Hello forum,
I live in an older house (built in 1958) and on one side of the property there is a small wall (about 10cm (4 inches) of the concrete foundation protrudes above ground, with a row of facing bricks on top, making it approximately 20-25cm (8-10 inches) high in total). Unfortunately, the wall has shifted or tilted to one side, so its top surface is no longer level.
I would like to install 2 or 3 privacy screen panels at that location and am wondering about the best way to proceed:
My preferred solution would be to anchor threaded rods into the wall using injection mortar and then screw U-brackets onto these rods. However, I would need to provide solid support underneath the U-brackets, and I’m unsure how best to do this. When searching online, I only found base plates used in door and window installations, but I’m not sure that would be an ideal approach.
So my question is: Does anyone have experience with something like this? How would you install such a privacy screen? Or is it generally not recommended? Of course, I don’t know the stability of the wall or whether it would sink further under the fence’s load (which probably can’t be reliably predicted?). However, I assume most of the foundation is below ground level (which I might still check), and the potential damage, if the wall were to tilt more, would likely be limited (in the direction it’s tilting there is only a garden bed with low shrubs for several meters, no people hanging around, and the work involved for 2-3 privacy panels is manageable), so I’m willing to take that risk, even if it means I might have to reinstall the privacy screen in a short time. Are there any reasons that would definitely speak against this?
Another idea would be to build new foundations in front of the wall and install post brackets there, then build the privacy screen "normally." However, since the gap between the wall and the house’s exterior is already very tight (the currently required setback from buildings to the property boundary was apparently not a regulation in our neighborhood back in 1958), and the wall is longer than the planned privacy screen, meaning the end of the screen would look odd, I’m not keen on this option.
Thanks for your ideas
David
I live in an older house (built in 1958) and on one side of the property there is a small wall (about 10cm (4 inches) of the concrete foundation protrudes above ground, with a row of facing bricks on top, making it approximately 20-25cm (8-10 inches) high in total). Unfortunately, the wall has shifted or tilted to one side, so its top surface is no longer level.
I would like to install 2 or 3 privacy screen panels at that location and am wondering about the best way to proceed:
My preferred solution would be to anchor threaded rods into the wall using injection mortar and then screw U-brackets onto these rods. However, I would need to provide solid support underneath the U-brackets, and I’m unsure how best to do this. When searching online, I only found base plates used in door and window installations, but I’m not sure that would be an ideal approach.
So my question is: Does anyone have experience with something like this? How would you install such a privacy screen? Or is it generally not recommended? Of course, I don’t know the stability of the wall or whether it would sink further under the fence’s load (which probably can’t be reliably predicted?). However, I assume most of the foundation is below ground level (which I might still check), and the potential damage, if the wall were to tilt more, would likely be limited (in the direction it’s tilting there is only a garden bed with low shrubs for several meters, no people hanging around, and the work involved for 2-3 privacy panels is manageable), so I’m willing to take that risk, even if it means I might have to reinstall the privacy screen in a short time. Are there any reasons that would definitely speak against this?
Another idea would be to build new foundations in front of the wall and install post brackets there, then build the privacy screen "normally." However, since the gap between the wall and the house’s exterior is already very tight (the currently required setback from buildings to the property boundary was apparently not a regulation in our neighborhood back in 1958), and the wall is longer than the planned privacy screen, meaning the end of the screen would look odd, I’m not keen on this option.
Thanks for your ideas
David
L
lagwagon6677 Apr 2021 09:28Nice-Nofret schrieb:
The foundation is what’s below ground; you should check the depth. What is the height difference between your neighbor’s land and yours? Who is higher? The small wall probably tilted due to the weight of cars, which I infer from the tire tracks; maybe it is also somewhat undermined? That’s what I meant with my comment, which is why I can only say how deep the foundation is this evening, since I need to remove some stones and dig a hole for that.
Nice-Nofret schrieb:
Could you agree with your neighbor to let his cherry laurel grow taller while you trim it on your side? That would be the simplest—and most attractive—option.
I’d guess it would take 3 to 5 years to reach the desired height; it’s probably been there for a while and is well-rooted. That could also be a solution acceptable to the neighbor (I’ve already discussed it with her), but my partner would prefer to have privacy as soon as possible. If the wall option is completely off the table, she might have to reconsider that idea.
L
lagwagon6677 Apr 2021 12:48Nice-Nofret schrieb:
How big is the height difference between your neighbor’s land and yours? Who is higher? The small wall seems to have tilted due to the load from the cars, judging by the tire tracks; maybe the base is also somewhat undermined? Completely forgot: we are slightly higher, but not by much. About 15cm (6 inches). The previous owner regularly used the garage to park her car, so it’s quite possible that the wall has sunk because of the car’s weight. We now only use the garage for bicycles, and with the garden gate, parking a car there isn’t really possible anymore. So, there won’t be much load on it in the future.
