Damage and the need for crack repairs are fairly common in older homes. These are the most common causes as to why this happens:
- Thermal movement
- Cement pointing improperly used on a lime building
- Normal house settling
- Stress areas – e.g. under windows and above doors
- Disturbed masonry from replaced windows and or doors
- Insufficient or ineffective load bearing lintels in high stress areas
Masonry can effectively be stitched back together using a specialist arbortech mortar saw. This saw is designed for the removal of mortar from the bed joint.
Mortar is removed back to a minimum of half a brick thickness, excess dust is then removed.
These slots are cut along the mortar bed running 50cm either side of the crack. These slots should be spaced every 4 – 6 courses of bricks.
In the now recessed mortar bed, cementitious grout or polyester/epoxy resin is pushed into the back of the bed. This creates a base for the helical bar to be firmly fixed. An extra layer of grout or resin is then placed over the top creating a locked seal.
The helical bars are fully concealed with the correct colour matched pointing to match the rest of the property.
![Chimney stack In Margate. Cracks stitched back together with stainless steel helical bar and resin. This was then pointed with a traditional lime mortar.](https://prestigebrickwork.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Chimney-stack-In-Margate.-Cracks-stitched-back-tohether-with-stainless-steel-helical-bar-and-resin-and-pointined-with-a-traditional-lime-mortar-300.jpg)
Chimney stack In Margate. Cracks stitched back together with stainless steel helical bar and resin. This was then pointed with a traditional lime mortar.
Contact us if you would like us to quote for any crack repairs or structural damage.