Ivy Roots

[Parky]

Having cut down the ivy from a brick wall, what's the best way to remove the inevitable remaining roots before painting. I am thinking of a drill with wire brush attachment. A scraper doesn't work.

[ReformedCharacter]

An old wood chisel and a hammer - judiciously used - should shift them.

RC

[sg31]

This house was covered with Ivy when we bought it. One of my first jobs was to remove it. Every wall was then covered by the remains of the roots.

I tried everything and it was a complete pain to shift the damn things. Eventually I found the solution. TIME.

I know you want to paint the wall, probably NOW. I'm like that. I tried scraping, I scraped more off my knuckles than the roots from the wall. Best I found was a wire brush in a power drill. A cordless is fine if you have 2 batteries , one in use, 1 on charge. It will damage the face of the bricks though. To shift the roots you need high pressure for a short time or light pressure for a long time and both cause black marks on the brick face.

I got sidetracked on other renovations as we built extensions and stuff. 2 years later I got back to it. The roots had dried up and become powdery and less tenacious. I could do a bigger area in a tenth of the time and the face damage was much less.

Result, you can still see some trace of the roots 4 years later but only if you look carefully.

Hope that helps.

[Parky]

Thanks both. I will try the drill/wire brush and old/chisel for stubborn bits maybe. The black marks don't matter as it will be painted over.

[kiloran]

I wonder if a blowtorch may help to dry/kill the roots and make then easier to remove by wire brush of chisel
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BARGAINS-GALOR ... 3ME0373K2B

Even if it doesn't help, it's always more fun to muck about with fire

--kiloran

[JonE]

I tried everything and it was a complete pain to shift the damn things. Eventually I found the solution. TIME.

Snap! Dealing with ivy on brick walls with sound pointing can be pretty tedious and powered wire-brushing can further damage the facing on bricks but I had the added hassle that it covered old stone walls and had gone into - and then turned round and come out of - gaps between stones. I swear it exudes an acid to dissolve the mortar. Result was that over-exuberant mechanical removal (hefty pulls on the stuff) could cause significant damage to the walls because it was pretty much only the ivy that had been holding some stones in position on the face of the wall. Cutting out sections near the bases was not enough to kill it as it seemed to get by with only the aerial roots and it seemed as if every little bit left lurking in a nook or cranny was able to regenerate so further attention was required over time. Big old ground roots may require very 'aggressive' treatment (undertaken with care). Evil stuff if it's established where you don't want it.

Small tip for anyone else facing the problem, once some time has passed since cutting out sections near the base, pulling it from sound walls or trees from the bottom up is more effective than from the top down as it offers less resistance in that direction and tends to hold together rather than breaking off.

I would second the suggestion that you don't rush to 'finish' the job as it can take quite some time to actually finish-off the damned stuff.

Cheers!

[ReformedCharacter]

Ivy can be killed with glyphosate, adding some washing-up liquid will help the glyphosate to penetrate the leaves. My garden used to be overrun with the stuff as it is rampant on both of my neighbours' gardens and they don't seem worried about it.

RC

[Lootman]

Small tip for anyone else facing the problem, once some time has passed since cutting out sections near the base, pulling it from sound walls or trees from the bottom up is more effective than from the top down as it offers less resistance in that direction and tends to hold together rather than breaking off.

With stone walls at least, I'd agree with starting from the bottom. But you have to be careful not to pull from below and dislodge a large stone that then falls onto you. I had a close shave doing that with a 12 foot dry stone wall.

Lesson learned, and when I tackled a 20 foot dry stone wall, I was more careful.

Like much work on gardens, I think it is best to take your time and do it gradually, rather than rush it. Just go out now and then, and do an hour here and an hour there. Eventually the ivy will be all gone. In my case it was over a period of two to three years, but it was a very satisfying process.

[bungeejumper]

With stone walls at least, I'd agree with starting from the bottom. But you have to be careful not to pull from below and dislodge a large stone that then falls onto you. I had a close shave doing that with a 12 foot dry stone wall.

As any fule kno, a dry stone wall is anchored together by the ivy that runs right through it. If the ivy weren't there, it'd have collapsed fifty years ago. And woe betide the gardener who reaches for the glyphosate. Dry stone walling costs about £250 a yard, as I can personally attest. And that's just for a five foot high specimen. A twelve footer would require a full health and safety assessment and an insurance policy, and a freshly drawn up will.

BJ

[Lootman]

With stone walls at least, I'd agree with starting from the bottom. But you have to be careful not to pull from below and dislodge a large stone that then falls onto you. I had a close shave doing that with a 12 foot dry stone wall.

As any fule kno, a dry stone wall is anchored together by the ivy that runs right through it. If the ivy weren't there, it'd have collapsed fifty years ago. And woe betide the gardener who reaches for the glyphosate. Dry stone walling costs about £250 a yard, as I can personally attest. And that's just for a five foot high specimen. A twelve footer would require a full health and safety assessment and an insurance policy, and a freshly drawn up will.

I'd never use any kind of herbicide anyway. But yes, these stone walls are monsters and deserve respect. (They are also over 200 years old, as far as I know). Ivy removal I did myself, but would snip the roots in many cases to leave them in situ, to provide structural integrity. They might grow again, of course, but that is more easily managed through regular maintenance.

I'm not above calling in an expert for other works, however. Such as building an arch in a dry stone wall (a couple of grand, if memory serves). And ivy removal from my roof and chimneys - no way am I climbing 40 feet and doing that myself.

[UncleEbenezer]

As any fule kno, a dry stone wall is anchored together by the ivy that runs right through it. If the ivy weren't there, it'd have collapsed fifty years ago.

Hehe. You remind me of when the Council weeded the retaining wall on my (then, 2010) road. Being on a hillside, the far side of the wall was about four stories high immediately opposite me.

A supposedly-simple two-day job clearing vegetation became 4 months of emergency repairs involving a big team and lots of heavy equipment.

[DrFfybes]

I tried everything and it was a complete pain to shift the damn things. Eventually I found the solution. TIME.

Snap! Dealing with ivy on brick walls with sound pointing can be pretty tedious and powered wire-brushing can further damage the facing on bricks but I had the added hassle that it covered old stone walls and had gone into - and then turned round and come out of - gaps between stones.
Cheers!

Similar here - cut the root end, pull up the big bits, wallpaper scraper on the thin stuff, then leave the "tracks" of bits until fully dry then wire brush them off.

On a smooth wall, the 'tracks' will show through textured masonry paint, even after 3 coats.

Payl

[sg31]

Similar here - cut the root end, pull up the big bits, wallpaper scraper on the thin stuff, then leave the "tracks" of bits until fully dry then wire brush them off.

On a smooth wall, the 'tracks' will show through textured masonry paint, even after 3 coats.

Payl

I wonder if a coat of stabilising solution before painting would have helped.

[DrFfybes]

Similar here - cut the root end, pull up the big bits, wallpaper scraper on the thin stuff, then leave the "tracks" of bits until fully dry then wire brush them off.

On a smooth wall, the 'tracks' will show through textured masonry paint, even after 3 coats.

Paul

I wonder if a coat of stabilising solution before painting would have helped.

I used that as well as a matter of course (and because I had some!). the tracks. were thick enough to still be seen where the ivy had been pulled off. They had a good foothold, but wire brushing the dried tracks removed the highspots so they were no longer obvious after painting.

Paul