Customer Stories

Edwardian bay window cracking

Edwardian round bay window cracking & dropping brickwork arches – bed joint reinforcement beaming, fenestration lintel repairs and to install resin bonded ties

The subject building is a substantial, traditionally-built, Edwardian building on two floors below a pitched tiled roof.

This period property required sympathetic treatment by Action Wall Ties’ specialised staff. Cracking and dropping brickwork was stabilised with stainless steel bed joint reinforcement and wall ties. The round structures and brick arches were reinforced and the surrounding structure made good, in keeping with the appearance of the property.

Detailed Case Study

Structural defects

Action Wall Ties investigated and reported varying stages of distortion, cracking and dropping of brick arches, along with some cracking to the brickwork above, together with many previous attempts of repairs to the round bay windows.

Causation

Action Wall Ties reported that the movement noted was believed to be progressive due to a combination of ageing, seasonal moisture, thermal expansion and contraction (i.e. hygrothermal) resulting in ineffective support from the existing arches allowing the brick arch to spread and drop, allowing the brickwork above to crack.

Solution for the structural repairs

A long term, cost-effective solution was provided by Action Wall Ties’ highly skilled operatives. The existing appearance of this period property was carefully maintained. The works were designed to minimise disruption to the building’s occupants and minimise any impact on the environment.

Our remedial scheme involved introducing bed joint reinforcement beaming, fenestration lintel repairs and to install resin bonded ties to reinstate the uniformity of the wall and provide restraint.

As indicated with red double dotted lines on our proposal 1 and 2, we introduced two rows of twin stainless steel corded joint reinforcement, forming a deep masonry composite beam all around the bay.

As indicated with green parallel lines on our proposal 1 and 2, to the underside of the fenestration openings head we drilled for, and installed, either grouted or driven 9mm helical stainless steel pins through the brick arch and passed them into the line of the deep masonry beam installed within the existing masonry.

As indicated with red stars on our proposal 1, we drilled for, and resin bonded, new 9mm stainless steel remedial ties and re-pointed disturbed areas.

Action Wall Ties (AWT) are specialists in masonry reinforcement and repair in London and Kent, providing professional solutions to a wide variety of structural problems and defects. Contact us on 01227 721 255, or email us.