Natural History Museum, Kensington, London
Approved Installer: Stress UK Ltd
Client: NHM Estates Management
 
  PROBLEM
In the south east corner tower, the museum’s large basement storage rooms were suffering from various failed arches, cracking in the walls and ceiling and a cross wall separated from the external wall. These all possibly resulted from the foundations being affected by recent dry summers combined with the loadings on the vaulted arch brickwork from the ground floor display areas above.
  SOLUTION

To reinstate the failed arches HeliBars were bonded into the soffit masonry above the arches and tied into spandrel brickwork to spread the loads. Long series CemTies were then installed, in pre-drilled clearance holes, through the ring brickwork and into the masonry above and the cracks injected with cementitious grout.

The cracks in the walls and ceiling were raked out and stitched with HeliBars and the cracks injected with epoxy resin. The cross wall was re-connected to the external wall using 2m long grouted CemTies. These concealed, non-disruptive repairs provided the most effective form of repair without having to introduce any other structural elements.