Project for the summer

[Jackswan]

We have an old storeroom built onto the back of our house. It is of single skin construction, watertight but cold in the winter.
But the main problem is one of the walls is bowing in. Probably been like this for the 16 years years that we have lived here, but think it is now time to do something about it.

Room is roughly 5.7m by 2.5m and has what looks like metal tiles on the roof, don't know what type of foundations it has been built on.

Planning to remove the roof and take the bowed wall down and rebuild. The bowed wall is approx. 1800mm high.

Any suggestions on the best way to go about this, foundations, tying in with existing walls. etc?

 

[mcluma]

You sure they are metal tiles, i think they are concrete, could explain why the walls probably have bowed in, there is to much weight on the wall

just take the roof of, take the wall away and have a look at the foundation, it could well be that the foundation has settled and that might have cause the wall to bow. either way, your foundation needs work

 

[Jackswan]

The roof tiles are a thin metal formed to look like concrete tiles, don't think there is much weight in them, photo of the underside below.
The other two sides of the room are both single skin with no sign of bowing on the opposite side to this one.

I'm just thinking about this wall, should I rebuild as a single skin and perhaps build a timber frame on the inside to add extra strength to the other walls and for provision for insulation?

 

[theprinceofdarkness]

The wall seems to be bowed from the foundations up. As its an outhouse the foundations are likely to be very shallow, a couple of bricks spreading outwards from the wall. It also looks what I would call "modern", say post 1950, so it will be made with cement mortar so recovering the bricks might be impossible. Have you investigated the state of the back wall?
As an outhouse it looks fine. If you want to turn it into a habitable room, I would build a timber framed room inside the existing wall, trimming out its curve and using SS brackets to fix brick wall to timber frame.
Or knock it down flat, get PP and try to do a new build.
Frank

 

[mcluma]

I would nock it down, as you then can hopefully raise it about 2 foot, so you get better headheight - and i'm not happy about the bow in the wall.

also that roof is going to be replaced, (as it's metal will give a lot of condensation) which will increase the weight in the wall.

just get Planning permission, shouldn't be the difficult, and you haven't missed it for 15 years or so, so you can wait the extra 2 months for planning

 

[Jackswan]

Had a look at the foundations, goes down about 2 bricks and looks as though they have been laid on concrete, very similar to this.

Run a stringline along the wall and for about 2/3rds of its length from the house wall it is roughly straight and then seems to curve out to the corner. The wall is dead vertical at all points along its length. Beginning to think that the person who built it was slightly cockeyed.

All I intend using it for is putting a tumble drier and washing machine (these were originally in there when we bought the house) in there.

Demolishing the whole building might be too big a job for myself and I think time would be against me with the roof off as well. If I had a builder in what sort of cost would there be to rebuild a room that size, I'd imagine it being very costly.

I would be very confident of doing the timberwork myself, but rebuilding three walls I think would be big no no, would take too long for myself.
As the princeofdarkness mentions it could be an idea to put a timber frame on the inside.

 

[mcluma]

The building has been standing there for a long time. and if as you said the builder made the curve, and you are happy with the head height, and you want to get on with to much hassle, then putting a timber frame on the inside is the quickest way. and is very acceptable