L
lagwagon6678 Apr 2021 20:27So, I only managed to start digging today. The wall is about 67cm (26 inches) high from the top edge down to the "bottom edge" of the foundation. Since on our side, at the level of the garage where we want to install the privacy screen, it protrudes about 10cm (4 inches) out of the ground, that means it is about 57cm (22 inches) underground on our side. On the neighbor’s side, which is slightly lower, it is about 42cm (16.5 inches) deep.
So it’s not as deep as a foundation should typically be, as far as I know. Can the amount of lateral earth pressure that a privacy screen could exert before overturning the wall be estimated from this data? Or does anyone have experience or additional ideas?
So it’s not as deep as a foundation should typically be, as far as I know. Can the amount of lateral earth pressure that a privacy screen could exert before overturning the wall be estimated from this data? Or does anyone have experience or additional ideas?
P
pagoni20208 Apr 2021 20:45You don’t have to build a 2-meter (6.5 feet) tall, heavy structure there, right?
You could also use suitable reinforced steel mesh panels that can be planted over.
If simplicity is also a priority, one option might be to anchor a wooden beam (timber batten) to the outside of the garage wall and then create 2-3 sections from there. How about removing a few bricks every 1.5 to 2 meters (5 to 6.5 feet) and, for safety, fixing directly into the concrete below, for example with a simple metal base from a hardware store? You would place the posts there and then move on to the next one. You can keep the sections between fairly lightweight and therefore wind-permeable—why would they fall over then?
It would be different if you were planning to install a glass-covered patio roof on top, but for a simple privacy screen, this should hold, or am I missing something?
To prevent the bricks from breaking away from the concrete, I would just remove them in that area. Afterwards, you can rebuild it neatly again.
You could also use suitable reinforced steel mesh panels that can be planted over.
If simplicity is also a priority, one option might be to anchor a wooden beam (timber batten) to the outside of the garage wall and then create 2-3 sections from there. How about removing a few bricks every 1.5 to 2 meters (5 to 6.5 feet) and, for safety, fixing directly into the concrete below, for example with a simple metal base from a hardware store? You would place the posts there and then move on to the next one. You can keep the sections between fairly lightweight and therefore wind-permeable—why would they fall over then?
It would be different if you were planning to install a glass-covered patio roof on top, but for a simple privacy screen, this should hold, or am I missing something?
To prevent the bricks from breaking away from the concrete, I would just remove them in that area. Afterwards, you can rebuild it neatly again.
L
lagwagon6678 Apr 2021 21:03Hmm... Personally, I’m not too keen on welded wire mesh. I’d really prefer to use wood. The privacy screen I had planned to build is the one Jonas Winkler made on YouTube (Google “Jonas Winkler fence”), just to give you an idea of what we’re aiming for. It’s definitely also breathable.
I haven’t really thought about bricks coming loose yet. My main concern was more that the wall might topple over completely with the privacy screen on top, or at least lean sideways, causing the screen to be crooked. But that’s a good point, and it should be easy to fix by drilling four holes per post through the facing bricks down into the foundation, then inserting sufficiently long threaded rods, securing them with injection mortar, and fastening the U-shaped post holder to the wall (using washers for alignment).
Maybe I’m overthinking it. I saw today that on the other side of the property, my neighbor installed a standard privacy screen (about 1.80m (6 feet) high) using simple ground spike sleeves driven into the earth—no concrete, though that spot is more sheltered from the wind. So if your only concern is bricks breaking out, that definitely helps me, especially if it can be solved by longer threaded rods.
I haven’t really thought about bricks coming loose yet. My main concern was more that the wall might topple over completely with the privacy screen on top, or at least lean sideways, causing the screen to be crooked. But that’s a good point, and it should be easy to fix by drilling four holes per post through the facing bricks down into the foundation, then inserting sufficiently long threaded rods, securing them with injection mortar, and fastening the U-shaped post holder to the wall (using washers for alignment).
Maybe I’m overthinking it. I saw today that on the other side of the property, my neighbor installed a standard privacy screen (about 1.80m (6 feet) high) using simple ground spike sleeves driven into the earth—no concrete, though that spot is more sheltered from the wind. So if your only concern is bricks breaking out, that definitely helps me, especially if it can be solved by longer threaded rods.
P
pagoni20208 Apr 2021 21:14lagwagon667 schrieb:
hmm... I’m not a big fan of steel reinforcement mesh personally.... once overgrown, it will disappear anyway...lagwagon667 schrieb:
my concern was more that the wall might topple over completely with the privacy screen on topThat’s exactly why I would remove the brick where a post is supposed to go, so the metal profile rests directly on the concrete. Then you can just carefully put the bricks back in place—no need to drill into them. If they break (which they probably will when drilling), your fence posts would be standing on toothpicks... that seems unnecessarily complicated to me. Just glue the bricks back later or remove them entirely and replace with something else of your choice.Similar topics