Can anyone tell me the safe height for a (100mm) thick single skin brick/block wall with pillars every 2m?
Is there something in the building regs about this? Which part?
All I could find on the planning portal was
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/commonprojects/fenceswallsgates/. But a limit of 450mm in zone 2 didn't make sense, too low isn't it?
As it would appear no one is going to answer your question, we will do our best to give you guidance.
At the moment free standing garden walls do not come under Building Regs and what you are reading is general guidance introduced a short while ago by Planning Portal, due to the many thousands of garden walls out there that are potential death threats, due to incorrect design and bad building practice.
You will note that Planning Portal also include, (In very sheltered situations and where piers have been used taller walls may be acceptable), but they give no further details.
You can still build half brick free standing garden walls with planning up to a height of 2500 in any zone and location providing it is SE designed or complies with BRE Good Building Guide GBG19.
The wall would be part of a lean-to garage, not just a garden wall, does that make a difference? Current garge has a 100mm thick wall ~2m high, that is OK. But is 2m the limit, or can it be a bit higher?
Regards your garage wall the information you have given is very little and we do not know whether it is for a new wall or to raise existing. Either way the finished height could be the same.
With Planning permission, Building Regs allow you to build a half brick wall to a height of 3m to top of roof covering at eaves level from either ground level or underside of slab, providing,
The wall is not longer than 9m.
The wall is erected on a suitable approved foundation and is tied to the roof structure vertically and horizontally and roof structure is tied to main building
A pier at the front min 225 by 327.
A buttress at the back min 390 long.
Intermediate piers 327 long by 225 wide at max 3m centres.
There are other regs, such as openings, but have assumed you have no openings in this wall, mass and weight of brickwork, for which you are covered, wind load, which we can not work out as we do not know your location in relationship to the coast or your topographic zone. Unless you are living on top of cliff with wall in question looking out to sea, you should be covered.
Permitted Development Outbuildings and garages to be single storey with maximum eaves height of 2.5 metres and maximum overall height of four metres with a dual pitched roof or three metres for any other roof. Maximum height of 2.5 metres in the case of a building, enclosure or container within two metres of a boundary of the curtilage of the dwellinghouse.
Guidance only. oldun
