STRUCTURAL REPAIRS
Maclennan-LSE are experts at many forms of structural repairs. From underpinning to a simple bower beam installation we can cater for nearly every mode of building failure in every type of construction.Using specialst techniques and products Maclennan-LSE provide a concealed solution to all your masonry problems and avoid the need to take down and rebuild.
Helifix system
Maclennan-LSE have been trained installers of the Helifix system since 1995. The Helifix system can be used in a variety of ways in many circumstances. It can be used as crack stitch to reconnect masonry that has failed due to thermal movement or shrinkage, it can be used to repair a failed lintel using a masonry beam to support the masonry and distribute the structural loads away from the opening without the need to take down and rebuilt often savings thousands of pounds and major disruption.
It is also used for the following masonry and building defects.
Subsidence
When your property has suffered from foundational movement due to trees, drains, seasonal earth movement, mining area or even bomb damage settlement, we can come to your property with our structural engineer and propose a specification and quotation to get the properties superstructure and substructure repaired. The signs to look out for are stepped / vertical cracking that is larger at the top than the bottom which suggests that some of the property is moving or sinking. If you are unsure then give a call and we can talk through the process.
Bowing Walls
click image to enlarge
This is very common on end gable walls of terraced housing and old properties where the floor joists are running front to back of the property. With the floor joist running parallel to the wall there is no connection of the wall into the rest of the building to complete the structural diaphragm of the property. Maclennan-LSE can prepare a quotation where we connect the wall back to floor and ceiling joist and where necessary also connect the wall to internal stud partition walls or spine walls.
Delamination
Delamination is a form of bowing which happens in large thick solid walls where the internal skin has come away from the external skin leaving the rubble filled void in the middle of the wall to drop giving you the impression of bulging from the outside but no structural damage to the inside. We can reconnect the external masonry back to the internal masonry avoiding the need of a costly rebuild.
Wall ties
Maclennan-LSE are experts in wall tie installation, using the latest 8mm diameter grade 316 austenetic stainless steel Helifix wall tie we can install new ties quickly and easily and still provide you with a 25yr guarantee. If you see horizontal cracking to your property and you have a cavity wall the that would suggest that over time moisture has got into the brickwork and started to corrode the wall ties making them expand and lift the brickwork above giving you the cracking.
The cracking should appear ever 450mm vertically. Maclennan-LSE can isolate the old steel ties to stop future movement and install new ties at the recommended pattern, as these ties are stainless steel they are less likely to corrode. With one of these ties we can get between a 1.5kn and 2.5kn pull out to make sure this is the correct tie application. There are a numerous amount of variations of ties we can use to suit all building materials.
Lintel failure
Lintel failure is very common and the traditional method would be to take the arch or lintel out of situ and rebuild the arch and brick work making this an expensive and time consuming project. Instead of doing that we can come along and provide you with a specification to install a Helifix masonry beam which will take the loadings away from the arch and spread them either side as long as its been installed correctly. We can then put some Helifix cemties into the arch to stop further movement negating the need to take the arch down and rebuild. A small repair like a 2m wide opening would only take a morning to complete with very little preparation material needed.
Thermal movement
This is the expansion and contraction of materials due to change in temperature. Thermal movement varies considerably through the different building materials available and there are many ways to repair such cracks, we can use Helifix crack stitches to repair the cracks or if we have a long unbroken block of masonry we can install mavement joints to allow the nature movement of the material. This problem is not covered by your insurance but once Maclennan-LSE structural has been in and repaired the damage we can offer a 10 year guarantee on the repairs.
Cracked retaining walls
The video will show you in more depth how the product is installed.At the end of the day, when a repair system has been installed you don't want to ruin the effect by scarring the property, that where Maclennan-LSE come into their own, we have spent a lot of time on training our operative on the uses of lime mortars, colour match mortar and brick tinting and aging techniques to give that concealed look once we have finished repairing a property.
Other services we provide to compliment the Helifix system are:
- Soil investigations
- Piling
- Concrete repairs
- Retaining wall stabilization
