Folkestone · Kent
Wall tie replacement in Folkestone
Plenty of cavity-walled houses, in Folkestone 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£2,000per house inc VAT
- Postcodes
- CT19, CT20
- Population
- about 66,000
- Area
- Kent
- Pricing region
- South East
What is the ground like in Kent?
With roughly 66,000 people, Folkestone spans postcode districts CT19, CT20 in Kent. If you are just outside Folkestone, we also cover Dover (7 miles), Ashford (13 miles) and Deal (14 miles).
Kent is one of the parts of the UK where clay soils are most likely to move with the seasons. Parts of Kent lie on a former coalfield, so a coal mining search is worth checking if movement has no obvious cause. Typical buildings in Kent: Victorian terraces in the Medway towns, weatherboarded and Wealden houses, 1930s semis and seaside bungalows.
What to look for before calling about wall tie replacement
- The roof edge or verge lifting slightly above the brickwork
- Outer brickwork bowing or bulging, often worst near the top
- Horizontal cracks along mortar joints, repeating every few brick courses
Wall tie replacement prices in Folkestone
Guide prices below are for homes in Folkestone, on South East 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. | £2,000 – £3,900 | per house |
| Semi-detached house | £2,800 – £5,600 | per house |
| Detached houseest. | £3,900 – £7,850 | per house |
| Scaffolding where neededest. | £670 – £2,000 | per elevation |
How we usually approach wall tie replacement
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
Partial rebuild of the outer leaf
If a section of the outer leaf has bulged too far to be tied back, it is carefully taken down and rebuilt with new ties built in as the work goes up. This is uncommon, and is usually limited to a gable top, a parapet or a panel under a window.
Best for: Outer leaf too distorted to tie back safely
What happens during wall tie replacement, step by step?
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.
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.
Deal with the old ties and make good
Old ties are isolated or removed where the report calls for it, cracked joints are raked out and repointed, and drilled holes are filled in matching mortar. A written note of tie positions and findings goes in your property file.
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.
Questions about wall tie replacement in Folkestone
What is the price of wall tie replacement in Folkestone?
Guide prices for wall tie replacement in Folkestone start from about £2,000 per house, including VAT, on South East 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 Folkestone?
We do. Folkestone and the surrounding area are covered, including nearby Dover and Ashford. A free initial assessment from your photos is the first step.
Does the ground around Folkestone cause cracking?
North Kent sits on London Clay, central Kent on Gault and Weald Clays and the Downs on chalk, so shrinkable clay is widespread. East Kent around Deal and Dover had a small deep coalfield, worked until the late 1980s. Only an investigation can say why a particular building has moved.
Can wall ties be replaced on a rendered house?
Yes, new ties can be fitted through render, with each drill hole made good afterwards. The repairs can show on painted render, so redecoration of the affected elevation is often worth including. Render can also hide the cracking pattern, so a survey matters more.
Is wall tie failure covered by insurance?
Usually not, because insurers treat it as gradual deterioration. Damage caused by a sudden event, such as part of a wall collapsing in a storm, may be treated differently under some policies. Check your policy wording, and tell your insurer if you are unsure.
More repairs we carry out in Folkestone
- Subsidence insurance claim repairs
- Structural surveys and crack monitoring
- Bowing wall repairs
- Brick arch repairs
- Bay window subsidence repairs
Wall tie replacement near Folkestone
Need a report for a buyer or lender in Folkestone? Send us the valuation comment and we will explain what a tie survey and quote would cover.