Wall tie fail through poor design and workmanship defects
This rather old and shaky video will open your eyes to the in-built defects that are an epic wall tie fail. Wall tie corrosion is the most common form of wall tie failure, but there are many other reasons a building may need remedial wall tie repairs. Watch as our surveyor shows you failed wall ties that are made of stainless steel and in otherwise pristine condition.
To work properly wall ties need to be firmly connected to both the inner and outer skins of a cavity wall. In traditional masonry this is achieved during construction of the wall, as the bricklayer embeds the ties in each leaf. The embedment depth is crucial and must be at least 60mm.
Watch and see how a combination of poor planning, variable quality materials and shoddy workmanship combine to produce this wall tie fail.
What can be done to repair wall tie failure through poor embedment?
In his case there is nothing that can be done to improve the performance of the existing wall ties. But thankfully, the walls do not need to be taken down and re-built. The answer is to install a new remedial wall tie system to supplement the poor performance of the existing ties. Brick-Tie specified a Helifix Remedial wall tie system using the Helifix RetroTie. These ties friction fix into the inner leaf and can be tension tested before the ties are resin bonded into the outer masonry. Resin bonding is proffered here because the client will not want the face of the stone disfigured by holes in the stones; we can install the ties in the bed-j9ints so that the work is unobtrusive.
Why this method? The answer is that whenever there is already a failed system in place, client confidence has been shattered – money has already been wasted on poor workmanship and naturally some reassurance is needed. The RetroTie system allows for random independent tension testing as work proceeds, so that before the outer leaf is bonded – everyone know that the fixings are correctly specified, installed and tested.
If you need demonstrably good workmanship with test results to match, anywhere in Yorkshire, please use our contact page.
As Helifix Approved installers we are expert in the entire Helifix Wall Tie System.
