Any advice for my foundation crisis?

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I have recently becomevery worried about the state of the internal walls of our house. This came to light when I made floor access in order to be able to takle a problem with rising damp.

What I found worried me far more than a bit of water....as with many terraces the original floor has been replaced as the old floor had rotted. This would of course be fine, however, the job looks to have been done by the cowboys of the centuary. Who ever did the job has removed a single course of bricks just below the floor level for the two internal walls.

One internal wall now seems to rest on the floorboards and the other on two quarter bricks which are in a very poor condition. Although some bricks have fallen out the bottom of the wall I have not identified any subsidence (though wall paper may be hiding this of course).

I feel that some remedial action is required before there is any slipage as I fail to see how the walls have not already subsided (they are solid brick, as well as being two stories tall I might add).

I would be interested in getting any thoughts that you might have on the issue. I have attached a few photos and a few sketches.

Is there any way that some supports can be introduced that will transmit the force of the wall to the foundations? Is this job inevitably going to require us to get some one in to get the floor up?

Many thanks,

To see all my photos please go to: //www.diynot.com/network/sobnad/albums/799
 
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is it a cavity wall or solid?? (edited: looking again at your pics, I take it to be a 4" half-brick wall, between two ?9"? party walls, is that right?) So presumably the house is quite old? Is it on footings, strip foundations, or a concrete raft?

subsidence cracks might show round window reveals and corners of doorframes.

What is the total height of the wall that is standing on floorboards, and what does it support?

It is not as unusual as you might think, to find an internal wall standing on a floor :eek:

How much access have you currently got, if you wanted, for example, to mortar some bricks into the gaps?
 
Yes the internal walls are 4" half-brick wall, between two ?9"? party walls. The house is over 100 years old and is a victorian mid-terrace. The foundations are a single course of brick which go into the ground below the internal walls.

The walls that I am concerned about are 18 feet high approx.

Yes there is now access for me to go down and do some mortaring, however, I am concerned that if the mortar shrinks there is still the possibility of some subsidence?

Thanks for your reply,

sobnad
 
the mortar would only shrink a fraction of an inch, nothing to worry about compared to the movement you are hoping to avoid. I expect at that age the house will be lime mortar, which is soft enough to accomodate a bit of movement

but someone else may be along with a better method
 
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I've only skimmed the OPs post, but isn't this just a case of infilling the top of the sleeper walls beneath the floor?

Pack the final joint with slate if need be
 
quite an unusual arrangement which must have been as is since built. the mods have simply damaged the old/loose brickwork and not been put back.

it looks from pic that brickwork between the joists is unbroken ie supporting by passing through the floor and providing support to the wall.

i would infill as woody says. i find slate difficult to pack with and wood not good due to shrinkage so i use "dryish mortar" - 1 part rapid hardening cement to 3 parts sand with water/cement ratio 1:3 and pack it hard with a piece of wood from both sides if poss getting the ctr packed hard then working out from each side.
 
forgot to add if you use cement - wet the brickwork thoroughly (use old washing up liquid bottle of water) and dip any dry bricks in a bucket of water for typ 1 min before using.

it makes sure the cement does not weaken.
 

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