Braintree · Essex
Wall tie replacement in Braintree
Plenty of cavity-walled houses, in Braintree as elsewhere, were built when galvanised steel ties were standard, and those ties are now reaching the end of their life. A survey shows whether yours are sound, thinning or actively swelling and cracking the brickwork.
Guide price from£1,900per house inc VAT
- Postcodes
- CM7, CM77
- Population
- about 53,000
- Area
- Essex
- Pricing region
- East of England
What should you know about the ground under Braintree?
With roughly 53,000 people, Braintree spans postcode districts CM7, CM77 in Essex. We also take enquiries from nearby Witham (7 miles), Chelmsford (10 miles) and Maldon (11 miles).
Essex is one of the parts of the UK where clay soils are most likely to move with the seasons. Ground movement here is more often linked to soils, drains and trees than to mining. Housing stock in Essex: Victorian terraces, 1930s semis and bungalows, and large post-war new-town estates in Basildon and Harlow.
Guide prices for wall tie replacement in Braintree
Guide prices below are for homes in Braintree, on East of England rates and including VAT. A survey or good photos let us turn them into a fixed written price.
| Item | Guide price | Per |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-terrace houseest. | £1,900 – £3,700 | per house |
| Semi-detached house | £2,600 – £5,250 | per house |
| Detached houseest. | £3,700 – £7,350 | per house |
| Scaffolding where neededest. | £630 – £1,900 | per elevation |
Methods for wall tie replacement
Remedial tie installation
New stainless ties are drilled through the outer leaf into the inner leaf, then fixed by mechanical expansion or resin, depending on the masonry. They are placed to a set grid across each elevation, with extra ties around openings and at the edges. Holes are made good in matching mortar.
Best for: Walls where the original ties have failed or are missing
Removing old ties and rebedding
On badly cracked elevations the old ties are cut out from the outer face, the joints raked and rebedded, and the brickwork repointed. It is more work than isolation but removes the source of expansion entirely. An engineer or the survey report usually specifies where this is needed.
Best for: Elevations with severe cracking or lifting
From first photo to finished repair
Tie survey
A metal detector locates the existing ties and shows their pattern. Small holes are then drilled at sample points and a borescope passed into the cavity to see the tie condition, type and embedment. The holes are made good afterwards.
Report and quote
You receive a written summary of what the survey found on each elevation, which walls need new ties, whether old ties should be isolated or removed, and a no-obligation written quote with scaffold shown separately.
Install the new ties
New stainless ties are drilled and fixed to the specified grid, with closer spacing around windows, doors and the roofline. Sample ties can be pull-tested to confirm they are holding in your particular brick and block.
Symptoms that point to wall tie replacement
- A house built before the 1980s on an exposed or coastal site
- Horizontal cracks along mortar joints, repeating every few brick courses
- Cracked render with a regular horizontal pattern
Rules for wall tie replacement in England
Like-for-like repairs such as crack stitching and repointing do not usually need building control approval in England, but anything that changes or strengthens the structure, such as underpinning or rebuilding a wall, does. If the work touches a party wall, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 may apply.
Frequently asked questions
What is the price of wall tie replacement in Braintree?
Guide prices for wall tie replacement in Braintree start from about £1,900 per house, including VAT, on East of England rates. Your fixed written price follows photos or a survey and depends on the extent of the work and access.
Do you carry out wall tie replacement in Braintree?
We do. Braintree and the surrounding area are covered, including nearby Witham and Chelmsford. A free initial assessment from your photos is the first step.
Does the ground around Braintree cause cracking?
London Clay covers much of south and central Essex and boulder clay much of the north, making it one of the counties most affected by clay shrinkage in dry summers. Street and garden trees close to houses add to the risk. Only an investigation can say why a particular building has moved.
Do the old wall ties have to be removed?
Not always, because thin wire ties that cannot swell are usually left in place once new ties are fitted. Thicker ties that are still expanding and cracking the wall are isolated or removed so they stop causing damage. The survey decides which applies.
How do I know if my wall ties have failed?
The clearest sign is horizontal cracking in the mortar joints repeating every few courses, often with a bulge or a lifted roofline. Wire ties can fail with no cracking at all, so a tie survey with a metal detector and borescope is the only reliable check.
More repairs we carry out in Braintree
- Lintel replacement
- Boundary and garden wall repairs
- Floor joist repairs
- Gable end wall repairs
- Concrete repairs
Wall tie replacement near Braintree
If your Braintree home has a bulging outer wall, send photos from a few angles and we will help you decide what needs checking first.