A wall tie is a steel bar, strap or twisted wire which is built into a double skin or cavity wall to hold the masonry together; usually made of mild steel. Wall ties are crucial to the stability of external walls.
Older ties were made of a thick mild steel bar formed into the shape of a fishtail. More modern ties are made of a twisted wire and form the shape of a butterfly.
Any building with cavity walls built prior to 1981, an estimated 10 million dwellings, could be prone to wall tie corrosion and failure.
If the steel of a wall tie is exposed to air and oxygen, the all too familiar rusting cycle begins. The loss, by rusting and corrosion, of the wall tie is one problem but the other major consideration is the increased volume of the steel formed by lamination, causing mortar to split and lift. This will result in instability of the cavity wall and the likelihood of movement, bulging or in extreme cases collapse!
At BAR Preservation we have fully trained experienced technicians who can carry out any remedial structural works specified by our surveyors or by your own independent Structural Engineers.
BAR Preservation has carried out wall tie replacement works to thousands of properties for domestic clients, councils, housing associations, English Heritage and many more.
BAR Preservation are full members of The Wall Tie Installers Federation and the Property Care Association and offer full independent insurance backing in addition to our own long term Guarantees.
The only way to be sure of the condition of your wall ties is to have a professional survey by an experienced wall tie surveyor.
At BAR Preservation we have surveyors with over 30 years’ experience who will carry out a thorough inspection of your property using modern endoscopic techniques to determine if any remedial wall tie work is required. If work is required the surveyor will specify the most suitable cost effective repair strategy possible and provide a quotation. Our surveys and reports are accepted by all banks, building societies and other lending institutions.
The condition of the wall ties in a property can only be determined by a visual inspection of the metal tie. The best and most convenient way this can only be done is by using advanced optical boroscope instruments or by removal of brickwork or mortar from the external leaf of the wall. In cases of advanced corrosion, visual signs such as cracking can occur, but this is not always the case.
The surveyors at BAR Preservation are trained to a high standard and can carry out a thorough wall tie survey for a small survey fee. If our wall tie survey indicates the need for remedial work then we will provide a detailed schedule of the proposed repair along with a quotation.
We pride ourselves in being competitively priced whilst still offering high quality repairs. All our quotations are issued on a fixed price basis and our reputation is your assurance of quality and fair practice.
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