Advice on Wall Ties and cavity walls

[JRick]

I urgently need some advice about wall ties please. I am trying to sell my house and a surveyor has picked up that the wall ties on one of the cavity walls of the house 'may' need to be replaced. I am desperate to find out if wall ties are only used in cavity walls as the wall in question I am 99% sure isnt even a cavity one. I dont want to pay out for someone to check the wall for wall tie corrosion if it hasnt even got any!
Any advice or help would be gratefully received and stop a nervous breakdown!!

 

[mildmanneredjanitor]

Why would you think one wall isn't a cavity wall when the others are???

Ring the surveyor and ask him to clarify his report. If he has picked up on something then he should clearly state what the problem is and evidence to support it.

My opinion only...

But all they serve is to protect themselves... Oh but this might need doing, lets state somethings wrong even tho we don't have a clue ourselves...

 

[JRick]

Sorry wasnt very clear before but didnt want to go into too much detail and have a long post! I was only referring to his report when saying "one of the cavity walls" needs checking out.
The main house does not have cavity walls but I have a large extension on the back which does have them. I think he has assumed all walls are the same. I dont have access to the full report as he wasnt my surveyor and assume this information is confidential??? Dont know about the legalities of this stuff but from what i read he has assumed all walls are cavity.
This is probably even more confusing now, but all I need to know are wall ties only used in cavity walls

 

[masona]

This is probably even more confusing now, but all I need to know are wall ties only used in cavity walls

In theory yes, agreed with mmj, ring the surveror first. There could be more wall ties on your property for another reason.

 

[TexMex]

I am curious now. How on earth, would a lack of wall ties, come to the attention of a surveyor? Particularly if he is not sure. If he was to go over the whole wall with a metal detector, or somthing, then he'd be sure. If he didn't, what on earth would he have spotted to give him this suspicion. Sounds like a very odd situation to me.

Are the walls bowing (in or out) or something?

Since wall ties are so inexpensive, and so easy to apply (during construction), I can't beleive that anyone would build a house, with an inadequate supply of them. It's a bit like doing a complete electrical installation but not being @rsed to do any of the screws up

 

[legs-akimbo]

Tex mex that reminds me of a time a fella I knew built a house in South yorkshire and had it up to plate level before being condemned for having no wall ties at all!!! We went in and took down the internal skin and rebuilt the blockwork..... hell of a job.
Have worked jobs from surveyors reports where bulging brickwork as you stated has indicated that wall ties have failed, which of course is self evident so I to am intrigued as to how he concludes there is wall tie failure. If the main structure is a solid brick wall construction then every fith (I think) course there will be intermittant header bricks which tie the whole wall together, if all you have is stretcher bond in full with no headers through then it will be cavity construction.The headers acting if you like as wall ties if this is the pattern of build then the surveyor as they so often do is talking from his A**e and simply finding something and anything to fill the pages of a report to justify his grotesque fee........ shoot the F*****g lot of em so I would.

 

[TexMex]

Tex mex that reminds me of a time a fella I knew built a house in South yorkshire and had it up to plate level before being condemned for having no wall ties at all

I'm surprised that anyone that inexperienced, had the skill to build the thing plumb enough to stay up! Must have been a hairy job putting it right.

If the wall is a solid construction, even if it is English Garden Wall bond, surely a surveyor would have spotted the headers. I can only assume that the building is rendered and has developed a bit of "character" over the years.

Noticing MasonAs post, I've just had a thought. Perhaps the wall ties, that the surveyor refers to, are for bonding the extention walls onto the old external wall? JRick really needs to get some clarification from the surveyor.

 

[masona]

Perhaps the wall ties, that the surveyor refers to, are for bonding the extention walls onto the old external wall? JRick really needs to get some clarification from the surveyor.

That what I was thinking and there are many type of wall tie specially if the extension have a flat roof which have to be tie in or for pitch roof problem, the lists can go on.

 

[stebed]

I am presently renovating a Victorian property. My lender asked for an expert to inspect the cavity wall ties, which they have now done and on the wall which are cavity, as you mention some are constructed with a full brick to tie the 2 wall together ( you can tell this from looking at your wall and every 5 bricks or so a brick will be end on) anyway back to the wall ties, I got the specialist in and without a endoscopic inspection he was 99 percent sure they would be corroded due to the colour of the mortar used. The Victorians used ash from heavy industry instead of sand to make mortar, the ash is more corrosive than sand, so unless they have been changed in the last 25 years most lenders want them replacing and the company that replaces them then guarantee them for 25 years.

They replace them with a type of raw bolt which is justed drilled into the bricks so it isn't that big a job. My 3 story semi is going to cost just less than 1000 pound to be done.

Sorry it was a long reply but hope it helps, buy the way when they inspected endoscopically, they aren't that badly corroded!!

 

[masona]

Interesting, first I've heard of this.

 

[tim00]

Jrick,Typically the Victorians did not build cavity wall construction in domestic properties. Cavity walls usually date from post 1918.
Where used, "Victorian" wall ties were made from cast iron or wrought iron.
Heavy grain, black ash mortar was still in occasional use up to 1939.
Anything with cement in it is aggressive, hence all mortar is degrading.
Surveyors merely cover their backs and their ignorance with their expensive alarms to call in uncle Tom Cobley and all to investigate what they dont but should understand themselves.
How can one be an expert if one does not know the history of ones expertise? How come these experts cannot make simple electrical observations and tests, or attach and read a basic water pressure gauge. Is it rocket science to make basic drainage tests or rear a ladder up to a roof and inspect from advantage? The best minds of our generation have gone into how to rip off the decent and hard working: chase the rascals out.

 

[Julio]

Both of these threads on wall ties are very difficult to get your head around. It is very difficult to diagnose on a description only. Photo's would help.
Anyway, here are my thoughts:
Bulging of gable ends could be due to insufficient ties to to roof structure, allowing the wall to lean outwards (as there are no corners to tie it in). Alterations to roof structures such as loft convertions can create additional or accentric loading to walls causing bulging.
Early cavity walls (1920-1940 ish) are very hit and miss. Cavity sizes vary from house to house and even on the same house. These early cavities were often tied together using headers. These are sometimes visible as they sit back slightly from the face (on tight cavities). On wider cavities, they may not be visible, as the tie brick is set further back in the wall and faced with a thin header to enhance appearance.
As mentioned by tim00, early ties were large and seemed to be put in when the bricklayer remembered. Generally if ties are rusting through, you may be able to see a slight stain on the joint where the tie is, or a slight hairline crack as the rust causes expansion.
My advice is to cut a brick out of the wall where the bulge is and have a look for yourself. This will tell you if it has a cavity or not, size of cavity, type of tie used and the condition of them. Then replace the brick.

This information is based on my own experiences. Hope it helps.

 

[Thermo]

firstly, are the walls rendered or are they brick?