Bowing bulging brick walls including Gable & Flank walls Archives - Page 3 of 3

Stabilising Victorian gable wall stone corbels

Stabilising Victorian gable wall stone corbels, pediment and copings – diamond drilling for, and installing, grouted and Cintec ties

The subject building is a substantial Victorian traditionally-built house featuring a gable embellished with substantial supporting stone corbels, coping stones and pediment in North London.

This property required work to remedy the rotation of the supporting stone corbels and dislodged copings without detracting from the look of the property.

Action Wall Ties have highly trained staff with a wealth of experience in dealing with period properties. We used our own design of diamond drilling equipment to drill for, and install, ties strengthening the structure.

Detailed Case Study

Problem: Stone Corbel Movement

The gable wall had a substantial stone corbel supporting the stone coping stones. Rotating and outward movement was noted to the stone corbel together with cracking to surrounding brickwork as well as dislodged coping stones and pediment.

Discussion

Action Wall Ties’ remediation works were designed to assist in restraining the masonry to return the integrity to the structure.

Stone Corbel Repair Solution

Remedial work by Action Wall Ties provided a cost effective long-term solution. The existing appearance of the building was maintained. Work was carried out with the minimal amount of disruption to residents and the environment.

The remediation works involved diamond drilling 38mm X 2000mm holes into stone corbels, and others into the pediment and stone coping, to accommodate installation of remedial Cintec 40mm sock anchors.

Cintec anchors installed in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendation and by Action Wall Ties’ trained certificated operatives.

Action Wall Ties serve customers throughout the South East i.e. in Kent, Greater London, Sussex and in Essex.

Action Wall Ties (AWT) are specialists in masonry reinforcement and repair, providing professional solutions to a wide variety of structural problems including issues with stone corbels, pediment and copings in Victorian properties. Contact us on 01227 721 255, or email us.

Bulging Brickwork and Brick Slips on 60s /70s Apartment Blocks

Concrete frame blocks of social housing in Wandsworth, London with clearly visible bowing to the brickwork and infill brick slip. Defective support to infill wall with cracked and detached brick slips.

The Structural Problem

The structural survey report on this South West London social housing block

The survey of these circa 1960s/1970s blocks of flats revealed, that due to a construction defect, the external brickwork had insufficient support. AWT also found heavily corroded wall ties plus a lack of weep vents and no horizontal expansion joints.

The infill wall external brickwork was originally only supported onto the concrete floor beam by less than 50mm. Where the wall had bulged outward this was reducing the support to just 30mm with the loads onto the brick-slips causing them to bulge out.

Our Structural Repair Solution

The infill wall brickwork was leaning and in danger of becoming detached. AWT promptly made the elevation floor safe (erecting a scaffold to provide access) by installing AWT’s specially developed props.

The remedial work included:

Installation of stainless steel support angles and cavity trays
Clearing debris from the wall cavities
Rebuilding the brickwork by removal, re-bedding and fixing of brick slips
Installation of stainless steel wall ties
Provision of horizontal expansion joints.

Repair and Replacement of Brick Slips

The original bricks and brick slips were reused when possible. Replacement bricks, mortar and sealants were colour matched to maintain the visual integrity of the apartment blocks.

Action Wall Ties are the apartment block structural repair specialists. Our brick slip and wall tie replacement solutions are available to clients in the South East i.e. in London & in Kent, Sussex, Surrey & Essex.

Action Wall Ties (AWT) are specialists in structural repairs to concrete framed buildings and tower blocks. From movement issues to wall tie replacement and brick slip repairs. We provide specialist professional solutions to a wide variety of structural problems. Contact us on 01227 721 255, or email us.

Bowing and Bulging Wall

The joint owners of this 4 storey semi-detached Victorian villas (converted into flats) reported visible bulging, dropping brickwork arches to the rear and gable solid brickwork walls and long cracks developed internally.

