Masonry Repair in London - Grade II Listed Building to be Restored

Our helical bars, an engineered upgrade of the old 'helibars', are to be used in another extensive masonry repair project carried out by Twistfix-registered contractors Newman Building Solutions. The project is scheduled to begin very shortly and further updates will be made available as the work progresses.

The property, a Grade II Listed Building located in the busy West End of Central London, recently had a full internal fit-out and the appointed contractor had procured a number of restoration works to the outside of the imposing six-storey structure. As part of researching cost, the contractor employed Newman's to carry out a full structural survey that would reveal any problems.

During the detailed survey, surveyors from Newman's 'Total Wall Care' department discovered a large amount of diagonal cracking above many windows, indicating lintel failure within the masonry; further inspection revealed that nearly every lintel in the structure had failed, consequently offering almost no support to the above brick masonry.

The traditional method of restoring such damage would be a remove-and-rebuild technique though this technique can be hazardous and is always costly and time-consuming. Instead, the Newman Building Solutions team are able to utilise the second-generation Twistfix reinforcement system to create strong, load-bearing beams by the simple insertion of two helical wires into the mortar bed immediately above the lintels (lower chord) and another pair in a higher slot (upper chord). The wires will be strongly encased in thixotropic grout, creating beams that are resillient to compression and tension in order to reinforce and support the masonry above. Once this essential structural work is complete, the process of repointing and rendering the structure can begin.

'There are many companies installing helibars with little understanding of how a retro-reinforced brick beam actually works" says MD Steve Newman. "Unless the cracks in walls are adequately filled the brick beams cannot properly work in compression; an important but often forgotten part of reinforcing existing brickwork is the resin repair of hairline cracks in bricks or mortar beds and/or the repointing of widely cracked perpend joints".

Newman Building Solutions, as a highly-regarded structural contractor, continually work on masonry repair projects n Central London, utilising Twistfix products to ensure consistently professional results. Visit their website at www.­newman­bu­il­din­gso­lutions.­com

Twistfix offer a comprehensive selection of masonry repair materials to registered contractors and general builders. For further information on the range, please contact our friendly and efficient customer service team by calling 0845 123 6007 or sending an email to sales@twistfix.co.uk.