Brian G Posted August 19, 2004 Report Posted August 19, 2004 I feel silly asking this, but is ivy any threat to a painted cement block wall (outbuilding)? I always recommend people keep that sort of thing off of most other siding / exteriors, but the ladies sometimes think it's simply charming and leave it anyway. [-crzwom] Brian G. Maybe I Should Drape Myself in Ivy.... [:-dev3]
DonTx Posted August 20, 2004 Report Posted August 20, 2004 I've always been told those little roots can penetrate into the concrete and mortar. The damage is done as the roots grow larger and penetrate the mortar. Plus it gives critters of all kinds a home and access to your home. Now hush up and eat your Kudzu, it's good for ya! Donald
kurt Posted August 20, 2004 Report Posted August 20, 2004 If looking @ several thousand masonry buildings draped in decades old ivy is any indication, my observation is that ivy doesn't do anything to masonry. One should keep it away from eaves, woodwork, doors, chimneys, or other building components; I've seen it grow into attics (it goes white from lack of sun, but doesn't die/albino ivy), it can block chimneys, etc. It does not push it's little tendrils into masonry joints. If you see damaged masonry w/ivy on it, it is likely there is a cause other than the ivy.
kurt Posted August 20, 2004 Report Posted August 20, 2004 Now that's interesting. I see one single type of ivy on masonry here; we call it "english" ivy, though I have no idea what it really is. I would also am curious about the situations you were talking about. I've seen this sort of problem, but it wasn't the fault of the ivy; it was the fault of crappy masonry in the first place. The ivy took advantage of the preexisting nooks, crannies, & nasty mortar work. That's one thing in Chicago; they put together some good brick buildings. I see older lime putty mortar brickwork in excess of 80 years old all the time; original mortar, never been pointed, still intact & in superb condition. Those are the buildings where you can "read" the brick, & see that the mason chose his chicago commons wisely as he worked; softer poorly fired brick @ the least exposed locations, & the harder high fire brick placed up on the parapets, cornices, & sills. Ivy never has a chance w/ these buildings. Once you let the ivy go, though, you can never get the brick clean again; the adhesive that the suckers use to stick to the brick is, without doubt, the most intense adhesive I have ever encountered.
Scottpat Posted August 20, 2004 Report Posted August 20, 2004 I have seen "Virginia Creeper" cause damage on just about everything grows on. Also "Asiatic Jasmine" ground cover is very invasive and I have seen it snake into a wall and increase the moisture in that wall to a point that the paint starts sloughing off.
kurt Posted August 20, 2004 Report Posted August 20, 2004 Ivy on frame buildings is a disaster; it should all come off, they you have the mess of cleaning the siding. Solid load bearing masonry that is in tight condition is pretty darn resistant to ivy.
Paul MacLean Posted August 20, 2004 Report Posted August 20, 2004 We have several vines (no Kudzu though) that will climb brick, stone or any other siding around here. Vines do no good for anything. I addition to all the comments above, they hold moisture against the wall, hide rot and other problems and are conducive conditions for termites, carpenter ants, etc. No good can come from vines on the house...tell'em to remove the growies. Oops, "growies" is left over from architecture classes in the 60s.
Jerry Simon Posted August 23, 2004 Report Posted August 23, 2004 The Masonry Institute says ivy will decrease the uselful life of masonry by 10%. Therefore, those ivy-clad buildings in England from the 11th century have how much more life?
Konrad Posted August 23, 2004 Report Posted August 23, 2004 If nothing else, they don't allow you to view any potential defect underneath them. That might be a good thing to note (maybe you already are).
crusty Posted August 23, 2004 Report Posted August 23, 2004 Wisteria is not your typical ivy. That stuff will bring buidings down. The garden structures that are built to support it are only considered "temporary." Once the Wisteria establishes itself the "host" is history.
Scottpat Posted August 23, 2004 Report Posted August 23, 2004 I wish I still had the picture of a Wisteria vine pulling an arbor away from the house that it was attached on. This vine had to be around 6" at the base, no telling how much it weighed. Paul, if you want some Kudzu, just let me know I can bring some over in January when I come over for InspectionWorld!
