Bed Joint Reinforcement Restores London House

The old brick-built house, located a stone’s throw from London's Clapham Common, had begun exhibiting cracking above the windows due to the failure of stone lintels in supporting the masonry walls above, compromising its structural integrity.

The talented team at Newman Building Solutions designed a bespoke repair proposal for the property, with the intention of restoring the building to structural soundness and stability. As the main solution forming the detailed proposal, the Twistfix Bed Joint Reinforcement and Lintel Pinning System was specified in order to strengthen the affected areas of the superstructure, thus offering substantial resistance to further cracking.

The full specification for the crack repair works contained four key items:

1. Install twin bands of Twistfix stainless steel bed joint reinforcement, to create a deep, strong masonry beam that will evenly distribute structural loads, transferring them to the brick panels either side of the opening. The installation to be carried out in strict accordance with the Newman Building Solutions method statement, the Twistfix structural repair details and the BRE Good Building Guide 62.
2. Install high performance12mm masonry ties, in order to securely connect the heavy stones, which form the arch-lintel, to the reinforced brickwork zone above
3. Completely rake out all existing cracks before deeply injecting with Twistfix WHO-60 thixotropic cementitious grout such that the full compressive strength of the wall is restored
4. Make good all disturbed mortar, stonework and brickwork, matching colour as closely as possible to conceal repair

Twistfix Helical Bars and ancillary products are used when that extra amount of quality, strength and durability are necessary and we offer an extremely wide range of products designed to facilitate the most professional restoration work. Newman Building Solutions - a Twistfix-registered contractor and a regular contributor of case studies such as these to our newsletter - continue to choose Twistfix masonry reinforcement, damp proofing and basement tanking products to provide their diverse client portfolio with high-quality, reliable and extremely professional services.