Reason for contacting us
Our client, a landlord, contacted their Surveyor for assistance with repairing a period building. The rear elevation of the property had substantial cracks and there was a limited budget for repairs, making a practical solution crucial.
The landlords’ Surveyor contacted Pole Structural Engineers, as they were looking for a well-regarded, independent structural engineering firm with extensive experience in the North London area.
Pole service offer
There are two distinct types of structural engineers reports:
- A localised, very specific and limited Structural Engineers Defect Report, or a Specific Structural Inspection Report (SSI)
- A broader Structural Engineers General Movement Report, or General Structural Inspection Report (GSI), which only focuses on matters of cracking and movement.
In response to the clients’ requirements our qualified Chartered Structural Engineer recommended a Specific Inspection Report or a Specific Structural Inspection (SSI).
Our Report
Upon inspection by one of our Chartered structural engineers, we discovered significant cracking in the brickwork and failed brick arches above the windows, as evident in the these photographs.
The end of the terrace property had experienced prolonged settlement in the rear elevation central pillar, resulting in pronounced leaning towards the end of the terrace due to insufficient lateral restraint.
The width of the cracks and deformation of the brick arches were in excess of 25mm, so extensive structural repairs and partial reconstruction of the brick arches, would be required. Ideally, these repairs would be carried out without causing inconvenience to the residents of the flats.
Conclusions
We specified resin injection of the brickwork in combination with steel “helibar” rod reinforcement of the bed joints between the bricks. This is an industry trade name for stainless steel reinforcing rods so that corrosion does not occur..
This would help tie the brickwork together, repair the crack and at the same time strengthen the brick arches by forming a stiff beam of brickwork above the openings. This technique will be explained in a future article on our Structuralengineersreports.org site.
A further update will appear when the repairs are in progress.
