ᐅ Fill vertical 7 cm thick and 20 cm deep slot in load-bearing wall.
Created on: 8 Jul 2020 12:59
K
Kr4pf3n
Hello experts,
I am currently facing a challenge and think this is a question for the masons in this forum.
I had to replace the electrical wiring in a two-family house. After careful analysis, it became clear that the 4-core 10mm² (10.7 AWG) cable also needed to be replaced with a 5-core 10mm² (10.7 AWG) cable. So, the cable was replaced from the basement up to the first floor. For this, the walls had to be channeled open with a slot about 7cm (3 inches) wide and 2.75m (9 feet) high. In the 1970s, the cable was simply embedded directly in the wall during construction. Now I have two fairly large slots in load-bearing walls in two apartments that obviously need to be repaired.
This is where I need advice from the experts among you.
How can I restore the maximum stability of these walls?
Have the slots significantly weakened the walls, considering they are vertical?
There are also quite a few cables inside the wall now: two main cables plus six NYM 2.5mm² (≈14 AWG) cables. Will they cause any problems when closing the slots?
As a “layperson,” I would have simply filled the slot gradually from bottom to top with expanding mortar, to apply some pressure on the whole structure. Or is that rather counterproductive?
I would appreciate some digital support from you.
Thanks in advance and best regards,
Sebastian
I am currently facing a challenge and think this is a question for the masons in this forum.
I had to replace the electrical wiring in a two-family house. After careful analysis, it became clear that the 4-core 10mm² (10.7 AWG) cable also needed to be replaced with a 5-core 10mm² (10.7 AWG) cable. So, the cable was replaced from the basement up to the first floor. For this, the walls had to be channeled open with a slot about 7cm (3 inches) wide and 2.75m (9 feet) high. In the 1970s, the cable was simply embedded directly in the wall during construction. Now I have two fairly large slots in load-bearing walls in two apartments that obviously need to be repaired.
This is where I need advice from the experts among you.
How can I restore the maximum stability of these walls?
Have the slots significantly weakened the walls, considering they are vertical?
There are also quite a few cables inside the wall now: two main cables plus six NYM 2.5mm² (≈14 AWG) cables. Will they cause any problems when closing the slots?
As a “layperson,” I would have simply filled the slot gradually from bottom to top with expanding mortar, to apply some pressure on the whole structure. Or is that rather counterproductive?
I would appreciate some digital support from you.
Thanks in advance and best regards,
Sebastian
H
hampshire11 Jul 2020 15:22It’s hard to do it perfectly. One person gets "mocked" for not feeling confident enough to install a washbasin themselves, while the boldness of another, who just starts without a plan using the OPEL method, is also not quite right.
I don’t see it as very dramatic, even though structural engineers following current standards might view it differently. The house will remain standing during the vertical chasing, and a bricklayer will be able to securely close the gaps.
Next time, just take a more practical approach: don’t try to reuse old cable routes, but instead lay new ones and disconnect the old cables.
I don’t see it as very dramatic, even though structural engineers following current standards might view it differently. The house will remain standing during the vertical chasing, and a bricklayer will be able to securely close the gaps.
Next time, just take a more practical approach: don’t try to reuse old cable routes, but instead lay new ones and disconnect the old cables.
Hello everyone,
I actually consulted a structural engineer. He said it’s absolutely not a problem. Also, the wall was not opened in the middle but rather very close to one end. I would describe it as a 5-meter (16.4 feet) long wall, and the opening started just after the first meter (3.3 feet). After consulting with a mason, the grooves were refilled as best as possible using the removed calcium silicate bricks and sealed with mortar. The large hole cannot be closed because the electrical sub-distribution was installed there. Previously, there was also a sub-distribution in that spot, just about half the size. So the "hole" basically just got bigger. Thanks for your opinions. Some of them honestly worried me, but now everything is fine again.
Good luck Kr4pf3n
I actually consulted a structural engineer. He said it’s absolutely not a problem. Also, the wall was not opened in the middle but rather very close to one end. I would describe it as a 5-meter (16.4 feet) long wall, and the opening started just after the first meter (3.3 feet). After consulting with a mason, the grooves were refilled as best as possible using the removed calcium silicate bricks and sealed with mortar. The large hole cannot be closed because the electrical sub-distribution was installed there. Previously, there was also a sub-distribution in that spot, just about half the size. So the "hole" basically just got bigger. Thanks for your opinions. Some of them honestly worried me, but now everything is fine again.
Good luck Kr4pf3n
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