Hi there,
I recently gained acesss to the A frame roof cavity in our recently purchased old terrace home and have found the existing brick fireproof wall that divides between 1 neighbour does not go entirely to the roof and stops at chest level and is on the flimsy side of sturdy.
Does anyone have any experience in terms of options to redo the wall? Has anyone dealt with this and has recommendations for builders / materials?
Located inner city Sydney.
Thanks, however the roof itself is ok.. its the internal non structural wall dividing the homes that has missing bricks.. ive got a flashlight in there and can see the neighbour on the otherside (neighbours neighbour) has the same issue.. essentially there is no sound and fireproofing between 3 properties.
Probably best to continue the brickwork up. Alternatively you could use concrete blockwork, hebel or fyrchek plasterboard on a stud wall.
If the brickwork is very bad you can stiffen it by adding a heavy duty steel frame and bolting it to the brickwork.
Yeah itll likely need to be partially removed before being built upon again by the looks.
The wall seems unsteady, like i feel i could push it over… hopefully no earthquakes soon.
The space is 8M wide eve to eve at the lowest point and 2.4M high at the highest in an A frame shape.
Ill look into these options thanks. Ive just read about durawall cladding which seems good value at 34m2.
If anyone has experience or knows a DIY option, please advise.
You may not want to DIY for this one. Think of the worst case scenario. A fire breaks out next door and spreads to your place and does unthinkable amounts of damage. Your insurer finds out that you did the fireproofing yourself rather than someone qualified. It may not void your claim, but do you even want to take that risk to save a few dollars?
Yes, that is a good point, thanks.
All options are being considered..
This is an unexpected expense and i do wonder how much we are looking at in terms of wallet damage..
fyrchek plasterboard seems like a good option for DIY thanks
I used to manufacture construction sealants and worked with the major manufacturers of panels and systems. Cut a long story short simply adding FR board will not do much as the wall surface isnt the weak spot in terms of firs, its the joints and penetrations. Get an expert to look, otherwise your wasting your money . Or try Trafalgar fire (tfire.com.au) they supply an excellent range and are in Sydney and will be able to advise
Thanks, i'll see if i can get a quote.
I'm wondering what the ballpark is in terms of cost per square M..
Does this mean your neighbor can access your property via the ceiling?
Yep. Not easily, but definitely possible with some effort and the right tools. Of course we would hear this…
maybe a metal or leadlined roof