Structural Repairs Canterbury & Kent

Reliable Structural Repairers

Action Wall Ties is a Canterbury-based masonry repair specialist. The 01227 dialing code is not incidental – AWT was founded in and operates from Canterbury. Kent is home territory. The surveyors and contractors who carry out structural masonry repairs across Canterbury, Thanet, Faversham, Whitstable and the surrounding areas are the same team that has been doing this work in this county for over 20 years.

Over that time AWT has worked on almost every type of building or structure you could imagine, for homeowners, commercial landlords, housing associations, local authorities and insurance companies – often working alongside structural engineers – across Kent and Greater London. Whatever the structural defect, there is little AWT has not encountered and resolved in this part of the country.

AWT have provided structural repairs for heritage and listed buildings, period properties, infrastructure such as tunnels and bridges, as well as more modern buildings.

Whitstable Bay Window Masonry Repairs

Unsuitable Repairs

After Structural Repairs

Thanet Boot Lintels Repairs

Failing Bay Window Beam in Kent

Georgian Bay Repairs in Kent

Masonry Repairs in Kent

Gable Wall Realignment in Kent

Failing Brick Lintels, Maidstone, Kent

Before Brick Lintel Repairs, Maidstone, Kent

Collapsing Bay Window & Balcony, Thanet

Bowing Bay Window Columns, Thanet

Repaired Bay Window & Balcony, Thanet

Listed Building Structural Repairs, Kent

Listed Building Structural Repairs, Kent

Concrete Cill, Mullion and Lintel Repairs, Kent

"Concrete Cancer" Repairs, Canterbury, Kent

Soldier Brick Lintel Repairs Kent

Soldier Brick Lintel Repaired Kent

 

Innovative Solutions Professionally Executed

AWT is recognised as an industry leader in all areas of masonry repair and reinforcement. The approach on every project is the same: a thorough survey first, an honest appraisal of the defects and their causes, and a repair specification that fully considers both the structural integrity and the aesthetics of the building.

AWT always offers an honest appraisal. If a property does not require specialist structural repair techniques, AWT will say so. The recommendation is always what is best for the customer in terms of a suitable, cost-effective repair.

The repair solutions AWT deploys across Canterbury and Kent are developed and refined in-house. They are not off-the-shelf contractor methods. AWT has designed its own drilling jigs, realignment equipment, hydraulic clamping systems and metalwork fabrication processes specifically to carry out structural masonry repairs that standard building contractors cannot.

Structural Defects AWT Resolves in Canterbury and Kent Properties

Canterbury and Kent’s varied housing and commercial stock present the full range of structural masonry defects. AWT regularly carries out the following across the area:

• Bowing and bulging walls – particularly gable and flank walls on Victorian and Edwardian terraces in Canterbury, Whitstable, Herne Bay and Faversham
• Failing cavity wall ties – prevalent in inter-war and post-war housing across Canterbury, Thanet and Medway where original mild steel ties have corroded
• Cracking and dropping brickwork – including stepped and diagonal cracking associated with differential settlement and thermal movement
• Bay window structural failure – dropping arches, spreading columns and pulling away from the main wall in Kent’s Victorian terraced housing
• Failing and rotating lintels – boot lintel rotation in 1960s and 1970s housing and corroded steel lintels in older stock
• Heritage and listed building defects – AWT has direct experience of structural repair in Grade II listed properties in Thanet , Canterbury and across Kent, where repairs must preserve original fabric
• Concrete frame and LPS building defects – relevant to post-war commercial and social housing stock across Medway and Swale
• Balustrade wall cracking and embedded steel corrosion – common in 1960s and 1970s flat developments across Thanet and Medway

This Thanet Grade II listed nursery school is a direct example of AWT’s Kent work: facing a recommendation to demolish and rebuild the facade, AWT completed the structural repairs in a matter of weeks with no disruption to the business operating from the building.

