Repairing/Replacing a CinderBlock Wall
Greetings All,
I have three basic questions about cinder block wall construction
1)Do you need to anchor a 8 ft. long by 6 ft. high, non-loadbearing cinder block wall built on a concrete slab?
2) Do you need to re-inforce a 8 ft. by 6 ft. non-loadbearing cinder block wall built on a concrete slab?
3) What’s the best way to to tie a new cinderblock wall in with existing cinder block walls? What if one wants to avoid messing wiht a neighbor’s cinder block wall because that neighbor is highly neurotic and liable to find some basis for a major complaint/minor lawsuit?
CONTEXT: We own a home in South Philadelphia, the back “yard” of which is a 14×14 foot cinder-block enclosed yard with a gate to a fire alley that runs between the houses on our block.
We need to replace an 8-ft long, 6ft. high section of the wall–as 4-ft high planter full of dirt is pushing it back into the alley. It could fall this freeze-thaw cycle. Among other things, our gate to the alley won’t latch, posing a security hazard. We’re removing the dirt and planters so this won’t happen again.
My adjacent neighbor to the west faces a similar problem with her back alley alley wall, and we’re soliciting bids from contractors together.
Our party wall is relatively intact, and a contractor has proposed simply cleaning it up, fixing the mortar and covering it w/wire and smooth stucco.
My neighbor to the east is the twitchy one. I don’t want to mess with her wall–which is actually the cinderblock exterior of a small addition to her home.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
DHO
Replies
Hey dangerous, I'm also in philly. Yo!
If you think L&I might get anywhere near that wall, you'll need to put it on a real footing below the frost line (if you remember about 1999 or so when there were several wall collapses -- in response, they got pretty strict on this).
You will need to reinforce the wall using "standard" masonry wall details (don't have them at the tip of my tongue but there are requirements for horizontal and vertical steel).
If you mess appreciably with an existing wall (and again, assuming L&I will be all over you), you will need to submit as built drawings. If you don't know what's under and in the existing wall, it may be almost impossible to get a permit to add to it.
If you think the wall is about to fall over 'cause it's leaning, a patch job and stucco won't fix that. If you think it will fall for some other reason, a patch job and stucco might fix it, at least for a little while, depending on what's wrong with it.
If it were me, I'd cut the wall off the neighbor's house (to the East) at a 45 from top corner to grade (to ensure lateral support for the neighbor's house -- don't want to get sued or anything), knock the rest of it down and install a nice cedar fence with an attractive detail on the top foot or two, just inside of remaning scrap of block wall.
"A job well done is its own reward. Now would you prefer to make the final payment by cash, check or Master Card?"
Hey Philarenewal. Yo!
Thanks for the info. What renewing are you doing and where?
Prompted by your comments and my conscience, I am going to call the inspectors and our friendly neighborhood structural engineer for feedback/info. I hate to open this can of bureaucratic worms, but it sounds like I'll have to.
The back wall section, between the western property line and the gate, is the one that's leaning and needs to be replaced. Lord knows what it was built on--how far its base went into the ground, etc. I suspect it's just restingon the original concrete slab of our South Philly "yard".
Luckily the party wall to the east is not leaning--but the mortar is eroding. So for now, we're just doing a repair on the eastern party wall. Wish us luck.
Thanks again,
DHO
Dangerous, I do rehabs, kitchen/bath remo, custom carpentry and property management. I'm in the middle of a kitchen/bath job in Manayunk now, waiting for permits on a rehab to start in Queen Village "real soon" (has to go through zoning so I'm not holding my breath).
Definitely get the engineer involved if you have any doubts about the wall. Surprisingly inexpensive and often invaluable.
Sounds like you can just get rid of the back wall if you have to. For the party wall, if it were me, I'd see if that neighbor to the east would pay for the repair or at least part of it (after all, it's really the side of his/her house). On the other hand, a few years ago I did a rehab where the neighbor was a nice retired lady, and I ended up replacing her service entrance on my dime 'cause it was in the way of some brickwork, so old and dangerous that no-one would touch it unless it was replaced, and I didn't have the heart to even ask her to pay a part of it.
I do wish you luck. Let us know how it turns out.
"A job well done is its own reward. Now would you prefer to make the final payment by cash, check or Master Card?"