The ruins of an historic blacksmith’s forge at Beausale, Warwickshire, were subject to a conservation order and extremely dilapidated. It had severely cracked and damaged brickwork that was suffering from loss of support due to inadequate foundations. The existing masonry was also covered in vegetation growth and close to nearby mature trees but had to be retained as part of a sympathetic restoration and conversion to a modern house.

The project engineers, Martin Johnson Associates, called in Helifix engineers who produced a designed repair programme to stitch the cracks and secure existing masonry, tie it to the new build sections and avoid potential future structural movement.

As work progressed on the new build structure, pairs of stainless steel HeliBars were set into the mortar of predetermined beds. These same HeliBars were also installed bonded, using HeliBond cementitious grout, into channelled out mortar beds of the existing masonry and so encircled the entire building.

The fully concealed Helibeam System secured and reinforced the complete structure, stitching cracks and forming masonry beams that distributed the structural loads while linking the old and the new sections.