Client
Apex Construction & Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council.
Location
Hinckley Leisure Centre, Hinckley
Overview
As part of a major investment into the refurbishment of the Leisure Centre later in the year, initial works were required to refresh the building’s 30 year old exterior.
Problem
Over the years, part of the cavity wall construction had been exposed to the extremes of weather and continual wetting at high level had caused the original bed-joint reinforcement to corrode and swell causing lifting and cracking in the horizontal bed joints.
TBL Solution
TBL Operatives, using a combination of visual survey and metal detection equipment, located and ground out sections of the original bed-joint reinforcement. We then reinstated the bed-joints with a MM3 cementitious grout. As a Helifix-approved Installer, we also used Helifix masonry helical reinforcement bars, which were cut into the brickwork bed joints to reinstate its structural integrity.
Benefit
Once the removal of the original bed-joint reinforcement was completed and the new installed, the brickwork was re-pointed to match the existing joints – leaving the panels of brickwork looking virtually untouched.
The Helifix repair system proved much more cost-effective than it would have been to take down and re-build sections of the external leaf of the cavity wall construction, and also meant that the Centre could remain open to the public whilst the works were ongoing – again, a more economical and practical solution for all concerned.
