Movement crack repairs with heli bars
Repaired two movement cracks in the brickwork above a window arch at a Putney home. Any regulars to Putney will tell you the area is built on a bed of clay, which lets the buildings move with the seasons. We stitched the cracked brickwork with heli bars, replaced damaged bricks with matched Old London stocks and repointed both areas.
- Crack Repairs
- Brick Repointing
- Brick Changes to Match Original
Case study
The brief
The client phoned us and sent photographs of two cracks in the brickwork above a window arch. Putney locals will be quick to tell you the area is built on a bed of clay, which is common around Putney and allows movement with the buildings. Cracks like these usually appear above arches leading up to a window sill, where the wall is working hardest. The job was booked in for the following month.
The work we carried out
- Inspected both cracks and agreed a repair plan with the client based on the photographs they had sent.
- Raked out the cracked joints and opened up the damaged brickwork above the window arch.
- Installed stainless steel heli bars across both cracks to stitch the brickwork back together and spread the load.
- Cut out and replaced the damaged bricks with Old London stocks matched to the existing brickwork.
- Repointed both repaired areas in a mortar matched to the existing joints.
- Made good the brickwork so the repairs read as part of the original wall.
The result
Both cracks were fully restored and repointed. The heli bars tie the wall together above the arch, the new Old London stock bricks blend in with the original brickwork, and the repairs are now discreet. The brickwork above the window sill is stable and weathertight again, and should the building carry on moving gently with the clay, the stitching is there to hold it.
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Honest advice from a family-run brickwork specialist serving Richmond and South West London since 1946.