The Structural Problem

The Action Wall Ties surveyor inspection identified ineffective and inadequate restraining plus spreading of the of the brick arches as the root cause of the problem. This had allowed the main elevation brickwork to bulge outward and brick arches over the doors and windows to spread and drop causing the brickwork above to crack. It also caused long cracks in the internal plaster work of the flats.

This is a common problem with properties of this type and age. As well as damaging the structural integrity of the property it often makes doors and windows difficult to open and close as the frames are warped by the pressure of the sagging brickwork load above.

Restoring Structural Integrity

The introduction of remedial reinforcement to the masonry and lateral restraints was recommended to provide restraint and support to restore the brickwork’s integrity.

Specialist equipment developed by Action Wall Ties was used to install bed joint reinforcing beaming, stainless steel lateral restraints and pins within the structure of the property. This restored the structural integrity of the masonry without the need for any visible restraints.

The cracked mortar was raked out and repaired with new coloured sand, lime and cement mortar that was a match for the existing mortar’s colour and texture.

Action Wall Ties’ specialist knowledge allowed them to restore the property’s structural stability without the need for costly rebuilding work. Their specialist equipment also minimised the disruption for the residents.

Action Wall Ties (AWT) are specialists in masonry reinforcement and repair, providing professional solutions to a wide variety of structural problems including issues with bowing and bulging brickwork in Victorian properties. Contact us on 01227 721 255, email us or use our contact form.

Action Wall Ties serve customers in North West London and the whole South East of England.

Rendered Victorian Terrace with Bulging and Sagging Brickwork

Victorian Terrace with Bulging and Dropping Brickwork

This Victorian terraced home with rendered brickwork in Walthamstow, East London was suffering with dropping and outward bowing of the brickwork.

The Problem

This rendered Victorian terrace home in Walthamstow, London E17, was suffering with significant distortion of the masonry. It also had dropping and outward bowing movement of the brickwork on the upper floor.

The left hand side external brickwork had bulged outward from the centre first floor. Internal movement to the junction of the dividing wall and external wall was also noted.

If structural repairs are sought early enough, AWTs specialist repair techniques may allow for repairs without removing render/pebble dash finishes. However, due to the advanced structural issues with this property, it was necessary to remove the render.

The Solution

The first step, after the initial survey, was to carefully remove the render finish on the front elevation to expose the underlying brickwork. As well as giving access to the brickwork this also allowed for a secondary survey to ensure there were no further issues with the masonry.

Our remedial work included:

Bed Joint Reinforcement Beaming
Crack Stitching
Fenestration Lintel Repair
Lateral Restraints
Grout Tie Injection
Brickwork Repairs
Realignment and Pinning of the Coping Stones

The repair work was designed to reinstate the uniformity of the walls and provide restraint in order to restore the tensile strength of the brickwork. It was also necessary to reconnect the main elevational brickwork to the brick internal dividing and party walls.

Action Wall Ties used specialist drilling rigs that enable precision drilling. State-of-the-art stainless steel fixings were then installed within the framework of the building. These techniques have been designed to deal with the root cause of structural faults rather than just provide a short-term cosmetic fix.

Carefully matched coloured sand and cement mortar was used to make good the drill holes. As can be seen in the photo, there are no visible fixings once repair works are complete. The exposed brickwork is left clean, tidy and ready for repointing. The facade of the house can either be left as exposed brick or the render can be replaced if desired.

AWT’s specialist skills allowed these serious structural faults to be repaired quickly and economically. No long and costly rebuilding work was required.

Action Wall Ties (AWT) are specialists in masonry reinforcement and repair. AWT can advise on structural repairs to properties with render, pebble dash and spar dash. We provide professional solutions to a wide variety of structural problems for home owners in East London as well as the rest of London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Contact us on 01227 721 255, email us or use our contact form.

Bulging and Cracking Ornate Bay Window

This Victorian/Edwardian terraced home in Lewisham SE4 was suffering with structural defects that were causing cracks in the decorative work around the bay windows as well as bowing brickwork.

