Vehicle Impact Restoration

The challenge

A vehicle broke through the lower-level exterior wall of this Twin Cities split-level — directly beside a floor-to-ceiling fieldstone fireplace. The impact snapped the wall framing and header, sheared the stone off the fireplace, and left the house open to the weather.

Our approach

We secured the opening, then rebuilt the damaged framing and header back to sound bearing. Because the structure and the fireplace masonry shared the same few feet of wall, one team sequenced the work — wall first, fireplace next, interior finishes last.

The results

The wall and window were rebuilt, and the fireplace came back in rounded river rock with a glass-front gas insert and tile hearth. Outside, new siding and tudor trim erased the boarded-up opening, so the elevation reads as one house again.

Cause of loss: a vehicle struck the house and broke through the lower-level wall. Scope: emergency board-up, structural repair, fireplace rebuild, and interior finishes.

The impact landed where a house can least afford one — the wall immediately beside a floor-to-ceiling fireplace. It broke the framing and the header over the opening, splintered the rim board along the base, and sheared the stone facing clean off the side of the fireplace, leaving the masonry core exposed and rubble across the hearth. Until the breach was sheeted over, the room stood open to the outside.

That combination is what set the order of the work. Structure and masonry sat within the same few feet of wall, so the wall had to be framed and closed before the fireplace could be rebuilt, and the fireplace had to be finished before the room could be. Rather than piece the old stone back together, the fireplace came back in rounded river rock with a glass-front gas insert and a tile hearth. It is the kind of loss that makes the case for emergency response that carries straight through to the rebuild: the same team that closed the hole finished the room.

Before & After

Living room wall broken open beside a floor-to-ceiling fieldstone fireplace, with snapped framing, torn drywall, and daylight through the opening after a vehicle struck the house — Living room — where the vehicle came through

The same living room rebuilt with a river rock fireplace, a glass-front gas insert, a tile hearth, and the window restored where the wall was breached — Living room — where the vehicle came through

Split-level home with the lower level sheeted over in plywood beside the chimney after a vehicle broke through the exterior wall — Front elevation

The same elevation after restoration, with the lower level rebuilt and the siding and tudor trim matched back to the rest of the house — Front elevation

Vehicle Impact Restoration

The challenge

Our approach

The results

Before & After

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