I know, the title already seems all wrong. My back yard has a slight slope that I did not notice before leveling an area for a fire pit and seating. The elevation change from the leveled area to the untouched area is about 8 inches. I poured a concrete footing about 10 inches deep with rebar and laid three courses of reclaimed red brick. Will the forces of nature over time crack and push over my small wall? The wall is not straight, it is a large 'S' shape. I haven't back filled it yet and can add something for re-enforcement if necessary.

I have a basement window with a rotten frame. The frame was poorly installed in the first place, which was years or decades before I bought the place. They used wood for the sill and didn't flash it or protect it from the elements, so eventually it rotted. The rot spread to the lower part of the frame and to the window itself, and inside the exterior wall. I should say I 'had' a basement window, because I went out there to try and fix it, and it broke like nothing while I was attempting to carefully remove part of the rotten frame. The whole window was shot, it's better to replace it anyway. But that isn't the issue. I think I could handle replacing the window, and the sill, if it actually had a solid base to set it on, and solid framing to screw it into. The issue now is, the bricks and masonry underneath and beside the window are rotten. They flake off when you touch them or vacuum the area. The mortar is either completely gone, or has been replaced by dirt. There were actually weeds growing INSIDE the bricks. There is an outside course and an inside course, which must have had mortar in between at one time. But now it's all dirt and weeds, possibly all the way down to the foundation. There are weeds in between the rows too. As I was brushing debris off them, I realized I could just pick the top inside course of bricks out. They weren't stuck to anything. The mortar is totally finished. It's crazy... My question is, how safe is it for me to replace the bricks. It's obviously a structural wall. I removed the top course of bricks that were under the former window frame and am capable of replacing them with new bricks and mortar. But below that course, I will check to see if the bricks and mortar below that are in the same condition. If they are, is this a serious problem that I'd need to call somebody for, to erect some kind of support beams or something? Or is it safe to work on the area? Worst case scenario is, the bricks and mortar are all like that, down to the foundation on the inside course and the outside course, and spreading a few feet to the left and right of the window. I guess it could be even worse than that, the bricks and mortar above the window could be in the same condition, but I don't want to rip off the siding to check. Or it could be even worse, the damage could be all along that entire exterior wall. Obviously if I was going to be stupid enough to remove all the bricks in that wall, the house would collapse. But if it's just the window area, possibly down to the foundation, is that safe to work on?