The Structural Problem

The beautiful decorative moulding around the bay windows of this terraced home in South East London was cracking. Even more worryingly, the brickwork of the bay window was visibly bulging and rotating away from the main part of the house. Inside the house there were cracks appearing in the internal party wall.

Action Wall Ties were called in to find a permanent solution to the structural issues while preserving the period features of the property.

The Structural Repair Solution

The AWT’s survey team diagnosed inadequate restraint of the bay window and a point loading issue with the party wall. Reinforcement of the masonry and a redistribution of the load on the party wall was required.

AWT have an arsenal of techniques at their disposal that are not available to traditional builders. This allows them to repair structural defects without rebuilding works.

Following a thorough survey, the following techniques were selected to restore the structural integrity:

Bed Joint Reinforcement Beaming
Crack Stitching
Grout Tie Injection
Lateral Restraints
Concrete and Brickwork Repairs

The specialist tools and equipment developed by AWT allows them to repair structural defects without compromising the look of a period property such as this.

A twin diamond bladed machine with attached vacuum was used for precision drilling prior to the installation of rows of twin 8mm stainless steel corded joint reinforcements. This helped to redistribute the weight of the upper storey to those parts of the supporting structure best able to carry them. It also assisted in restraining diagonal cracking and bulging.

8mm stainless steel lateral restraints screwed into the floor joists’ bresummer beam and resin bonded to the masonry provided further lateral restraint.

Localised cracks in the brickwork were stitched together using stainless steel fixings embedded out of sight within the brickwork.

Any patches of defective masonry were cut away and the areas were repaired using Flexcrete – a specialist repair substrate.

The finishing touches included colour matching any replacement bricks and ensuring the pointing style and mortar mixture matched the existing texture and colour.

AWT’s specialist skills allowed these serious structural faults to be repaired quickly and economically without damaging the character of the period features.

Action Wall Ties (AWT) are specialists in masonry reinforcement and repair. We provide professional solutions to a wide variety of structural problems for home owners in Lewisham and the whole of London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Contact us on 01227 721 255, email us or use our contact form.

Distorted Flank Wall with Difficult Access

This traditionally built mixed retail and domestic mid-terraced property in Greenwich, SE10, had visible bulging of the side wall.

The Structural Problem

The side wall brickwork of this property in was visibly bulging outwards. Movement was also noted within the property with some visible cracks.

The property located in South East London had retail space on the ground floor with domestic residences on the upper floors. Access to the flank wall was hindered by an abutting pitched slate roof which made access difficult.

Action Wall Ties needed to devise a structural repair scheme that would provide a lasting repair with minimal impact on the retail space, the residential space and the neighbouring properties.

An alternative to long, disruptive and costly rebuilding work was required.

The Structural Repair Solution

AWT needed to ameliorate the masonry defects and add tensile strength to reinstating the brickwork’s integrity. A three pronged strategy was used:

Bed Joint Reinforcement Beaming
Lateral restraints
Brickwork repairs and infill

AWT used carefully designed scaffolding to access the defective masonry while taking care to protect the slate roof of the neighbouring property.

The wall contained an arched window opening that has been boarded over internally. The old sash window was removed and the opening was bricked up with colour matched bricks. Any damaged bricks were replaced.

Internally the installation of timber noggins and lateral restraints provided restraint of the lateral movement of the masonry. The stainless steel lateral restraints were screwed directly into the timber studs and then resin bonded to the masonry to provide a permanent solution to the lateral movement.

AWT used their precision diamond drilling equipment to install rows of twin cord reinforcement, forming a deep masonry beam. This redistributes the weight of the upper storeys. It also acts as a restraint to diagonal cracking and bulging.

Repointing the disturbed mortar with colour matched mortar provided the finishing touch.

AWT provide cost effective masonry repairs to customers throughout London and the South East.

To book a time for one of our surveyors to visit your property, call us today on 01227 721255, email us at enquiries@actionwallties.co.uk or use our contact form to get in touch.