Neighbor Removed Brick Between Houses to Install Plumbing

[chainXzero]

I'm doing a small kitchen refresh in my house and decided to replace the old drywall that was under the old sink. It is a six family house in Brooklyn, with the neighboring 6 family homes all touching each other for the length of the block. In other words, all the homes are adjacent and divided by a shared brick wall. Underneath I find the my neighbor knocked out a section of the brick wall and installed a waste pipe and copper water line that are essentially in my kitchen (see pictures). He knocked out approximately 10-12 rows of bricks in between a pair of wall studs and installed a cross sectional piece of 2x4 held in place by screws.

Is that alright to do? Should I be worried about the structural integrity of the wall? How would you guys handle this situation?

I'm just keeping my cool and trying to analyze this situation logically and intelligently.

 

[chainXzero]

Just to be more clear the houses are like this picture and the brick that he removed is in the red circle.

 

[Bird Doo Head]

It's great that you plan to be logical about the problem, chainXzero. Peaceful & calm help solve problems much quicker than attacks and arguments.

One of the primary reasons for the brick divider is fire spread prevention.
Should you have a fire, the noxious gases, and possibly flames, will spread to the neighbor's unit. This spread is more prevalent because the air pressures between units are different during a fire situation.

I've got no idea if it is a bearing wall or if the 2 x ??" lintel is sufficient. (Doubt it. They're usually steel angles) A structural engineer would have to evaluate.

Consider asking your home insurance company for assistance. They may even pay for the engineering assessment & for repairs because someone damaged your home. Their other incentive is because they absolutely don't want a break in the fire wall.

I hope this helps any not only your situation resolves easily and peacefully- but that your kitchen project is a fun one.

Paul

 

[breplum]

We are not engineers here. But, as a tradesperson since the 70s, a nailed/screwed 2x is NOT load bearing. To become load bearing requires cripples on each end of the 2x.
BTW, rubber flex tube for plumbing in a covered location is not code by any stretch of the imagination.
That wall in your photo will have no fire-spread protection unless properly addressed.

 

[chainXzero]

Behold. Looks like he installed a load bearing screw and an architectural thinset buttress.

 

[chainXzero]

It's great that you plan to be logical about the problem, chainXzero. Peaceful & calm help solve problems much quicker than attacks and arguments.

One of the primary reasons for the brick divider is fire spread prevention.
Should you have a fire, the noxious gases, and possibly flames, will spread to the neighbor's unit. This spread is more prevalent because the air pressures between units are different during a fire situation.

I've got no idea if it is a bearing wall or if the 2 x ??" lintel is sufficient. (Doubt it. They're usually steel angles) A structural engineer would have to evaluate.

Consider asking your home insurance company for assistance. They may even pay for the engineering assessment & for repairs because someone damaged your home. Their other incentive is because they absolutely don't want a break in the fire wall.

I hope this helps any not only your situation resolves easily and peacefully- but that your kitchen project is a fun one.

Paul

I didn't know that the brick was to prevent fire, but it definitely makes sense. With this segment of the wall knocked out, if a fire were to start, I'm sure it would torch right through this draft point.

 

[chainXzero]

We are not engineers here. But, as a tradesperson since the 70s, a nailed/screwed 2x is NOT load bearing. To become load bearing requires cripples on each end of the 2x.
BTW, rubber flex tube for plumbing in a covered location is not code by any stretch of the imagination.
That wall in your photo will have no fire-spread protection unless properly addressed.

I think I might be able to insert cripples. He left brick that was not in the path of his sledge.
Thanks for the heads up on the flex tube, its for the wash machine, I am not going to cover it with drywall, going to leave an access panel in the cabinets.
I honestly don't know what I can do to regain some fireproofing here, other than to dam up the area and entomb everything in concrete pour.

 

[chainXzero]

I'm really glad that I opened this up because when I would be putting the drywall back up, there would be a good chance that I would put a screw right through his PVC drain.

 

[breplum]

Fire rated 5/8” drywall has two hr fire rating… 26 gauge sheet metal plate adds more…

 

[frontporch]

Looks to me like that is a wall shared between houses. The brick would be a fire barrier and also a good for a sound barrier. I don’t see how the brick is structural other than holding itself up
The house might also have balloon framing which results in a single airspace in the wall that goes up all the floors. That kind of construction is a fire hazard if you leave the space open. It allows the fire to spread up the wall between floors

I think modern homes use fire rated drywall (5/8) as a good enough fire block.

There must be some restrictions to using that space that were ignored

 

[Riickk]

These are brick row homes. Almost certainly, the wood joist go across the short span parallel to the front & rear walls; joist are fire-cut at each end, and lay in pockets in the brick wall. Oddly, this brick party-wall appears to be only 1-brick thick; usually such a wall is 2-bricks thick.

In any event, the neighbor has either built something inside your property line, and/or has demolished part of the "party-wall". What he's built has to be removed, or property lines adjusted (expensive: lawyers), and, the party-wall / firewall needs to be properly repaired -- at his cost and expense. Worse yet, he's created a potential fire hazard for BOTH of you. Neighbor probably needs to move that tub? shower? back a few inches, no matter how loud he moans & screams, it's illegal.

