Hi I purchased my house about a year and a half ago. Just realised that the garage is only single brick and that it is 3 metres in height and 5 metres in lenght. It has a long steel beam going across it and has wooden joists going across the beam. The garage is also detached from the house. Just want to know if this is safe and would I have problems trying to sell the house in the future? Appreciate your advice and any further support you can give me.
If that building doesn't meet building regs your solicitor or surveyor should have picked it up when you bought the house, might be a claim for negligence there. If you want to know if it meets building regs give the local building control a ring and tell them your concerns and ask them to have a look. Might cost a bit but at least then you know.
I wasnt really bothered at the time. Just really thought about it recently after looking at it properly. I was told that it didnt have building regs consent.
Are you sure Building Regs. apply to a building of that size? Probably do but worth checking. Have you had a spirit level to all the walls? How long has it been up? Is there any movement anywhere? There are some partial pillars. Not sure why wall ties put in. Surely more pillars or second skin would have been done at the same time? Even so not the worst garage in the world. I personally would leave it as it is. But if you are still concerned you could get some brick pillars put in tied into the existing wall under each end of the steel beam but you will obviously need to put concrete foundations under them down at least as deep as the existing.
The bulk of it looks ok. Some weird fixing up/patching gone on! What wall ties? Mr. HandyAndy - Really
Thanks all for your replies. Is it still possible to put pillars in where the steel beams are? If yes then how is this done? Cost wise?
Hi I am only an amateur but professional bricklayers will no doubt correct me if I am wrong. Use wall starters http://www.screwfix.com/p/sabrefix-wall-starter-kit-stainless-steel/56037 to connect the double pillar of bricks to the existing. You will need to break up the concrete floor and extend the concrete foundations out say a foot in each of the three directions past where the pillar will go. Go down at least a couple of foot or the same as existing. Put in DPC at same height as existing. At the top of the pillars put in concrete pads. If these are a tight fit some of the weight will be transferred to the pillars. I would do this myself but even so it would cost a few hundred pounds. I have no idea what a professional would charge. Materials, labour , expenses & profit could be £1500/£2000?