The HSBC Bank in the picturesque village of Broadway, Worcestershire, is housed in a Grade II listed 16th century building constructed from local Cotswold Stone. An area of wall was bulging and, with the village being a conservation area, it required a reliable, totally non-intrusive, means of structural stabilisation. Using its extensive experience of securing heritage and listed buildings, structural repair specialist Helifix Ltd was able to devise a bespoke, fully concealed, and non-disruptive solution.

The three storey mixed-use property is typical of the area, being constructed from two leaves of stone with a rubble fill, effectively creating a solid wall. Settlement of the rubble fill on the right hand elevation had caused the bottom half of the wall to bulge and needed stabilising. Helifix was approached by the engineers, Euro-Tel Design and the main contractor, Interserve, and asked to provide a remedial solution, with the strict criteria that none of the external stone faces could be drilled.

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The Helifix repair scheme, approved by the local conservation officer, was undertaken by Approved Installer Allbritain Construction. It involved installing 100 oversized fully grouted CemTies, in a staggered grid pattern, through the perp ends of the affected area of wall and into the far leaf stone work, rather than through the stone face, as would normally be the case. Individual HeliBars were then bonded into the appropriate horizontal mortar beds allowing the CemTie ends to be secured around these bars and grouted into the mortar beds. To provide additional lateral restraint, HD BowTies were installed through the mortar joints and into the first floor joists across the full width of the elevation, before being bonded into the masonry.

Following re-pointing the stabilisation systems were fully concealed, the bulging wall consolidated and full structural integrity restored, all with no disturbance to the fabric or visual affect to this historic building’s appearance.

For further information contact Tel. 020 8735 5200 or Email: [email protected] or Visit: www.helifix.co.uk