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Hello DIY wizards: I am hoping to get some advice on how I should proceed with repairing my garage exterior wall. (Products & methods) Any suggestions would be really appreciated! Details and pictures below:
Few weeks ago I noticed a tree like plant growing out of the corner of the wall. It grew quickly and was splitting the render open. I bought stairs, climbed up and yanked it out. The render that was covering the plant roots easily crumbled. There were also ants crawling into tiny holes in the mortar between bricks. I removed the roots as much as I could. There were also some really thin aerial roots. I used a torch to scorch the visible area to burn off aerial roots. Not sure if any remaining roots in covered areas. I also used AntRid for a week until there were no more ants climbing there.
Now, I’m needing some advice on how to best repair this site. I would really appreciate it if someone could suggest specific products and what to watch out for as I am a novice at home DIY.
Hello @icarus1911
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us and thanks for sharing your question about how to repair your rendered wall.
I suggest having a quick look at this guide - How to repair a rendered wall by @Nailbag. The general steps would be to clean the area of dirt and debris and then patching it up with a bit of mortar. Because you are patching a larger area, I propose using Dunlop 10kg Rapidset Repair Mortar. In order to prevent water from entering this space again, I suggest putting a bead of Selleys 290ml Clear Storm Waterproof Gutter And Roof Sealant - Clear all around the flashing on the corner of your garage. This will protect it from both the weather and the ants from entering that corner.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
Hi @icarus1911,
Yes, that's it. Complete the repair of the area, then, once dry, run a bead of silicone along the lower edge and side of the metallic cover where it meets the render. This just seals the areas and prevents insects and, in your case, trees from making it their home.
On a side note, the chances of a bird dropping containing a ficus seed hitting that area and then germinating must be one in a million. If you still have the plant, I'd give it a new home, as it certainly deserves it.
Mitchell
