Quote:
Originally Posted by Stitchawl
I really don't know anything about ivy other than the Ivy covered walls of my old university. Does it really cause damage to the walls after a while? What about those old, old ivy covered cottages we see in pictures? Will this eventually cause the wall to crumble? Even stone walls?
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Ivy will damage buildings, as it will grow into gaps, continue to expand as it grows, and force apart the gaps it grows through. On old walls it might well grow into or onto the mortar between the bricks, and cling so tightly that removing the ivy also removes the mortar.
But in this case the ivy and the wall are both so old that I think the ivy is adding structural strength to the wall, such that even removing it without further damaging the wall might lead to collapse. It would need doing in sections with re-pointing as you go to fix it. And then there's the couple of bulgin sections from trees growing too close to it on my neighbours side....
So I've just hacked it back so that it no longer obstructs the path, and that'll do for another few years.
Just finished Coke Zero #3. Moving onto Coke Zero #4...