What is a wall tie?
A wall tie is used to tie the internal leaf and external leaf constructed of bricks, blocks or structural framing with a brick façade. The tie is placed in the cavity wall during construction and spans the cavity. Each end of the tie is specifically designed to embed into the mortar at a minimum depth of 50mm at each side.
For buildings constructed before 1970, mild steel wall ties were used as best practice. Due to the nature of the product, homeowners are now finding that the wall ties have begun to degrade causing various issues such as; cracking in brickwork, mortar blow out and unstable external leaves. These old wall ties can be replaced with remedial wall ties which is a fairly common procedure, either as a DIY project or a professional service. As Industry requirements dictate, ACS use stainless steel in all wall ties as standard, ensuring our product does not corrode or cause any issue with brickwork in the future. Historically, fish tail wall ties and butterfly wall ties were the go-to product in the construction industry, unfortunately, the extremely sharp edges on these types of wall tie meant that a redesign in the product was required. ACS Stainless Steel has led the innovation of wall ties for over 20 years, working closely with UCAT (now part of Unite) to abolish the manufacture and use of dangerous wall ties to be superseded with the first safety tie, designed and manufactured by ACS.
Types of Wall Tie
Typically, two variants of wall ties are used during construction, Type 1 and Type 2 wall ties.
A Type 2 wall tie is predominantly used in residential buildings not exceeding 2 stories in height, this common wall tie is usually made of stainless steel wire and folded to have the following features: Central cavity drip, insulation clip compatibility and safety ends, preventing injury during installation.
Whereas a Type 1 Wall Tie is a heavy duty design, used in public and commercial buildings such as prisons, hospitals and high rise structures. The unique design is made of pressed stainless steel incorporating the following features: High strength due to its shape, central cavity drip, embedment markings to assist with correct installation, superior adhesion to mortar due to the shape of the specialist safety end and insulation clip compatibility.
There are many types of wall ties which are explained in detail in our types of wall tie article.
ACS also offers a ‘design a tie’ service where we can manufacture any wall tie to your exact requirements and specification. These bespoke products fall under our CE certification for manufacture and design, meaning you have total peace of mind that we are able to produce a quality, compliant product with a fast turnaround time.
