Nope, not an interior explosion. Notice the windows are intact. What happened here is stresses built up in the brick layup until eventually they overcame the strength of the wall ties. A few reasons why this can happen - everything from improper installation of the wall ties to water infiltrating the brick. I have plenty of first hand knowledge of this, including when it happened on the 8th floor of a 19 story building. But it is a cool pic.
That. Or just poor construction. Had to replace a door on my house. Bottom half of house is "brick", top half is siding. Pretty typical in this area. Anyway, there's a reason. The house itself is all 2x4 wood frame construction top to bottom. The "brick" is nothing more than a facade and provides absolute zero structural support. In fact, it's not even really attached in any meaningful manner to the house frame. Only realized this when I pulled the old door and frame out. The brick on one side had bowed out several inches from the frame. Not really noticeable until you could see the gap with the door frame removed. Had they tried to build the brick facade up to cover the 2nd floor, I doubt it would have been able to support itself. It probably wouldn't take much for the facade to collapse as it is. I quietly avoided telling the wife and just put the new door frame in. Don't ask, don't tell.
Maybe not so simple. Note that the window frames are bent, meaning that they are attached to the brickwork. If the bricks were only a facade, I think the frames would be atteched to the structural wall.
Not enough ties to anchor the brick facade to the framing, I think.
ReplyDeleteAl_in_Ottawa
I would have thought explosion too.
ReplyDeleteExcept the window glass is intact.
Glass still all there, so no explosion. Guessing Jose and Guadalupe forgot to nail in the brick ties.
ReplyDeleteNope, not an interior explosion. Notice the windows are intact. What happened here is stresses built up in the brick layup until eventually they overcame the strength of the wall ties. A few reasons why this can happen - everything from improper installation of the wall ties to water infiltrating the brick. I have plenty of first hand knowledge of this, including when it happened on the 8th floor of a 19 story building. But it is a cool pic.
ReplyDeleteThat. Or just poor construction. Had to replace a door on my house. Bottom half of house is "brick", top half is siding. Pretty typical in this area. Anyway, there's a reason. The house itself is all 2x4 wood frame construction top to bottom. The "brick" is nothing more than a facade and provides absolute zero structural support. In fact, it's not even really attached in any meaningful manner to the house frame. Only realized this when I pulled the old door and frame out. The brick on one side had bowed out several inches from the frame. Not really noticeable until you could see the gap with the door frame removed. Had they tried to build the brick facade up to cover the 2nd floor, I doubt it would have been able to support itself. It probably wouldn't take much for the facade to collapse as it is. I quietly avoided telling the wife and just put the new door frame in. Don't ask, don't tell.
ReplyDeleteSmart man.
DeleteMaybe not so simple. Note that the window frames are bent, meaning that they are attached to the brickwork. If the bricks were only a facade, I think the frames would be atteched to the structural wall.
ReplyDeletelittle bit of caulk and a good shove will fix that right up.
ReplyDelete--Generic
I was gonna guess "Newlywed's headboard against the outer wall."
ReplyDeleteTaco Bell!
ReplyDeleteI've seen old brick walls just fall down. Usually it happens after it rains. The brick decomposes with the moisture.
ReplyDelete