Any chance of saving this?

[Mr T]

I got a small wall hanging off the end of my garage (probably to hide trash cans behind). IT is 2 rows of brick thick, however only the front row of bricks attaches to the house.

It appears that it is not on the same foundation as the house and has settled at a different rate. Ice seems to have taken its toll too. It is starting to threaten the brick on the house. I would like to save the wall if possible.

Options I have in mind

1. Cut the brick flush with the corner of the house and say goodbye.
2. Knock the wall down and rebuild it. (How hard would it be to match foundations and interlace back into the house's brick?)
3. Cut it from the house and rebuild it as a free standing wall (can it be strong enough?)

Ideas?... No comments about the hole in the door. It's not usable and is going to be replaced very soon (along with the addition of a proper outdoor outlet) Siding is also on the replace list....

Thanks

[bmwpower]

I would say #1 is the best choice. Get a masonary saw and go to town. Rough up the edges on the brick on the end to make it look like it was never cut.

[xkvator]

i'd opt for #2...or...easiest would be flush with the house, although i wouldn't just cut it with a saw...probably wouldn't match the edge...you might cut at the holes in the brick.
you'd have to cut out the full brick every other row and replace with a cut brick just as it is above the wall level.
that 3 piece cap didn't help keep water out of the brick cavities.
i'm cutting out broken brick this morning on the front of my house so my son-in-law can rebrick around a bow window...i'm using an air chisel...doesn't damage any surrounding brick...cleans mortar off quickly.

[bmwpower]

I didn't think of that.

Any chance the brick is solid?

[xkvator]

air chisel cleaning of mortar and finger joints - no heavy pounding that could loosen other joints/brick.

[Mr T]

These are solid bricks and not your normal ones. THey are about 1 1/4" thick and about 8-10" long. Someone must have gotten paid by the brick :D

Am I guessing correctly that this is partially caused by uneven settling? Maybe no footer equal to the house's under it?

XK, how much to come knock it over? :eek: :D crash_!

[mdshunk]

There is a specialist contracting trade called "mud jacking". If you can find a mud jacker in the yellow pages in your area, I'm positive they can restore this piece of wall to it's original position and then you can repoint the crack line.

[Mr T]

I was wondering about that.. Can they pull it forward too? It is shifting in 2 directions. How does cost compare to rebuilding a wall of that size?

[xkvator]

XK, how much to come knock it over?

DEMOLITION?http://www.frugal-families.com/member/forums/images/smilies/147.gif
Please have everyone get away from the house...just in case...

[Mr T]

DEMOLITION?http://www.frugal-families.com/member/forums/images/smilies/151.gif
Please have everyone get away from the house...just in case...

You mean the neighbor's house. Ive heard about your aim....

[Mr T]

I finally got around to this project. The wall moved alot over the past winter again. Getting dangerous now to the rest of the house. I got it half down tonight. My tool of choice? A pressure washer. Due to all the ice damage and a poor morter job, the pressure washer dissolved most of the morter with no harm to the bricks. Near the house where the wall is structurly sound, I had to hammer on it a little, but most of the bricks just lifted away. I was able to drill right through the morter joints with the high pressure attachment. It weaked any strong joints that were left.

All but 2 bricks came off in one piece (oops on my part). The cap is mostly intact (what was left of it). Most of the bricks came off clean or were cleaned by the pressure spray.

I left the bricks that interlock with the main section of the wall for if I choose to rebuild it later on. Otherwise they get cut off.

[Under_Miner]

Now that you've got it down I would return the recycled bricks around the corner towards the man-door, creating a wrap-around effect.