Bowing garage wall

[donnyb]

Afternoon all,

Just noticed the garage wall on the house I've just bought is bowing inwards slightly at the middle of the wall.

Garage is made with single skin brick walls on three sides, with a block wall shared with the neighbour. Flat roof. Concrete base is undamaged. The wall in question is the single skin brick wall on my side of the garage, that runs the length of the garage. There is a pillar about half way down which consists of single bricks and doesn't appear to be tied to the outer skin.

The wall is bowing inwards by about 1.5 inch about halfway down/across. The pillar has separated from the outer skin and is also bowing inwards.

On closer inspection the mortar on the outer wall has deteriorated considerably, especially the first course of bricks under the damp course and at the top where the somewhat rotten fasica boards are. The pillars around the garage door are also somewhat knackered, especially at the top/bottom.

I think the mortar has weathered to the point where the weight of the roof has caused the wall to bow.


Do I have any options other than pull it all down and start over? I take it walls can't really be straightened?

I was thinking of supporting the roof with adjustable scaffolding poles and replacing the affected the wall with blocks.

Alternatively, how about building a second skin from blocks on the inside, then grinding out/tuckpointing deep on the outer skin?

 

[noseall]

First thing I would check is the foundations, or at least run a level line down the brick-work and see if there is any horizontal sag in the coursing.

Has the wall had a knock or impact at some point?

Is there any separation of the roof timbers?

 

[donnyb]

First thing I would check is the foundations, or at least run a level line down the brick-work and see if there is any horizontal sag in the coursing.

Has the wall had a knock or impact at some point?

Is there any separation of the roof timbers?

Hi Noseall,

Thanks for the response, I'll check for sag tonight.

The mortar in the bottom course is severely weathered, it has recessed in by 1-2 inches for most of the course. The mortar is very sandy, it's a south facing 40 year old wall near the coast, some parts are worse than others.

No idea if the wall has had a knock though, I've only owned it a week, I suspect not as there isn't side access to the garage for vehicles and the garage is on the small side for car storage.

I'm 99% sure that All of the roof timbers lie flat on the wall, although I'll double check tonight and get some photographs.

Thanks again!

Donny

 

[theprinceofdarkness]

You say that the mortar has rotted out on the outside of the wall. I would have thought that this would cause the wall to lean outwards.
As I understand it, the "pillar" has fallen inwards but is not attached to the wall. So there is some thing desperately wrong with the pillar. Could it be that it fell in and try to drag the wall with it?
As the pillar is just an ornament, take it down and have a good poke about with its base to try and figure out what has gone wrong.
Frank