Structural Repairs to Semaphore Tower
West sussex
This property was originally used during the Napoleonic wars as part of a Telegraph chain communication system, to enable the Admiralty in London to communicate with its naval ships in Portsmouth. It's location (on top of a hill) means it is very exposed and susceptible to the elements. After a period of review and research into why the building and its tower had these cracks, we concluded the verticals were caused through thermal movement and the horizontal cracks were caused by rusted and blown wall ties. The works consisted of isolating all existing wall ties and replacing with modern stainless-steel equivalents. Where any cracking appeared, we removed the existing render to expose and allow masonry beneath to dry out. We stitched and gauzed the cracks by fixing stainless steel spiral ties and expanding metal lathes, before re-rendering and decorating.
