Is this party wall single or double brick

[jacoscar]

Hello, I am trying to understand if the party wall in my 1965 mid terrace is single, double brick

I have taken this picture in the loft
I can see there is a short brick (sideways?) but don’t know what that means

 

[footprints]

Long bricks are called streachers short bricks (in fact just bricks laid the other way) are called headers. Normally laid in what is called a bond often header stretcher header stretcher and so on (Flemish bond) or a row of headers then a row of stretchers (English bond) there are many other patterns but yours does look a bit random.
As long as there are quite a number of headers you can assume the wall is 9" thick (double brick) a single brick wall would be all stretchers with just the odd cut half brick in a row if needed to make up the distance.

 

[jacoscar]

So it’s a single brick?

 

[johnny2007]

Unlikely to be a single brick wall.
In those days party walls were 9 inch solid.
Yours seems an exception, so they either built a cavity or two single skins attached with ties (less likely)
Dill the mortar in between the bricks and you will know.
Ask your neighbour to look into his loft while you do it.

 

[footprints]

Your first picture seems to show lots of headers but maybe that's just how the bricks appear in your picture.
The second shows just one which may be a cut brick.
A single brick wall between houses would seem unusual (but who knows in the 60's rush to build) if they are streachers it could still be a double cavity wall.

Only way to be sure would be to clean the mortar out of one of the joints and look through with a torch if you see another loft ( or an angry neighbour) after 4" or so it's one brick, if you see more brick it is double, if there is a gap of a couple of inches to another wall it is cavity.
Re-point the mortar to prevent fire spreading.

Why do you want to know?

 

[jacoscar]

Because we can hear the neighbours when they walk up the stairs or on their first floor (both sides), slamming doors etc
The joists are perpendicular to the party wall and I suspect they might be shared, is this possible?

 

[cwhaley]

In those days party walls were 9 inch solid.

By that point I'm sure most house builders and associations were building party walls as cavity walls.

 

[footprints]

Because we can hear the neighbours when they walk up the stairs or on their first floor (both sides), slamming doors etc
The joists are perpendicular to the party wall and I suspect they might be shared, is this possible?

I doubt it, it would have to be from a very tall tree.
Once the sound is in the wall it will transmit to your joists.

 

[^woody^]

Whilst party walls between the rooms would be cavity or 9", lots of fire-break walls in the loft were often reduced to 4 1/2".

Sometimes these would be built central and you can see it at joist level, but sometimes not. You wont tell just by looking at the wall and a random half brick in it.

 

[jacoscar]

I doubt it, it would have to be from a very tall tree.
Once the sound is in the wall it will transmit to your joistsThe

I doubt it, it would have to be from a very tall tree.
Once the sound is in the wall it will transmit to your joists.

The joists don’t run the full width of my house (2 rooms); they actually terminate above the wall that separates kitchen and dining room downstairs and from there new joists run parallel to it till the next property (see picture)

That’s why I suspected they run into the adjacent houses

 

[johnny2007]

No way.
I have never seen shared joists between 2 properties, unless they were all one at the beginning.

 

[martin hill]

Hi There with the way you describing it i would think that the party wall is single skinned. That would be the reason to run the joists straight thru into the next house instead you and the neightbours joists resting on the wall. Over the years building firms have come up with lots of ways to cut corners and save time and money. If the houses are part of a large estate i doubt everysingle one was checked by B.C They certainly aren't now.

 

[martin hill]

Also i'd be popping in some noggins on those joist ends in the last pic.

 

[jacoscar]

So it’s single brick with shared joists?