Jim Baird Posted August 23, 2004 Report Posted August 23, 2004 I have seen English ivy pull bricks off of buildings and pull down cornice work. Virginia creeper (parthenosisus quinquefolium)is not quite as muscular. Wisteria strangled to death a hundred year old pine on my mother's lot.
crusty Posted August 24, 2004 Report Posted August 24, 2004 Speak o' the devil, look what I ran into today. Download Attachment: 156_5686.JPG 89.15 KB Download Attachment: 157_5718.JPG 109.66 KB
Scottpat Posted August 24, 2004 Report Posted August 24, 2004 Looks like a Bougainvillea gone wild. We only have them in pots as they don't like the cold.
swarga Posted August 24, 2004 Report Posted August 24, 2004 Looks like a Bougainvillea gone wild. We only have them in pots as they don't like the cold. Thats not wild. Here in the valley of the sun that is a every day occurrence. I have two of those in my front yard and one in my back yard. 6 months ago I cut them down to about 3 feet high. Two of them are back over 10 feet. those same two are up against a block Wall and there is no damage from them. My neighbor has a Ivy (Sorry I don't know what kind)in his yard that is playing hell with his block wall, it has grown through the wall and out the other side.
Paul MacLean Posted August 25, 2004 Report Posted August 25, 2004 Originally posted by Scottpat Paul, if you want some Kudzu, just let me know I can bring some over in January when I come over for InspectionWorld! Well thanks Scott![!] That's all we need in Austin is another fur-in-ner invasion. We have imported carp to eat the duck weed in the lakes, hunters to kill the deer in the garden and fireants to help keep the fur-in-ners out. All to no avail. Now you want to send us Kudzu...geez. Truthfully, I spent about ten months in Jackson, Yazoo City and the rest of Mississippi in 1988. Until then I had never heard of Kudzu. Now I know it on sight. I preferred the Natchez Trace. Y'all come to Austin! It's a great place to visit, spend a few dollars and then go home...[:-bigeyes]...what am I saying. I make my living off all those folks moving to Central Texas.
Scottpat Posted August 25, 2004 Report Posted August 25, 2004 Paul, I live right on the Trace(my company is named after it) and it is beautiful just don't speed. The Park Rangers are kind of serious about the 50mph speed limit on the Natchez Trace.
Jim Morrison Posted August 26, 2004 Report Posted August 26, 2004 I often work in Cambridge, MA, home to the little college known as Harvard (locally pronounced "Hah-vid"). They are enthusiastically removing the ivy from the exterior of all but a few ceremonial brick buildings because it causes so much damage. I tell my clients that if the Ivy league has abandoned the concept, it's something to think about. To date, I can't confirm that a single client has followed my advice in that regard, but if I could gather them all in a room and address them at once, I'd say: "Hey, if a wall collapses on your head and kills you, don't come crying to me..."
Brian G Posted August 31, 2004 Author Report Posted August 31, 2004 That stuff is incredible. It grows at a rate you would think only existed in horror movies, covering and eventually killing everything else. I hate it. [:-gnasher] Brian G. Isn't There a Kudzu Beetle Out There Somewhere? Please? [:-irked]
crusty Posted August 31, 2004 Report Posted August 31, 2004 Originally posted by Brian G. That stuff is incredible. It grows at a rate you would think only existed in horror movies, covering and eventually killing everything else. I hate it. [:-gnasher] Brian G. Isn't There a Kudzu Beetle Out There Somewhere? Please? [:-irked] It was bio-engineered and planted[:-dev3] by Yankees to ensure that the South never rose again.
Scottpat Posted August 31, 2004 Report Posted August 31, 2004 The US Army imported this stuff over from China in the early 1900's to stop erosion and also for a low cost high fiber cattle and horse feed. Well it does stop erosion but the cow's and noting else will eat it!
Brian G Posted August 31, 2004 Author Report Posted August 31, 2004 Originally posted by crusty It was bio-engineered and planted by Yankees to ensure that the South never rose again. I knew it! Damned Yankees! [:-nonono] Brian G.
Jim Baird Posted September 1, 2004 Report Posted September 1, 2004 Originally posted by Scottpat...nothing else will eat it! Actually, Scott, in our area (NE GA) landowners have found that a couple of goats can really stifle the gathering threat of a kudzu infestation.
Brian G Posted September 1, 2004 Author Report Posted September 1, 2004 Goats eh? Hmmm.....I wonder what the wifes' relatives are doing for the next few months... [:-dev3] Brian G. Anybody Who Rats on Me is a Deadman [xx(]
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