Kent Areas Covered for Structural Masonry Repairs

AWT covers all of Canterbury and Kent for structural masonry surveys and repairs. Areas served include:

• Canterbury city and the surrounding villages – including Bridge, Chartham, Sturry and the rural areas of the Canterbury district
• Whitstable and Herne Bay – coastal properties where salt air accelerates corrosion of embedded metals and wall ties
• Faversham and Sittingbourne – covering the Swale district and the transition to Mid Kent
• Thanet – Margate, Ramsgate and Broadstairs, where the concentration of Victorian and Edwardian terraces and the coastal environment generate consistent demand
• Folkestone and Hythe – including the Romney Marsh area and the South coast
• Deal, Sandwich and Dover – east Kent coastal and historic town properties, including listed buildings in Dover’s historic core
• Ashford and the Weald – covering the diverse housing stock of the High Weald and Low Weald

For properties outside these areas, call 01227 721255. AWT covers all Kent postcodes plus London and the whole South East of England.

Why Canterbury and Kent Property Owners Choose Action Wall Ties

AWT is not a general building contractor. Every surveyor and installation team member works in structural masonry repair as their specialism – not as one service among many. That focus produces better diagnoses and better repairs.

For quality assurance, Canterbury and Kent clients can take confidence from:

• WTIF registration and BS EN ISO 9001 standards – independently verified competence in wall tie installation and structural masonry repair
• A 25-year warranty on every project – insurance-backed where applicable through the Wall Tie Installers Federation
• Canterbury base – faster survey response across Kent than London-based competitors, with local knowledge of the area’s building stock
• Continuous training – AWT’s team receives training from internal experts and from the manufacturers of the specialist equipment and materials used on site
• Honest appraisal – if a property does not need AWT’s specialist techniques, AWT will say so and recommend the most cost-effective route
• Works accepted by mortgage lenders and insurers – relevant for homeowners and landlords dealing with structural defect reports

S. Epstein of Ebco, a high-end contractor who has worked with AWT across multiple client properties, said, “I’ve trusted Chris with our client’s properties for years for two simple reasons. Firstly, the quality and care of their workmanship, and secondly, their uncanny ability to find innovative solutions to complex problems that have saved my clients both time and money on numerous occasions”. That is the standard applied to every job in Canterbury and Kent.

Book a Structural Survey Anywhere in Canterbury or Kent

If a building in Canterbury or Kent is showing signs of structural masonry defects – cracking, bowing, failing ties, dropping arches or any related problem – the first step is a survey by a specialist. AWT’s surveyors will assess the full extent of the defects, identify root causes and provide a clear written report with recommended works and costs.

Call: 01227 721255

Email: enquiries@actionwallties.co.uk

Or use the contact form on the Contact Us page. AWT is Canterbury-based and covers all Kent postcodes.

Structural Repair Solutions Used Across Canterbury and Kent

Bed Joint Reinforcement Beaming

AWT’s bed joint reinforcement beaming system – often referred to as overbeaming – introduces helical stainless steel cords grouted into the mortar bed joints to form a composite beam within the existing masonry. Combined where necessary with ties and other fixings, the system provides support and restraint to overcome structural problems and reinstate stability. It is stress-free, mainly concealed, and leaves the original brickwork intact.

Multiple structural repair techniques were used to repair this Victorian property in Thanet, which was at risk of imminent collapse.

Masonry Realignment

Where brickwork, arches, columns or other masonry elements have moved, bulged or dropped, AWT has developed hydraulic-powered clamping and realignment equipment to return distorted masonry more closely to its original position before reinforcing. This closes open joints, reduces visible movement and allows the reinforcing works to lock the masonry in a significantly improved position. AWT has designed and manufactured its own realignment equipment specifically for this purpose.

For example, this Canterbury bungalow has its gable walls realigned and reinforced without the need to remove the roof.

Lateral Restraints

AWT installs an assortment of fixings and methods to provide horizontal restraint – reattaching external masonry to the internal elements of a building such as timber floor joists, rafters and internal walls. Lateral restraint is a common requirement in Canterbury and Kent properties where gable walls, flank walls and large unrestrained masonry panels have lost their connection to the building frame.

