Gable collapse

That guy was lucky not to have been hit by a brick that could well have 'bounced' towards him. There must have been some wind load / pressure difference either side of that wall.

I didn't think there were any special measures, just wall plates must tied to walls.

In fact a heavy wall taking rafters with it might present more of a danger.

He is so cool about it. How did he manage that? He just waited a second until bits stopped dropping, then carried on as if nothing had happened.

Probably wondering where the nearest place to change his underwear would be. ;-)

Tim

no ....should be self supporting and not require that to be done.....

He genuinely didn't look bothered ...

Except you would never allow a wall without piers if it was at floor level.

Stoned out of his tiny. Thought he was hallucinating it ;-)

It wouldn't be the first wall where the architect had failed to allow for a strong wind creating a low pressure zone on one side.

If you built a garden wall you would be obliged to place piers periodically to assist it's strength from being pushed over.

There was a photo recently of a garden wall in this group where several commented on the lack of piers.

I know this was a cavity wall, but this is often said to be much weaker than a solid 9" wall, and if the inner skin was light Thermalite block this would only compound the issue.

For avoidance of doubt:

Not helped by the design. That gable wall has a parapet and the roof tiles form a 90 degree joint which has to be weatherproofed with lead.

London building regs used to make this mandatory to minimize the spread of fire along a terrace of houses, but it means the roof tiles do not overlap the gable (requiring a barge board arrangement to finish it). This extension of the roof over the gable wall provides a lateral locating function because the 'ladder' that is nailed,fixed to the truss(es) immediately inboard of the cavity wall is built into the cavity wall as well, locking the two together more securely.

That design should have had 1 metre long galvanised ties shaped like hockey sticks buuilt into the cavity and screwed to the underside of the trusses. This is potentially a windy part of the country. Wind speed gusts of over 80mph were recorded on the IoW.

Also, where is the cavity wall insulation ?. It should be present all the way up to the apex to comply with building regs, either full fill batts or 'celotex'. I cannot see either.