(Fire Cut: Joist ends are cut at a 15-20-25 ?? degree angle, short end at the top, so if they burn & fall, upper part can't tear out parts of the brick firewall, and help spread the fire to adjacent house)

 

[frontporch]

It sounds more serious now. Definitely done without a permit. You can try and read a manuf date on the pvc pipe if you are interested when it was done

My guess is that could have been avoided by adding another wall with simple metal studs in the house next door or choosing an interior wall for the plumbing

 

[MicEd69]

Interesting construction that I've never seen before. The bricks are all between the studs, so it appears these bricks are more as a filler to prevent a fire passage up through the wall, and as a sound barrier. On your side, you have wooden laths, plaster, and a layer of drywall.

First, I would address the support of the bricks. Since they are not load-bearing as they are installed between the studs which supports the wall, that 2x4 "lintel" is sufficient as it is only spans 14 1/2" and is only supporting around 300 pounds, assuming there is about 8 feet on bricks above it. But it does need cripples as breplum pointed out. That is easy on right side, but you will need to add a support block screwed to the stud on the left side. And the second area to the left where the bricks have been removed does need a little more than "a load bearing screw and an architectural thinset buttress". (I love the way you put that!) A 2x4 and a couple of support blocks screwed to the studs should provide an adequate lintel there as well.

My biggest concern would be the area to the left where the neighbors drain line goes. There appears to be a metal stud and then an open chase of some sort apparently for the plumbing. I would get some sheet metal and screw it to that metal stud to close off that passage best I could. I would get some 1/4" drywall and screw a 4" - 6" strip across the bottom of the openings. Then I'd get some fire rated foam and fill the entire cavity. Doing it in 4" - 6" steps will allow you to see you are filling the entire cavity.

I assume this is not going to be inspected as it is obviously your neighbor didn't get an inspection. And I assume NYC doesn't allow owners to perform their own plumbing. I say that because some places do not allow foam firestop, but this approach will be MUCH better than you existing situation.

 

[BlueSkyHigh]

I am assuming you weren't the homeowner or otherwise present when the demolition work was accomplished. And, depending on how long the current owner has been in place, this may not have been done by him but, possibly, an earlier tenant. Are you on speaking terms with the current owner? If so, it might be worth a chat.

 

[frontporch]

Found more info on similar construction here
https://inspectapedia.com/insulation/Brick_Lined_Walls.phpDoesn’t really mention fire block issues because it assumes not used on interior walls (but still a concern here) but does cover issues from weight and perils when it is compromised

 

[MicEd69]

Found more info on similar construction here
https://inspectapedia.com/insulation/Brick_Lined_Walls.phpDoesn’t really mention fire block issues because it assumes not used on interior walls (but still a concern here) but does cover issues from weight and perils when it is compromised

Interesting read, thanks!

 

[chainXzero]

It sounds more serious now. Definitely done without a permit. You can try and read a manuf date on the pvc pipe if you are interested when it was done

My guess is that could have been avoided by adding another wall with simple metal studs in the house next door or choosing an interior wall for the plumbing

He definitely did it about 2 years ago. He was renovating the adjacent unit, carrying up PVC piping. He made significant noise but I never imagined in a million years that he would do what he did. I would be willing to bet that since he did it here, he has done it in other spots as well.

 

[chainXzero]

I am assuming you weren't the homeowner or otherwise present when the demolition work was accomplished. And, depending on how long the current owner has been in place, this may not have been done by him but, possibly, an earlier tenant. Are you on speaking terms with the current owner? If so, it might be worth a chat.

I am on speaking terms with him and that's part of what is really disturbing me. I am going to give myself about 2-3 weeks to simmer down and think out a non accusatory and non threatening conversation but that will clearly get my point across that I don't approve of his techniques and to stop.

 

[chainXzero]

Thanks everyone for giving me suggestions on how to approach this problem. I read all your suggestions and kind of did a combination as well as improvised. This was a tight space and I did not want to use power tools in this area, I'm not a pro and I did the best that I could.

- I screwed in another lintel on the left and supported it with two cripples.
- I was able to fit a single cripple to support the right lintel. Was not easy but I did it safely.
- In the right damaged area, I inserted a piece of fire rated drywall that extends down below the floor. He removed the brick immediately below the floor down to the beam that runs perpendicular, so there is now a gap below the floor about the thickness of the support joist that is now shared by both of our homes. I was able to feel this out with my hand by sticking my arm in and feeling around. So I can't provide pictures of that.
- Purchased 4 cans of fire rated foam filler.
- Dammed up the largest gaps to the best of my ability with card board and shims, so that foam could build up and not escape into voids.
- Filled the area up, starting from the bottom where the piece of fire rated drywall sits.
- I had 2 pieces of 22 gauge steel lying around, so I used them. They were not a perfect fit, but it's something.
- Then I closed everything off with fire rated drywall.
- Drew a diagram on the board to avoid damaging anything if I need to come back there for some reason.

 

[BlueSkyHigh]

Very nice work.