there in the end.”
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