Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
john2962

Bowing exterior bricks on row home

John T
last month

Looking to purchase this row home and noticed it. It's a complete rehab inside so I am assuming the worst. Anyone seen this before?

Comments (19)

  • John T
    Original Author
    last month



  • palimpsest
    last month
    last modified: last month

    This can frequently be stabilized and/or pulled back into alignment with Star Bolts.

    This is a common problem with rowhouses in eastern cities with lots of 19th and early 20th c. housing stock.

  • PRO
    Mark Bischak, Architect
    last month

    Contact a local mason that can investigate the structure and not just look at a picture.

  • PRO
    HALLETT & Co.
    last month

    ‘It’s a complete rehab’. Youre budget 1million or 100 thousand? A potential 50k - 100k rebuild of the front facade would break the budget or delay the wallpaper installation?

    To some extent I’m kidding but this isn’t internetable and could be major. Only a local mason experienced with historic masonry will really be able to tell and even then the extent of the damage is hard to know until you start to take it apart.

  • John T
    Original Author
    last month

    I definitely don't think using star bolts would bring me the resale I'm going for.

  • PRO
    Windows on Washington Ltd
    last month

    Seen it all the time and short of rebuilding the wall (likely structural), the star bolts/plates are the best thing to stabilize the wall. Not uncommon to see on 7 figure plus homes. Bigger resale impact is the fact that the wall is moving away from the home.

  • res2architect
    last month
    last modified: last month

    I would be more concerned that the building is not vertical.

  • palimpsest
    last month

    This frequently has nothing to do with the integrity of the rest of the structure at all. It has to do with party wall to party wall joists with solid masonry front wall that wasn't tied into the joists well enough, but it usually is not a difficult repair. But its why you will see row houses with intact facades and shell interiors and row houses with intact floor structures where the facades collapse. Obviously this needs to be inspected, but in a historical row house this is a not uncommon issue and isn't necessarily indicative of a difficult and costly repair.


  • PRO
    HALLETT & Co.
    last month

    Or it can mean the entire front facade has to come off. It all depends on the original construction and what has happens in the ensuing centuries.

  • John T
    Original Author
    last month
    last modified: last month

    I have had many contractors and inspectors that were less helpful and charged a lot more than those on the Internet.


  • PRO
    Mark Bischak, Architect
    last month

    You probably got what you paid for., including liability.

  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    last month

    Mark's right--strangers on the internet have zero liability--you have no recourse if you take their advice and then the house falls down. This is too important an issue to depend on the views of someone who hasn't inspected the house in person.

  • palimpsest
    last month

    Strangers on the internet do not replace a licensed inspector/engineer/contractor.

    However they can provide some personal experience with similar situations. If one has never seen the bowed wall of a masonry row house one might assume that by default the entire house is on the verge of collapse or should be condemned. If a stranger on the internet can say that it could possibly be a relatively common and not expensive problem to remediate, I don't see how that additional information is a negative. Particularly when it's not pretending to replace an inspection.

  • PRO
    Mark Bischak, Architect
    last month

    You mean . . . you can't believe everything you get from the internet??

  • palimpsest
    last month

    Do you ever say anything that isn't smart assed and non contributory other than "You shouldn't ask on a forum" in a discussion forum where people are supposed to be able to ask questions? It's troll behavior.

  • PRO
    Mark Bischak, Architect
    last month

    Read the second comment in this thread, it is the best advice offered in this thread, and it was free.

    The photo shows something that could be minor, or it could be major and the building is beyond repair and should be condemned. I will not offer a simple solution that will put the OP in peril. If a Houzzer wants advice they ask on the internet; If they want great advice they should get it from a local professional.

  • John T
    Original Author
    last month
    last modified: last month

    Your responses lead me to wonder - why exactly you are on this forum? It's a forum for people to discuss issues surrounding construction. I never stated I was relying solely on what anyone here told me. Perhaps you need to evaluate why you are posting on a forum just to reprimand people for opening discussions.

  • PRO
    Mark Bischak, Architect
    last month

    I am here for my own entertainment and to give good advice so those in construction can untwist their panties.