Structural Repairs – London
Newman’s were once again called upon by a London council in order to provide a Structural Repair service in order to repair Cracking to a sheltered housing property for elderly residents.
The tenant had discovered that cracking had occurred to the external brickwork whilst she was carrying out her spring gardening. The cracking hadn’t been there before the winter of which we had received record levels of rain.
Our in house team carried out a soil investigation to determine the type of foundation and the soil of which the structure had been built off of and it was determined that minor subsidence had occurred as a result of the clay subsoil swelling and then shrinking causing the brickwork to crack.
The cracking was monitored for a period of 6 months by our engineers and we could confirm that the movement had stopped and we could then design and implement a cost effective Structural Repair programme of works to restore the integrity of the masonry.
In order to provide a lasting repair that would cause as little disruption to the elderly tenant our surveyors designed a specification that utilised the Twistfix bed joint reinforcement system to distribute structural loads across the masonry and resist further cracking.
In this instance it was necessary to create load bearing beams within the brickwork and the Twistfix helical wires were installed in pairs to create ‘helibeams’ which in effect create lintels within the brickwork to reinforce the masonry and resist further cracking. The 2nd generation system supplied by Twistfix is the most innovative system available.
The bars were wrapped around the bungalow ensuring the masonry would be able to resist further settlement and the works were covered by a 10 year insurance backed guarantee. Once the bed joint reinforcement had been installed and the slot re-pointed the works were almost invisible.
Newman’s can help to diagnose structural defects, cracking and movement by arranging a free Structural Survey, contact London and the south East’s leading structural repair specialists for Help, Advice and peace of mind Call 0333 444 0154 or Email info@newmans.com