Wall repair in progress with contents protected

Vehicle impact

Vehicle impact repair & emergency board-up in Fort Worth

A car through the wall is a structural job, not a drywall patch. We board it up, see what moved, and rebuild the assembly.

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Brick that looks local can hide a stud wall that shifted. Slab edge, windows, and the roof diaphragm take load they were not meant to take. We do not patch veneer over a moved frame.

Board-up the same day when we can. Permanent repair after we see the load path.

Board-up

Close the opening. Keep weather and access out. Photograph the displacement.

What moved

Framing, shear, brick veneer, utilities, slab edge, openings, roof diaphragm. Write it. Then rebuild that assembly.

Rebuild

Structure first, envelope second, finishes last. Hidden damage after demolition goes on the paper.

What we look at

Load paths and shear walls
Brick veneer vs the frame behind it
Framing displacement
Utilities in the wall
Slab edge and openings
Roof diaphragm if the wall tied in

What a vehicle does to a wall

A car through the wall damages more than the part you can see. The impact can push the brick veneer, the framing behind it, the slab edge, the windows and openings, and sometimes the roof, which takes load it was not built to take. That is why we look at the frame and not just the face.

Utilities can be in the wall too. We write down what we find before anything is covered up, and hidden damage that shows up after demolition goes on the paper with photos.

The first hours

Make sure everyone is safe, and call 911 if anyone is hurt.
Stay out of the damaged area until it is clear.
Do not pull on debris or try to push the wall back.
Take photos from a safe spot, then call us. We board up the same day when we can, to keep weather and people out.

Permanent repair comes after we see the load path: structure first, envelope second, finishes last. See emergency board-up, our reconstruction page and the process page. For another structural job, see house opened to framing.

Questions

Can you just replace the brick?: Only if the frame behind it did not move. We open it and see. Veneer on a shifted wall fails again.
What do you do first?: We close the opening so weather and people stay out, and we photograph what moved. The permanent repair comes after we see how the load travels through the wall.
What if the wall looks fine from the street?: Brick that looks fine can hide a frame that shifted. We open it and see before we call it done.