dodgeram

Hello everyone. I have a bit of a problem here. Have a house build in 1913,, has concrete over older brick.. thats pretty well deterioration.. a big 4 foot chunk of wall gave out yesterday.. Talked to a guy that said i could support that side of house with stabalizer jacks and take out that wall and just build a wood one in place out of 2x8's... I would rather it be out of wood as its cheaper then concrete (just bought house and its my first) so not alot of extra money..

Does anyone recoomend this or think it will work as well. and what are some ideas doing it.. thank you!!!

Anyones help is greatly appreciated!

BridgeMan

Although there are many of them out there, wood foundations can be problematic. Cheaper, yes, but quite possibly not so in the long run. Water (and the tiny wood-eating critters it can harbor and/or encourage) and wood are not good combinations for a firm and long-lasting foundation member.

Before I'd spend money on a wood foundation wall repair, I'd rip out the old and form/pour a new reinforced concrete wall. If the existing footing is OK, all that much easier to do.

nealtw

When you say 4ft gave up, do mean you have a hole in the wall or did the stucco or parging fall off? How much of this wall is below ground and how big is the footing. Stabilizing the house with jacks, sounds easy if you say it fast. I agree with Bridgeman, if you want a concrete solution, use concrete.

dodgeram

Hey guys. thanks for the reply! and theres about 4 feet of were the brick fell out. a good foot hole right through into house (debris fell behind wall).. theres brick. with concrete on outside of it... so concrete fell off and bricks fell out.. it being so old bricks are fallin apart. wasnt there such thing as sand like bricks or something cheaper back then compared to now?? and if can get away with just rre doing the 4 foot chunk or even 6 feet. how would i pour cement into the form (or do i just leave enough room to slide a couple 2x8's ontop of concrete wall were it conects to main floor)?. would like to do myself to cut costs.. ( sorry its a dumb question). your so right on not going wood becuase of the moisture and termites.. want something that will last..

dodgeram

Also forgot to answer part of your question.. there is about 5 feet maybe 6 feet below ground..and not sure how big the footing us. again thanks for the help

nealtw

I think you need someone the knows brick work and understands foundations to look at this. Even bad bricks don't just fall over for no reason. Digging down 5 feet to look at the footing could be a dangerous game if you have mud pushing on the wall, the dirt on both sides may be holding it up.
Tell us about the house, Is this the side of the house the rafters sit on or is this the gable end side, do the ends of floor joist sit on this wall or do they run beside it?
Is this type of foundation run all around the house and what condition is the rest of it?
How thick was the concrete that fell out?
Does it look like you have drainage around the house and where does the roof water go?