Are all modern houses as flimsy as this?

GDB2222

MultiFuelBurner said:

Standard construction for age I would say. Single brick breeze cavity wall.

Were you expecting RSJ vertical and horizontal so the car bounced back into the road?

So, I guess the consensus answer is that this is par for the course. Our first house was built without a cavity, just a single 13.5” brick wall. I expect that would have survived the impact of a car better, but it was not very good at keeping the heat in.

stuart45

Solid brick walls perform better than was originally thought. 9 inch walls were assumed to have a U value of 2.1, but insitu tests have found many to be around 1.4. 13 inch walls were less than 1. 
Modern insulation deteriorates over time as well, so a 13 inch brick wall isn't that bad. The wall also holds the heat for longer once it gets warmed up.
The main issue with 13 inch walls is the extra materials and labour in construction.

Mutton_Geoff

Lorian said:

[Removed by Forum team]

Looks to have held up quite well in the circumstances. gas and electric were on that wall.

Shame it was a silver car that hit it. Another colour may have made the sign outside the neighbours house quite comical although the bricks may have been bruised by the impact thus explaining the sign.

RelievedSheff

GDB2222 said:

MultiFuelBurner said:

Standard construction for age I would say. Single brick breeze cavity wall.

Were you expecting RSJ vertical and horizontal so the car bounced back into the road?

So, I guess the consensus answer is that this is par for the course. Our first house was built without a cavity, just a single 13.5” brick wall. I expect that would have survived the impact of a car better, but it was not very good at keeping the heat in.

Having seen car impact damage to an older property I cam assure you that a single brick wall will be equally as badly damaged.

Almost no residential property is designed for vehicle impact damage. (I say almost no as we are currently doing designs for a pair of split level properties which will incorporate highway retaining structures) 

stuart45

It depends how thick the solid brick wall is. Most solid house walls are 9 inch, which isn't much different to a cavity wall, but step up to 13 inch wall and there's a lot of difference. An 18 inch brick wall is really strong. You notice the difference when demolishing them.