Hi all,

My house is about 60 yrs old and the attached garage was added about 20 years after the house was built. The garage is 30x30 on a concrete slab. It is wood framing with brick veneer. It looks like the brick ties on the rear wall have failed and the wall is bulging. The bulge is probably a 5x5 area next to the man door on the back of the garage. I replaced the man door when I first bought the house 4 years ago and I could see that the brick ties had failed. I'm now finally ready to fix the veneer even though it has not gotten any worse in the 4 years that I have owned the house. I'd like to use the 9" star shaped, cast iron, anchors plates (wall washers) with a 3/4" diameter bolt. I'll probably use at least 3 of them but I have 10 of them and can use as many as needed.

My quesions are as follows:

1. Is an anchor plate the best way to secure the brick? I doubt that I can pull the brick back in place as the bulge is probably 2-3" but at a minimum I would like to make sure that it's not going to get any worse.

2. If wall anchors are the way to go, what is the best way to attach them to the inside framing? With 3/4" bolts I assume that it's a bad idea to drill through the wall studs. Should I use a steel plate on the inside that spans several studs? Or could I add some wood bracing and attach the anchor plate bolts?

3. Should I drill through the brick or through the mortar for the 3/4" bolts?

Just a little about me, I'm a true diy-er and basically never use a contractor for anything. I've done kitchens, bathrooms, plumbing, electrical, decks, patios, framing, etc. I'm sure that I have the skills and tools to do this job, I just need some technical guidance.

Thanks

 

I think you need to figure out what caused the brick to bulge out.

Is the framed wall pushing the brick?

Does the brick wall rest on a level foundation?

 

The framed wall is still plumb and I believe the foundation is OK. I haven't noticed any other issues with the garage that would make me think that the foundation was the problem but it's possible that it could have settled or lifted at some point. However since the garage is on a concrete slab and there are no cracks in the floor I would think that the foundation is OK. Also, since the bow in the wall has not worsened in the last 4 years I don't think there's anything structural going on.

The entire wall in question was covered with ivy when I bought the house so that could have contributed to the problem. I also think that there weren't enough ties installed.

 

There are special remedial ties that can be used for walls like this. You can get them for either masonry or timber inner walls that have a masonry external wall.

 

I'd suck it in using some 1/2"-dia. galvanized steel bolts, squeezing a pair of 2 x 6s inside and out, spanning at least 3 wall studs. Maybe 2 bolts per stud space, in drilled mortar joint holes. The bolt torque needed to eliminate the bulge will be considerable, so you may want to use over-sized steel plate washers under conventional circular washers on each end, to prevent crushing the wood.

 

If you already have the star anchors then I would use them but there are other anchors they may work as well or better. Heli-Fix anchors are a screwed in anchor that will stablize (and maybe even pull in slightly) a face brick veneer. I am not a manufacturers rep so I am not pushing them or any of the other makers of similar anchors. just an idea. Check out the website if you wish, it is interesting.