Oops,my wall moved!!!

[coopey]

Advice please.....................

I have a single story extension, with a flat roof.
While maintaining the fascias, I propped the ladder against the bricks.

In a couple of places the top few courses of bricks have pushed in 1/4 inch at most!!!!

The wall is in dire need of re-pointing (should have done it sooner ).

What course of action should i take?

Thanks, Matt

 

[Richard C]

Repointing unfortunately my friend, it sounds as though you may require a little more than that! Bricks should never move under the weight of a ladder & it means there is now no mortar bond between the affected brick courses & just repointing will not sort it out. There may also be something amiss the roof support & ties as the weight of the roof should stop it moving.

 

[coopey]

thanks for the reply.

i know 'more' than pointing is now required!!!!!

i was simply stressing that if the pointing had been sorted sooner, i wouldn't be in this situation now.

what i was wondering was what to do now? how much of a rebuild is needed? do i have to remove the roof?!!!!!!!

 

[noseall]

do i have to remove the roof?!!!!!!!

Unlikely, but you may need to remove the fascia or soffit in order to access the masonry.

The uppermost courses of external brick on most houses is a weak spot, but not so weak as to simply push off.

The weight of the roof, whether it is a flattie or pitched generally bears down on the internal masonry, so it would not be difficult to belt them off with a hammer. Your bricks must be bonded with sand only!

 

[^woody^]

It could actually be left as it is, and it would not be a big issue.

Otherwise just relay them

 

[Richard C]

What will be required to sort it out is difficult to asses without seeing it & I would suggest you get someone “competent” to take a look at it. It may be just the top few coarses that need relaying but it depends on the overall condition of the mortar bond & the stability of the wall itself; the internal block skin (assuming you have one!) may also be affected. It is possible to knock out & rebuild the entire wall without disturbing the roof but it will need propping. I would be unhappy to leave it as it is; it can only get worse, may lead to problems with water/damp ingress & may even be dangerous if the wall itself is unstable; you also need to establish if & how the roof is actually tied to the walls!

 

[coopey]

Your bricks must be bonded with sand only!

bloody right there

apparently all the houses on this eatate go the same

most of the garden walls fell down already!!!!