Garden wall cracked - best way to fix

Froggitt2

We have a 30 year old wall at the end of the garden, about 3 foot high, above which the fence sits. I suspect there was minimal foundation put in, as in two places, the wall is cracked in a zig zag pattern in the cement. As the fence acts like a sail, and the posts are fixed to the wall, I'd like to strengthen the cracks, e.g. by injecting cement or resin or something into the cracks to bond the two sides of the wall.

Any thoughts about what the best way to do this is please?

Section62

Froggitt2 said:

We have a 30 year old wall at the end of the garden, about 3 foot high, above which the fence sits. I suspect there was minimal foundation put in, as in two places, the wall is cracked in a zig zag pattern in the cement. As the fence acts like a sail, and the posts are fixed to the wall, I'd like to strengthen the cracks, e.g. by injecting cement or resin or something into the cracks to bond the two sides of the wall.

Any thoughts about what the best way to do this is please?

Injecting something into the cracks won't achieve much if the problem is poor foundations and/or excessive loading from the fence panels.

You'll just get new cracks along different mortar joints.

You need to get to the root cause of the cracking, fix that, then decide whether to do crack repair or rebuild the wall (depending on the cause)

TELLIT01

Is the ground level higher behind the wall, or is it just wind on the fence panels causing the problems?

theoretica

Change how the fence is attached, with posts going into the ground?  Once the stress on the wall is reduced, repointing might keep it standing for the next 30 years. Or is it a cement slab rather than a brick or block wall?

stuart45

Have you got a photo of the wall?

Froggitt2

stuart45 said:

Have you got a photo of the wall?

Good call. Here we go.

Froggitt2

TELLIT01 said:

Is the ground level higher behind the wall, or is it just wind on the fence panels causing the problems?

Yes, a bit higher. I actually don't think its the panels that are causing the problem, but the panels could make the problem worse if the wind blows the lot over now the wall is weakened.

Section62

Froggitt2 said:

stuart45 said:

Have you got a photo of the wall?

Good call. Here we go.

Is it retaining soil as well?  (note the weep drain)

Froggitt2

theoretica said:

Change how the fence is attached, with posts going into the ground?  Once the stress on the wall is reduced, repointing might keep it standing for the next 30 years. Or is it a cement slab rather than a brick or block wall?

They do go into the ground, maybe 18 inches down, but on one side its soil and the other side is wall. Some of the posts are also fixed to the wall with huge bolts for additional stability. But they rot down there, so we replace them every ten to fifteen years. Yes I know should replace them with concrete posts!!!

Froggitt2

Section62 said:

Injecting something into the cracks won't achieve much if the problem is poor foundations and/or excessive loading from the fence panels.

You'll just get new cracks along different mortar joints.

You need to get to the root cause of the cracking, fix that, then decide whether to do crack repair or rebuild the wall (depending on the cause)

I'm pretty sure the walls were built on broken biscuits, almost all the garden walls round here have cracked, even those with no fences acting as sails. Yes I know that rebuilding with proper foundations would fix it, but I don't fancy the expenditure at the moment. 

So, was looking for ideas as to how to prolong their life.

Froggitt2

Section62 said:

Is it retaining soil as well?  (note the weep drain)

There is no soil from next door coming through the cracks. Im guessing from the soldiers on top that the wall is two bricks deep. I've never noticed any water coming through the weep drain either.