One of the biggest costs in property ownership is costly building repairs. Time usually takes it toll on properties, as ground moves and cracks, weather gets into walls and expands when it freezes.
There are also issues with the way older properties are constructed. Common structural issues include expanding steel causing bricks to lift or crack, failing lintels causing cracking over and around windows and failing wall ties causing walls to bow outwards.
Structural repairs in London
If these issues are not repaired they can lead to serious structural damage and be very costly to fix, we spoke with the guys at Action wall ties who do structural repairs in London to ask them about this.
They get to see many older buildings and blocks of flats and office blocks with various issues. LPS frame buildings often need remedial work due to the way some properties were designed.
They told us that often structural defects are covered over and repairs are not very effective in the mid to long term. They have devised a wide range of structural repair methods using specialist tools and equipment allowing them to get right in to where the problem is.
Walls can be drilled into revealing the wall ties, which can be replaced or repaired then the wall is made good again giving an invisible repair.
Natural stone repairs
Stone often cracks and discolours, but is a lovely medium to work on, as it can be ground smooth filled and joined to a high standard. Our friends at Re-vive stone have carried out many repairs and restorations to stone inside and outside homes.
They fit stone floor and wall tiles and real stone worktops in kitchens. When stone is structurally important you have to address the causes of cracks and issues then make good the finished surface of stone.
For the adventurous out there you could always go the DIY route and use retailers like www.diy.com for supplies and equipment to help you carry out the work. In the case of structural work we strongly recommend that you call in the experts. A superficial smooth over will not add strength to the wall or defect and it cause cause the building or wall to collapse. Expert structural repair companies will usually have specialist tools and methods which cut down the repair costs of your structural issues and will give a guarantee after the work is done.