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What is a Wall Tie and why do we use them?
Wall ties are essential in all buildings that have cavity walls, as they are used to join the two leaves of a cavity wall together to offer extra support assuring the stability of a building. They are discrete in a building’s infrastructure yet crucial for its integrity and have been used in the UK since early on in the 20th century - this means that there is a high chance of the walls in your home having wall ties in. Wall ties are so key to a wall’s integrity as their absence can lead to lots of different structural issues such as damp penetration, masonry cracks, or potentially the collapse of the outer masonry leaf.
They are manufactured from materials that are purposefully corrosion-resistant and fire-resistant, with a drip formation that prevents water passage to the inner leaf. They have changed dramatically since their creation 100 years ago, exhausting the use of materials they used to be made from, such as plastic. Before 1978, wall ties were regularly made from galvanised mild steel with the expectation of them lasting the duration of a house’s lifetime, however, it has been recognised that these wall ties are prone to corrosion after around 15 years.
Nowadays, there are many different types of wall ties out there suited for different purposes. A few of these are:
- Masonry to Masonry wall ties
- Masonry to Timber wall ties
- Movement ties
- Lateral restraint ties
- Channel systems
- Sliding anchor systems
- Remedial wall ties
- Starter wall ties
We stock lots of different wall ties here at BS Fixings, for lots of specific tasks.
Our SFC Steel Framing Channels are designed for tying brickwork to steel studding across the cavity into the masonry bed joint. They can be placed at any potential point along the length of the channel, which allows maximum restraint to be maintained. Self-tap/self-drill screws fix through the channel insulation into the steel studding, where the screws have an underhead high thread that offers complete support to the channel at the same time as preventing compression of the insulation material.
The next different type of wall tie we offer is the Timber Frame Tie in Stainless Steel. This is a type 6 tie made of grade 304 stainless steel, for buildings up to 4 stories in height. Designed purposefully to ensure the security of the outer brick skin of a building to the inner timber frame, which delivers durable integrity through absorbing substantial vertical movement between brick and timber.
We also have Slotted Frame Cramp Wall Ties that come with Drips, which come in either galvanised or stainless steel and are packed in boxes of 200 to 250 depending on the size. Once these are installed and in place, they stop any movement in a sideways direction of a wall and another element. The drip’s position is 90mm from the safety end as standard.
We hope you leave this blog feeling more informed on the purpose of wall ties. We have a great range of products on the BS Fixings website, with a section dedicated to wall ties! If would like to contact us for more information, our phone number is 03330 117818 and our email is info@bsfixings.co.uk.
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