WE ARE OPEN HELITEC remain open during the Covid-19 emergency. Whilst we continue to offer our BUILDING +RESTORATION +REMEDIAL services we are able to assist you with your immediate essential building repairs, 24 hours/ 7 days a week. Contact us … Read more
What’s wrong with brickie’s sand? Simple shake test surveys of common “brickie’s sands” show that almost all typically exceed (some by up to three times) the maximum clay content permitted by Australian Standards (AS4773.2, Section 3.2.3) for use in mortars … Read more
Helitec were called in to repair and strengthen a failed arch on a brick home in Casula A large crack appearing on the main front wall of a well constructed and maintained family home in the Sydney suburb of Casula, was a … Read more
Inspection and diagnosis of corrosion problems in wall ties. The single biggest cause of wall tie failure in Australia is corrosion or rusting of the galvanized wire wall ties. This can lead to a catastrophic collapse of brickwork where the … Read more
The partial collapse of the external brickwork of a neighbouring apartment block, due to corroded cavity wall ties, promoted the owners of this harbour side apartment building in Double Bay to engage an Engineer to also investigate and report on … Read more
Workability additives and mortar bond strength Many bricklayers will use workability additives to “fatten up” the mortar mix, but what does this do to the mortar bond strength? There appears to be a lot of confusion and misinformation in the … Read more
This heritage cottage in The Inner West of Sydney was proudly restored by the Helitec Team. Contact our friendly staff to find out how Helitec can remediate your heritage home. Helitec are proud to undertake Heritage restoration to the highest quality. … Read more
There are three main components of an external brick cavity wall and they are; The brick masonry unit. The bedding mortar (“brickies” mortar) and The brick tie or cavity wall tie. All three components are of critical importance to the … Read more
Why Traditional Lime Mortar? Helitec Site Supervisor and heritage Stonemason, Mark Downton discusses the advantages of using traditional and compatible mortars in heritage restoration work. Damaged to stone can often result when incompatible mortars are used The use of traditional … Read more
Helitec technical staff discuss why buildings crack and examine some of the causes. What causes a building to crack? A seemingly simple question which is often asked by frustrated and building owners when cracks appear and sometimes even disappear, at … Read more
Over many years the owners had been watching the cracks throughout their beautiful 100 year old brick residence in Ashfield, NSW getting larger and more numerous. They felt powerless to do anything but continually paint and patch over them, only to find … Read more
The Brief – This block of 4 units near Manly Wharf had extensive corroded brick wall ties and arch window lintels. Helitec were called to reinstate the structural integrity and appearance of the building. We discovered that four particular areas needed repairs to … Read more
Helitec saves the façade of an iconic 1930’s apartment block from collapse Raking shores were erected to provide emergency temporary support to façade brickwork. Wall plates and shores were used to support the dangerously bowed and unstable brickwork at this … Read more
Francis Greenway – LIVERPOOL TAFE COLLEGE HISTORY The former Liverpool Hospital complex is of State significance as one of the oldest, substantially intact colonial hospital complexes in Australia. Helitec were called in to undertake historical restoration of failing arches. Built by … Read more
Helitec Structural Services commitment to ongoing construction training is core to our success, we support and encourage our employees to continue to refresh and up-skill their existing qualifications. Helitec staff have recently undertaken recent construction training in; OH&S (Construction Industry Worker) accreditations. … Read more
When wall tie corrosion is unnoticed or ignored. Corrosion of galvanized metal cavity wall ties is a widespread problem for many cavity brick buildings built in Australia. The problem can cause cracks and bowing of brickwork to occur and can … Read more
Fixing Expansion Joints and Crack Stitch Repairs. Helitec were called in to fix inadequate movement joints at the north elevation wall of Block G at the Shellharbour TAFE. Themal and moisture movement had damaged the wall. The brick wall also … Read more
This beautiful home in Newtown, along with many others in the street, had been affected by tree roots. Over time the building had received patch repairs and gyprock sheeting was used to hide the internal cracks. Helitec were called in … Read more
The walls in this beautiful Art Deco building were surveyed for a period of a year to discover the amount of displacement caused by settlement or rotation. Although the displacement was insignificant the stepping cracks in the walls had increased … Read more
The Helitec Structural Services team came together to make a resounding success of this heritage restoration Chatswood project. The project was mainly repair and rebuild the failing and unattractive front sunrooms on this 1930s masonry cottage. Different trades were utilised … Read more
