Newman’s were called upon by a commercial property management company who own various trading estates across London.
Many trading estates in London are still Victorian brick built structures that have stood the test of time and are still fully functional. The masonry construction of most of these structures is built using 13 inch solid masonry laid in English bond using lime mortar. This type of construction is a strong bond which will allow slight movement.
We were called out to attend site as a matter of urgency due to the crack rapidly widening and in some places was over 10mm’s wide. We carried out a structural survey free of charge the same day and designed a repair specification that would restore the structural integrity without any major disruption to the business operating in the building.
We used our own mobile scaffold tower alleviating the need for traditional scaffolding enabling us to be on site just two days after the initial survey.
To repair the crack in the brickwork we installed 14 No masonry beams across the crack which was drilled back into the left and right pillars. This method of crack repair not only crack stitches but distributes the loads imposed and distributes them across the masonry preventing further cracking.
The parapet wall was secured using 1.5m grout ties which were installed vertically down through the brick work which saved huge costs in a rebuild.
The repair was guaranteed against failure for 10 years. The repairs lasted only 2 days allowing the business to remain fully operational.
Today’s Structural Survey’s included this large Victorian Property located in Putney, South West London.
Defects found during our survey included lintel failure to a number of brick arch Lintels and outward movement to two of the three bay windows on the rear elevation due to a lack of lateral restraint.
Our structural reports include detailed specifications of the recommend repairs include CAD drawings.
If you require a structural survey to your property call us on 0333 444 0154
At Newman’s we utilise modern methods of masonry repair to restore bowing walls and lintel failure to name but a few structural defects.
Our specialist services were called upon by a building surveyor managing the refurbishment of a Victorian built 1890’s semi detached house in Croydon, South London.
After completing our survey it was discovered that there was extensive outward movement to the front and gable elevations and with the loft conversion in progress the additional stress to the masonry was sure to cause severe movement.
Over 30 Lateral restraint ties were used on the gable elevation alone into the first floor and the new loft floor to restrain the outward movement combined with bed joint reinforcement ensuring there would be no further outward movement.
With the bed joint reinforcement being installed front the front elevation wrapped around the gable and into the rear elevation the lintel failure was repaired and the bowing restrained.