Problems Related to Cavity Wall Ties That You Should Know About
Wall ties are a very important part of a building’s construction. Their purpose is to join two leaves of bricks together in a building’s cavity walls to make them work as a single unit. Although these wall ties are not visible from the outside of the building, the play a crucial role in ensuring the strength and stability of the building. For this reason, cavity wall ties tend to be an important part of home improvement and renovation projects and require maintenance and replacements when needed.
Since cavity wall ties are almost invisible to the naked eye from outside the building, homeowners are usually not aware of the fact that the cavity wall ties in their building can be facing issues and can have an impact on the building’s structure. For this reason, it is very important for homeowners to know about various problems that their building can face which might require cavity wall tie replacement.
Corrosion and Rusting
Rusting and corrosion are one of the most important problems that bug cavity wall ties. This is because most cavity wall ties in older buildings were made using material that was not very resistant to humidity and moisture and in turn ended up rusting. Since the primary function of cavity wall ties is to provide support and strength to the structure of the building, rusting becomes an alarming problem.
This is because rusting can cause the wall ties to weaken and loosen up their hold which can be a critical safety hazard for the occupants of the building. Moreover, if rusting moves forwards it can also create an impact on the brickwork and may result in bricks to crack. A good solution to tackle this problem is to use materials for your cavity wall ties that are resistant to rusting and corrosion such as stainless steel.
Although many modern buildings are now switching to stainless steel wall ties, a major chunk of older constructions have been using conventional steel which is highly prone to rust and corrosion. If your building is facing a similar issue, you can switch tow stainless steel wall ties the next time you get your wall ties replaced.
Improper Installation of Wall Ties
Another problem that is very common pertaining to wall ties is that wall ties are often not installed in the correct manner. Either they are not embedded properly in the wall or they are not of the correct length. In either case, the wall tie fails to serve its purpose and weakens the structure and stability of the wall thereby creating a safety hazard.
It is recommended that you hire the services of a wall tie expert who can assess your buildings for any faults with your cavity wall ties and can recommend you options for maintenance and repair. This will be done by drilling a small hole in the wall and inserting an endoscope to get a better picture of the inside of the cavity wall. In most cases, your cavity wall expert will advise you to replace your wall ties with a more advanced wall tie material.
