Replacement House Render - Do I consider wall ties as well?

[nebs]

I am getting quotes to remove my original pebble dashed render, stablilise the bricks underneath and replace with a new render.

Should I consider doing the wall ties at the same time? The current render has several cracks, generally centred around windows etc. I have in the past siliconed them, but now's the time to do the job properly.

I worry if I got a wall tie specialist to visit, he would say yes, but how do I tell if I really need them?

If I am paying £3.5-4.5k for the rendering job, how much would installing helifix add to the job? The house is a typical 3 bed semi.

Oh, and one side question, what are the recommended render products? I am leaning towards a similar dashed finish, but is there a particular product to specify?

Photos in album.

 

[themiddleagedun]

I worked on a pebbledashed house recently which had cracking around the windows.
This was caused by rusting steel beams which was used for the lintels.
(worth checking yours?) As for the wall-ties I wouldn't bother. Suppose a un-biased surveyer would be the man to ask, if you're concerned.

 

[stuart45]

Cracks caused by the thicker wall ties are normally horizonal about every ft to 18 inches, not vertically like yours. This is caused by the expansion of the metal when it rusts. The thinner ones don't do this.
Other signs can be the bowing of walls.
Firms coming out to visit might see a bit of rust on them and give you an estimate for a couple of grand, even though they have probably got many years left in them.
In some areas by the coast surveyors doing the HBSV are recommending a wall tie specialist to look at them before buying. I know someone selling a 50's bungalow in Brighton was asked for a grand off the price because the firm said 2 flanks needed ties, even though there were no signs of any problems and none of the others in the road had needed them.

 

[maltaron]

There was never a problem with wall ties until we had fibre optics to look at them!!. Then wall tie surveyors appeared!!

 

[nebs]

There is one long horizontal crack, but the vast majority are indeed vertical.

The house has cavity wall insulation (really annoying polystyrene balls), but I don't think that makes any difference.