Hazardous Masonry - Victorian Corbel Collapse into the Street
Concern has been expressed concerning Victorian masonry details that are becoming a hazard. Here is an example of one that collapsed into the street. Essentially a 3 part Corbel Bracket, cast from Victorian concrete. The reinstatement would involve repairing the mid section and then stacking the units, securely fixing them into the brickwork with 150 x 75 x 5mm stainless steel plate at each stage. Although it was too late for this building detail, a series of methods exists to reinforce and make safe existing hanging masonry details in your neighbourhood.
Corbel Repaired & Refixed
Oliver Gill repaired and refixed the corbel onto the building. Here's a section sketch image showing the extensive use of stainless steel plate and epoxy resin/cement to fix these large units of Corbel Bracket back onto the building. The entire corbel when stacked and pinned weighs just short of half ton. The other two photos below show the standalone corbel in place and some distracted chap wandering directly underneath. There's a corbel like this on street frontage for the entire length of the road!
© Oliver Gill 2014
