Cinder block wall is pulling away

My neighbor and I have a problem. We have a common cinder block wall between our yards. We also have a cinder block wall that runs along an alley, perpendicular to the common wall. Both walls are about 5' high. The alley wall is pulling away from the common wall. It has bowed out by 2" at the top of the wall.

I beleive this is due to the Mexican Palm he planted back in the back corner of his yard. He planted it 2' from each wall. When it was small, no big deal. But now it is 20' tall with a 30" base and is less than 6" from the wall. But it is not directly touching the back wall so neither of us know for sure if the palm is the problem. He is willing to have the palm removed.

Is there some way to push or pull the back wall up against the common wall like it was when new? I was thinking a 2" wide by 3' long steel C-channel as a brace on the ooutside back wall. Drill holes in it every 8". Then drill deep holes in the cinder blocks and screw some tapcon cement bolts in to see if we can pull the wall back so that it once again is touching the common wall. But I have never tried this before and wonder if the cinder blocks can take the stress. They may be too weak and brittle.

Any other brilliant ideas?

Reply to
Ike
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Cut down he tree and wait a year or so for the roots to rot away. Then deal with the wall if the soil subsidence has left a gap.

Joe

Reply to
Joe

Is the wall puling away at the bottom also, or is it tight at the bottom and the wall is leaning away at the top?

Reply to
hrhofmann

Forget it. The wall will crumble.

Unless it settles back on its own, it will have to be torn down and rebuilt.

The problem is the footing under the wall is not deep enough. The tree roots grew underneath and are now lifting the wall.

Reply to
mkirsch1

It is tight at the bottom, pulled away at the top. Sort of like something is tipping it over. None of the other neighbors walls are having this problem as far as I can determine. The common wall on the opposite side of my backyard adjacent with my other neighbor is fine. There are not any palms or trees in that location.

Reply to
Ike

I live in the desert. It taks a long time for a dead palm to rot away.

Reply to
Ike

it's pushing against one side of the footing. propping it up only delays the fall over date. you won't be able to push it back vertical.

you need to take out the tree, take out the roots, straighten out the wall, fill it back in, and hope that it doesn't retip because of settling under the footing.

the proper way to do this is to remove the wall, take out the tree, take out the roots, build a correct footing, and rebuild the wall.

or push it vertical, sell the house, and hope that it's not a windy day when the home inspector comes over.

Reply to
chaniarts

If you could get under the tilting wall and pour some sort of a corrected footing, you might postpone things for a few years

Reply to
hrhofmann

In a fight 'twixt concrete and a tree, the tree will always win.

Remember how the Ents tore down the wall at Isengard? They simply inserted their roots into minuscule cracks and grew them. The giant stone wall fell so fast not even a black wizard could stop it!

You MIGHT be able to salvage things by having a ditch-witch sever the roots between the tree and the wall. Dig a trench 6" wide and three/four feet deep.

Fill the trench with concrete.

Reply to
HeyBub

"hr(bob) snipped-for-privacy@att.net" wrote

I'd hire those guys that fixed the tower in Pisa. They have the right experience.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

WooHoo, that takes me back! I actually walked around the top of the tower (clinging to the wall all the way). Believe me, that is one strange sensation, walking on a surface that is not level, but slanted DOWN! That was long ago before they closed it off.

HB

Reply to
Higgs Boson

"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in news:6oidnQ4IEfeinzjQnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

When I was there last summer, the thing still leaned quite a bit. Good thing, as it is a real tourist attraction. Oh, I get it, the leaning isn't getting any worse anymore ...

Reply to
Han

Han wrote in news:Xns9EC64E0F71CE5ikkezelf@216.151.153.169:

It was open for climbing to the top, which is indeed weird as the center of the spiral around isn't vertical - at times you go down on the way up and vice versa. Good view from the top.

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Reply to
Han

Your post makes perfect sense. I did not consider how the root ball had grown causing it to tip the wall. You nailed it. I have shared your post with my neighbor. Thank you!

Reply to
Ike

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