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My garage is right on the property line, and my so is my neighbors. Its not a shared wall, but the two are about a 1 foot (maybe 1.5 feet) apart. Its not enough room for me to squeeze back there. The siding is pretty rotted through, and the previous owner of my garage used some MDF type particle board as the sheathing which is disintegrating. A lot of the studs need some replacing as well, along with the sill plate on the foundation. Its a pretty flat roof garage, so the wall I'm replacing is just a plain 10'x20' regularly studded wall. There are no tricky angles or anything on the wall, its square.

Any ideas on how to replace the wall and siding? Are there any siding systems that I could assemble on the roof and flip up and lower into the gap? Sliding a new wall in from the side might be possible but it seems really heav and unmanageable. Just like lowering a new wall down from above, how do I secure it inside? Would I have to assemble the wall studs and all before I do this? Or can I pre-assemble the sheathing-wrap-siding panels and fasten them from the inside with some clever fasteners.

Thanks, any ideas or help would be appreciated.

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  • Every old city with row-houses has this same problem, their walls are less than an inch from their neighbor's... – Harper Jul 23 '18 at 17:40
  • What is on the wall inside? – Kris Jul 23 '18 at 21:42
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Seems like the best bet would be building a new wall inside the garage, on the floor. Do all the framing, and put the siding on the top. To make room for the jacks in step 2 you'd probably need to do it in 3 sections.

Then you have to support the roof while you demolish the old wall. Put a jack at each end, and 2 more evenly spaced across the span. Get beams of sufficient size to support the roof, and raise the jacks. Then tear out the old framing and siding.

Now the fun part. Stand up the newly built walls and get them around the jacks and into the right location. Attach them to the foundation, side walls and each other, then lower the roof back down and attach it.

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    Did this same thing in San Francisco but be aware when the wall is modified it will need to meet earthquake code if there is a requirement in your area. The earthquake strapping and wall anchors were the hardest part. Building the wall and sheeting was easy compared to the drilling and straps and I am sure the code has gotten worse since the 70's. Also the walls had to be wider because we cannot build exterior walls with 2x4s even for a single story. – Ed Beal Jul 23 '18 at 20:58
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Here's an idea: Tear off the old siding and MDF on the whole wall first. Next replace any rotted studs. Then make a sandwich of new sheathing and siding with as many pieces of siding as you can lift into place. Nail these together. To these nail 2"x4"x4" nailers perpendicular to the sandwich, on the inside, and aligned for nailing to the studs. Build a couple of U shaped jigs to temporarily screw to the studs to set the units in until you nail them to the studs. Lift the assembled unit and put it through the studs and on the outside, setting it in the jigs. Then nail the nailers to the studs. Unscrew and move the jibs to install the next unit.

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