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The home is over 100 years old. The building seem in stable condition except half the rear part of the house is structurally crooked, like it's about to give in or fall apart. It's bricks. Now wonder half the rear side of the house has a wet spot as if the roof either has a leak and or something made the bricks "rot" or deteriorate from steady water source that was either trapped around the crevices. Who knows. Can just this side of the house be fixed without doing the entire structure? It looks as if the entire half of the rear of the house (made of bricks) is slanted/crooked. Was the steel supporting it structurally the issue here? I've seen buildings being built that always has steel structures before bricks are layered all over.
What's the temperature in Tokyo, that's actually an easier question. With no pics, no actual dimensions to guess by, you're not going to get any kind of answer. Can a structural issue be fixed? Yes, as long as you have pockets deep enough to pay for it. Brick, in most applications, is not a structural component, it is a cosmetic. Brick doesn't even stop rain water, hence the weepholes that you'll find at the bottom of the wall. Can it be fixed? Sure, as long as you have the deep pockets, anything can be fixed.
Your best friend right now would be a structural engineer. He can evaluate it and give you the right answers. Most commonly around here, the initial inspection would cost about $350-500.00. The engineered repair schedule and follow up inspections adds to the bill but it's not a crippling debt. Depending on the size of the job, the same engineer can recommend a GC to do the entire project and give you a quote- no guess work.
A 100 year old house may well have solid, structural brick walls rather than simply a brick veneer. Typically 2 or more courses in depth. If that's the case you may have some very expensive repairs to do.
Have someone take a look at it. It just might be worth saving. Here in the deep South there is a saying that a house either has termites, or will have termites. My house is one of the haves. I thought it would be a teardown. A contractor looked at it and told me it could be repaired. What I thought was hopeless damage turned out to be some structural damage, and some cosmetic. It will cost around $5,000. But, I will be able to salvage the house. The termites entered thru an expansion joint between the house and porch. I thought the expansion joint was made of treated wood. Obviously, it wasn't.
Thanks for all the responses. I'm curious how much (estimate) it is to fix the roof of a 900 sq ft house? I guess replace rather than fix is a better term to make it all new, nice and shiny.
I wonder if the ex-owner of the house I speak of that had water damage could have taken better care of the issue by getting a waterproofing service? I noticed there were plaster looking lines on the edges of the concrete sidewalks as if there were attempts to keep water from damaging the specific sides of the house in the basement and the backside of the house (first and second floors), but it may have been done poorly or was not salvageable.
I just got my roof done, and it was approximately $8 per sq foot. So in the $7000 range for a 900 sq ft house.
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