residential home wall reinforcement against shear load 1

[GSC]

Hi,

I am a mechanical engineer, I have a good knowledge on steel structures, but almost nothing when it comes to bricks or concrete.

I need to reinforce my house wall. I think the structure what was asked for is what you call shear frame, but please correct me if I am wrong.
In practice I have a small gap (2.5 metres) between my house and a steep mountain wall behind it. As there was a change in the local regulations, now I am obliged to fill up the gap between the house and the mountain wall with earth. There is a concern that the filling material will push the wall of the cellar in. I have a corridor next to that wall. According to the current design a pair of red brick pillars of 25x25 cm shall be placed with a concrete arch above them to the middle of the corridor like in mine shafts, and furthermore I have to put an extra layer of bricks 3 metres long next to the non-load bearing wall located perpendicular to the inside brick column2 on the other side of the corridor wall.

gap to fill
---------------------------external wall
---------------------------
O column1
[
[ arch
O column2
---------------------------internal wall
||
||
|| non-load bearing wall
|| reinforced
|
|


This will cost a lot. The idea is to replace the whole structure with steel frames which is cheaper at this part of the world. However, for that, I need to understand the concept presented above to make sure that the new design will be safe. I can not find any info about how to estimate the strength and load bearing capacity of such brick pillars, arches, walls, and the shear load of the earth to a wall. Can anyone help me where to find the data I need?

Thanks
gsc

ps: sorry for the looooong question :|

 

[AlohaBob]

Considering the complexity of your work. I should think you would be well served to work with a structural engineer. These aren't difficult questions, but there's some judgement calls to be made. They are more involved than you should expect to properly address here. There's a concern for the value of your home which must be preserved. There's also an issue of safety. I should think the engineer you choose would consider this interesting design work.