Curtain Walling
Tee Technical has experience with all types of curtain walling systems ranging from historic and simplistic single glazed solid bedded site assembled stick systems to modern double glazed drained and pressure equalised stick, unitised and panel systems. Such systems have been inspected on a variety of buildings ranging from low specification out-of-town commercial office parks to high specification prestigious buildings in, for example, Broadgate and Canary Wharf.
Understanding the technical aspects of how these often complex systems are constructed and their principle of operation is fundamental and necessary in providing the right advice to clients.
Tee Technical specialises in particular in the durability and remaining service life assessment of existing curtain walls as many are now of an age when they are falling into disrepair.
Windows
Tee Technical has experience with all types of individual fixed light and opening casement and sliding sash window systems manufactured with either timber, UPVC, steel or aluminium frames. Such systems have been inspected on a variety of buildings ranging from individual residential dwellings to multi-storey large office and residential tower blocks.
Tee Technical specialises in particular in the assessment and repair of existing windows systems and advocates where possible economic remedial repair strategies to reinstate often very old systems to a serviceable condition without the need for replacement.
Glazing Safety Audits
Statutory regulations and best practice guidance require the use of safety glass in certain overhead and other critical situations. Tee Technical can undertake glazing safety audits to establish the type of glass used, if it is compliant and then to provide recommendations for improvement where necessary.
Tee Technical can advise on risk management and the requirement for remedial measures to include, for example, introduction of barriers, application of safety films or glass replacement.
For example, at 100 Oxford Street a glazing safety audit of various roof light configurations concluded that no remedial action was necessary.
On the other hand at Southwark Bridge Road a glazing safety audit concluded that the application of an external anti-shatter film with edge protection was required to mitigate the risk of falling glass should the toughened glass spandrel panels become detached following failure
Rainscreen Panelling
Tee Technical has experience with all types of rainscreen panelling including the use of decoratively coated aluminium, terracotta tiles and other forms of stonework such as limestone and granite.
Understanding the technical aspects of how these systems are constructed and their principle of operation is fundamental and necessary in providing the right advice to clients
Composite Cladding
A common enquiry from building surveyors is to establish the construction of industrial metal cladding and confirm or discount the use of composite cladding panels which in certain circumstances can result in a perceived increase in fire risk.
Tee Technical can undertake a visual inspection to establish if the construction is either a composite panel or a built-up system.
Where composite panels are identified there is a need to establish the type of insulation used and if a fire retardant was used. This requires a visual inspection supplemented where necessary by the removal of samples of insulation for subsequent laboratory analysis to determine the nature of the insulation and presence of a fire retardant.
Masonry
Tee Technical has extensive technical knowledge of masonry, building stonework and support fixings and can therefore assess and investigate brickwork and the many forms of stone cladding including the use of Portland stone, granite, modern terracotta tiles and other common building stones.
Tee Technical can assess the presence of dampness and moisture within the structure and fabric including specialist investigations to determine the risk of condensation and the presence of moisture within wall constructions.
In particular Andrew was a contributing author of the best practice CIRIA guidance report number 538 entitled ‘a review of moisture in building elements’.
For example, at York House Wembley, Tee Technical undertook an investigation to determine the cause of damp internal plaster finishes to the externally exposed concrete framed columns. Despite recent external render repairs an intrusive investigation including moisture profiling at depth within the columns revealed excess background damp as the contributory cause.
Concrete cladding
Tee Technical can assess and investigate the use of either insitu or precast concrete used for the cladding of many 1960’s era buildings.
As Structural Engineers the load-bearing support and restraint fixings of such panels can be assessed.
The durability and risk of reinforcement corrosion can also be determined by concrete testing including as appropriate assessing the depth of carbonation, the depth of cover to the reinforcement and presence of harmful chlorides within the concrete mix.
Steel Frame Corrosion
Tee Technical can undertake structural inspections of aged stone clad steel frames to assess the likelihood of steel frame corrosion (commonly referred to as Regents Street disease).
Cracking and other distress with external stonework can be associated with corrosion of an embedded steel frame. Despite best endeavours to keep a façade in good condition moisture abortion through a stone or masonry façade can occur where the steelwork has not been protected with concrete.
Advice can be provided relating to the requirement for repair to include either traditional stone replacement or the modern use of cathodic protection.