Remedial Wall Ties

Where the corrosion of original mild steel cavity wall ties has caused horizontal bed joint cracking, bowing and brickwork lifting, AWT installs a pattern of new stainless steel remedial wall ties, isolates the existing corroded ties and makes good the brickwork. A 25-year insurance-backed warranty from the Wall Tie Installers Federation covers all wall tie works.

Brick Arch, Lintel and Bay Window Realignment and Repair

AWT has developed methods and equipment to realign and reinforce lintels, brickwork arches and bay windows that have cracked, dropped or spread. Using AWT’s diamond drilling jigs to install stainless steel cords and pins, with lateral restraints and bespoke fabricated metalwork where required, these repairs permanently stabilise structures that other contractors routinely decline to take on. Kent’s Victorian and Edwardian terraces in Canterbury, Whitstable, Herne Bay and Faversham generate regular demand for this type of work.

Rotating Concrete Boot Lintel Remediation

Boot lintel rotation – where the concrete lintel carrying the outer leaf of brickwork above a window opening rotates outward under load – is a common defect in 1960s and 1970s construction across Kent. AWT has developed a specific repair process: hydraulic props gradually anti-rotate the lintel back towards its correct position, then 16mm stainless steel shear pins are installed and resin-bonded before the props are released. Bed joint reinforcement beaming completes the repair.

Rotating Boot Lintel Causing Gaps & Cracks

Stepped Cracks Due To Failing Boot Lintel

Gaps Above Concrete Boot Lintel

Boot Lintel Defect Causing Compression Cracks

 

Unique Precision Drilling Techniques

AWT has developed and manufactured bespoke drilling jigs to enable precision-controlled drilling in almost any location and into almost any substrate. Drilling methods include rotary, impact, and wet and dry diamond drilling. AWT has also developed specialist drills for rotary drilling of delicate brick slips and long-reach drills for stabilising brickwork including brick arches. These techniques underpin almost all of AWT’s reinforcing and restraint installation work.

Masonry, Stonework and Render Repairs

Following realignment and reinforcing works, AWT finishes using an engineering-quality structural cementitious repair mortar system as an approved Flexcrete contractor. This can be moulded to replicate the original form and finish. For brickwork repairs, AWT stocks a large selection of imperial and metric bricks and a range of mortar colours, sands, grits, cements and limes, including hydraulic lime to match existing pointing as closely as possible.

Remedial Movement Joints

AWT uses hydraulic-powered twin-bladed diamond disc and diamond chain saws with special guides to cut remedial expansion joints – straight, 10mm wide parallel joints into existing brickwork up to 325mm thick in a single pass. Remedial movement joints relieve stress in large masonry panels and prevent further cracking caused by thermal and moisture movement.

Bespoke Structural Steelwork

As part of its remedial schemes, AWT designs and fabricates bespoke metalwork to solve structural problems that cannot be resolved with standard fixings alone. Metalwork is mild or stainless steel with appropriate finishes including galvanising and powder coating. Everything is made specifically for the individual building and its requirements.

Concrete Frame Building Repairs

Cracking and bowing of infill wall brickwork and failure of brick slips are common defects on high-rise and mid-rise concrete-framed buildings – associated with lateral restraint deficiencies and the concrete frame shortening effect. AWT has extensive experience in diagnosing and repairing these defects. Medway’s post-war commercial and residential concrete frame stock is a significant source of this work in Kent.

Large Panel System Building Remediation

LPS construction – the panel-based social housing system used until the collapse of Ronan Point in 1968 raised serious structural concerns – is found across Kent’s post-war housing estates. AWT has extensive experience in remediating LPS defects, working with structural engineers to develop repair strategies and installing strengthening brackets, ties and stitchings to resist accidental loading and the risk of progressive collapse.

Concrete Repairs

As an approved Flexcrete contractor AWT carries out concrete repairs, including repairing “concrete cancer”, as part of its remediation schemes. The process involves mechanical removal of defective concrete, treatment of exposed corroding steelwork, application of Flexcrete steel primer, resin-fixed stainless steel reinforcing bars where needed, bonding bridges and Flexcrete Monomix repair mortar.