Wall ties don't meet inner wall

[Gary111]

Hi, I noticed my upstairs window was looiking funny, on investigation the outer wall has moved maybe an inch or more away from the inner one and pulled the brown surface of the window frame with it.

On removing the outer filler trim I can get my fingers in the cavity.

I can see that the wall Ties I had fitted do not meet the inner wall.

It seems that they just weren't drilled far enough in ?
And need to be removed and re done possibly with longer ones ?

 

[^woody^]

Ties should be in the brick not the joint.

If these ties were once fully in the wall, but now are not, then being in the joint could be the cause, otherwise you have a bigger problem with that outer wall than ties alone, or what ties can deal with.

 

[wessex101]

If you zoom into the photo you can see the hole in the inner leaf brickwork and you can see the brick dust on the expanding plug on the nearest tie where it has pulled out of the hole.

It looks to me like poor workmanship when the ties were installed. There should not be that much brick dust left in the holes, the expanding plug does not appear to have been tightened enough etc. Did the installation contractor undertake any pull out tests as required?

I would get an independent opinion on the installation which will require removing some bricks to fully examine the ties. I suspect you are looking at a legal claim against the original contractor for the cost of installing new ties and possibly rebuilding the outer leaf of the wall.

 

[Gary111]

Thanks for your help.
how would I know if the outer leaf needs rebuilding ?
Is there a certain gap size you can't go past in the cavity ?

 

[wessex101]

Thanks for your help.
how would I know if the outer leaf needs rebuilding ?
Is there a certain gap size you can't go past in the cavity ?

If the outer leaf is fully tied back then structurally you can get away with a substantial bulge to the wall, probably a lot more than is visible on the photos. However, aesthetically you might opt for re-build as it might look awful. It really depends on what it looks like and what you are prepared to put up with and possibly future saleability of the property? You said you only noticed it because the window trim pulled away so you might well get away with just installing new wall ties.

 

[Gary111]

Thanks for your help, it doesn't need to look good as long as it's structurally sound.
Saleability my be a problem though if it puts someone off.

 

[Gary111]

Do I need a surveyor, structural engineer or builder/ wall tie specialist do you think in order to prove if they werent done properly ?

 

[Gary111]

Also I wonder what's happening at roof level,I guess the gap could be larger

 

[wessex101]

Do I need a surveyor, structural engineer or builder/ wall tie specialist do you think in order to prove if they werent done properly ?

I would say structural engineer or replacement wall tie contractor. Probably the latter would be more helpful but obviously you need to be on your guard because they will probably just want to sell you new wall ties. It might even be worth going back to the original contractor but again you may need to take what they say with a pinch of salt.

Also I wonder what's happening at roof level,I guess the gap could be larger

Not necessarily. With wall tie failure the wall can develop a bulge almost anywhere or even multiple bulges so you get a ripple effect running up the wall, rather than a consistent lean from the top. Get up a ladder with a long spirit level or a plumb line or drop a plumb line from an upstairs window and see what you can find.