Very Old Brick Building Leaning Badly
Very Old Brick Building Leaning Badly
(OP)
I just inspected a 90 year old 4 family brick building and found that its out of plumb 3 inches over 37 feet. The basement walls are 12 inch brick and the the other 3 floors are 8 inch brick. I am thinking of adding a new wythe to make it all 12 inch brick. I am also planning to underpin the old footing with a new wider new one. The big financial problem is the owner has already gone through 60% of his bank loan for the rehab work and now needs a lot more money to fix his building for which he knew nothing about. Has anyone ever done something like this before. This qualifies as a "dangerous building". Any tips will be greatly appreciated.






RE: Very Old Brick Building Leaning Badly
Foundation Settlement? If so, why? Old fill, earthquake, downspout issues?
If there is a crawlspace, what is it like? If the crawlspace is present, have any interior footings settled, or is there evidence of past shimming efforts?
Was the settlement recent, or over a long period of time, or a long time ago that has since stabilized?
I might leaqn to 3 or 4" diameter pin piles at the outside walls, depending on the recommendations of a geotech. I assume you have one retained to help here?
What is the general condition of the brick?
Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
RE: Very Old Brick Building Leaning Badly
I would say call in a house mover to lift everything then fix
the foundation.
As msquared 48 indicated above, you might pile or an alternative could be to try to stabilize the ground below the existing footings by grouting before any underpinning work starts.
Intrusion Prepakt /marineconcrete.com
RE: Very Old Brick Building Leaning Badly
Do opposite sides of the building show the same out of plumb readings. Perhaps it was built with an out of tolerance spirit level.
I know 3 inches seems a lot but it isn't so bad if each floor is taken separately, is there any support at the floor levels (37 feet seems high for a single lift)
My point is if it is just poor workmanship and has been standing for 90 years it's a different case than if it is settling due to some nearby change in ground conditions.
RE: Very Old Brick Building Leaning Badly
You need to figure out "why" before you can decide "how"!!
RE: Very Old Brick Building Leaning Badly
RE: Very Old Brick Building Leaning Badly
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RE: Very Old Brick Building Leaning Badly
I've looked at a lot of them. Typically the most common issue I see is the deterioration of the mortar in the brick. They didn't use portland cement back then. Repointing the brick is a viable option to fix the bad mortar. Repointing will add bond back to the exterior face of the brick which will increase your overall cross-section and add out-of-plane moment capacity back to the wall. The crumbled mortar on the interior is encased by the repointed mortar and is just fine for compressino.
Foundation settlement might not be the only reason the building is out of plumb. The walls may simply be leaning.
I don't think adding another wythe is going to accomplish anything.
One this I caution owners with about buildings this old, and I'll pass this caution onto you, is that if you're going to do demo and remodeling you have to be extremely delicate. Buildings this old are much more sensitive than newer ones. Jacking on a foundation could crack walls. Sometimes non-load bearing walls become load-bearing over time.
Just be careful and let the owner know that there are a lot of uncertainties that are out of your control.
RE: Very Old Brick Building Leaning Badly
Changes in lifestyle has also increased the amount of moisture within...
Dik
RE: Very Old Brick Building Leaning Badly
I strongly encourage you to engage the services of a local Geotech, if you have not already, if the reason "why" is not obvious from above.
I would be concerned about leveling the structure and what that is going to do to the floor joist to brick wall connection, let alone what they are now. Repairs, to include leveling, can bring about a sudden collapse, if not properly sequenced. As previously implied, loads can also shift during this process too, and this is a heavy structure.
Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
RE: Very Old Brick Building Leaning Badly
RE: Very Old Brick Building Leaning Badly