cavity wall ties

erind

Hi,

The other contractor came out last night to have a look. He was quite shocked that the previous contractor had only drilled one hole into one wall of the house. He said there is no way, he can say that the whole of the house needs replacement ties when he has only drilled one hole. So he said he will come back on Saturday, and drill a few more holes on each wall. He is going to check to see if there are enough new ties in there, and also to see if the old ties have been isolated. He seemed to think that the hairline cracks on the rendering were mainly due to weathering rather than anything else, but there was the odd horizontal crack on one of the walls that could suggest some old ties were corroding. So I'll see what he has to say on Saturday. Fingers crossed!!

erind

Unfortunately contractor couldnt make it untill tonight. He said that there are new ties in there, but old ones have also been left in, which require isolating.My husband did have a look, and he saw both the old and the new. He gave us a quote for £1200, (£400 less than my buyers contractor). However, Ive been reading about the different types of wall ties that are in older houses, and the main types are fishtail and butterfly. Apparently the butterfly type (which are the ones in our house) do not need removing or isolating, but the fishtail type do. How true is this? Obviously Im know expert, but I dont want to pay for something that isnt neccessary. Any help would be appreciated.

weekendwarrior

They used to use pieces of flat steel or slate in older houses. This is the first time that I have ever heard that the old ties may need isolating!

erind

I have read up on it, and it does seem like this is standard practice on fishtail ties. Butterfly ties, Im not so sure. I suppose Im going to have to take his word for it, and pay £1200. Thanks for your help on this Weekend warrior.

erind

I have just received a phone call from our estate agent who told me that our buyers contractor has sent them through a quote for £2600 to replace the ties. I couldnt believe it. I am so angry that these people try to get away with daylight robbery. They have drilled one hole in the wall, and made an assumption that all the wall ties in the house need replacing. He said to my husband that it would cost £1600. Where on earth did the other £1000 come from. I thought £1600 was bad enough! I rang our contractor this evening, who agreed that the price was extortionate, but wasnt shocked that they are trying it on. Im just beginning to calm down after a couple of glasses of wine. They really shouldnt be allowed to get away with this sort of thing. Its so wrong.

Ms_Chocaholic

Can someone please explain what the purpose of wall ties is.

Thanks

erind

They are metal rods that support your outer and inner walls. Without them your walls would collapse. Im sure theres a more technical explanation!

withabix

Cavity walls in walls of traditional construction comprise two skins of brickwork/blockwork, tied together with wall ties. In a timber-framed house, the inner skin is the timber frame.

The wall ties are typically at 900mm centres horizontally and 450mm centres vertically, although this can vary with location.

The inner skin is structural, the outer skin normally isn't and is basically a form of cladding.

The wall ties prevent the outer skin from bowing in or out, particularly due to the effects of wind pressure.

If there were no wall ties, positive or negative wind pressure could make the outer skin fall off.

erind

Better explanation than mine.