Can Ivy Damage Period Walls?

[Flyfisher]

I don't know, but this report certainly suggests it should be removed with care :shock:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-50380681

 

[88v8]

Ivy will creep into an unsound wall and do further damage.
On a well pointed wall, it is an asset, as it protects against rain and is a valuable habitat.
It is also quite strong and I suppose that ancient ivy could indeed support a wonky wall.
Hadn't looked on it as a siege weapon though.

Ivor

 

[Feltwell]

Ivy must have been a big girl to do that to the wall! :shock:

 

[MatthewC]

It was one of the last remaining sections of the historic defence wall, she said, adding: "There's not much of it left standing. It's one of the last sections that was still at full height."

Ivy? More probably caused by water ingress due to poor maintenance, IMHO. If the rest had previously gone, then perhaps this bit had done well to last so long.

Two years ago, I found that a 16" thick garden wall was in dire need of repair due to a really silly design (or repair) which had managed to allow water into the wall at a corner. A bit of thought would have prevented it, and I found I had to rebuild most of my side of the wall - 6ft high and about a 5ft length.

Thick ivy actually kept the front wall of my house in good condition, but the ivy also had got under the lead and slates and had to go...

 

[CliffordPope]

I think it's a decidedly mixed blessing.

Yes, it's good for wildlife, arguably protects from rain, looks picturesque.

No, it winkles its way into crevises and then gradually expands, ultimately forcing stones and bricks apart.

Yes, having totally invaded the structure of the building its massive stems hold all the loose stones together so they don't fall out.

No, the whole building now has gaps between the stones measuring inches across, and wind and rain just pour straight in.

Ultimately when the ivy dies so does the building, and you are left with a heap of mossy stones in the outline where the building used to be.

 

[stuart45]

It seems to affect random rubble walls more, probably as the joints are larger, and there are more voids inside. I'm repairing one at the moment at the Chapel.
Below is one there I did a few years ago.

https://www.diynot.com/diy/media/untitled.64161/

 

[LadyArowana]

Yes, get the triffid under control before it grows too big. I’ve spent a lot of time up a ladder with my pruning saw dealing with this pest that our tenants allowed to run rampant for years over a neighbouring house.The agent was *supposed* to have them keep it low.... he didn’t. A competent person will need to do the at height work to get rid of it. It is shedding all the leaves, but trunks still quite firmly attached

 

[CliffordPope]

but trunks still quite firmly attached

As long as they are only "attached". But they can grow 3, 4, 6 inches thick and right into the wall, to the point where you wonder whether it's safer to saw them off and leave them or start half-demolishing the wall to try and extricate.

There's a 19th century farmhouse up the road from us, abandoned 30 years ago, but in apparently sound condition when I knew the old lady who lived there. It's now half covered in ivy, and bricks are falling from the chimney stacks as the ivy works its way in. It's lifing slates off the roof, and cracked one of the windows because a branch is forcing the stonework and squeezing the frame.
I walk past it most days and have observed the progress. Once any of the roof has gone water will pour inside the walls and then the walls will start to crumble.
I'll give you 5-yearly updates.

 

[RBailey]

I recently finished removing and shredding about 3/4 of a tonne of Ivy off our house
Chainsaw, hedge trimmer, pick axe, jet wash and lots of glyphosate (drilled and poured into the stumps) were all involved.

Turned the small cramped dark dank garden into a much larger and lighter area.
It had completely overtaken the garden walls, underneath the sun room tiles and lead flashing as well :evil: