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Structural Repairs to Grade II Listed 18th Century Cottage

Client:	Private homeowner
Location:	Noke, near Oxford
Reference No:	CS063

A Grade II listed early 18th Century stone built thatched cottage was suffering from cracking, outward movement and bowing of the front elevation. The challenge was to find a sympathetic and reliable repair solution that would not compromise the building's structural integrity and also satisfy the scrutiny of the local conservation officer.

The on-going outward movement was due to the loss of lateral restraint for the 500mm thick stone wall caused by historic alterations, extension works and general aging. This had resulted in the loss of bearing for many of the first floor joists and cracking on an internal wall above a created opening.

Helifix Solution

The slim, flexible and non-disruptive nature of the repair products and their concealed installation techniques, combined with Helifix's considerable heritage experience, overcame the officer's concerns.

To minimise vibrations and prevent further disturbance to the unstable front elevation, the bowed area was consolidated using 1.5m HeliBars, in a 450mm x 450mm grid, installed through the joints in the rubble filled wall, returned along both the internal and external faces and bonded into mortar beds in a 'U' shape.
To secure and reinforce the masonry and distribute the lateral restraint loads, a deep masonry beam was created across the front elevation, between the ground and first floor windows, using long series HeliBars bonded into the irregular mortar joints at three levels.
The floor joists were reconnected to the front elevation using a special details designed by the engineers, Hannah Reed, using deep resin anchors and a strapping arrangement, with the internal ends fixed to a central timber beam.
Single, 1m bonded HeliBars were used to effectively stitch cracks in both the internal and external walls.