IG Masonry Support held regular design meetings to ensure products were being designed, manufactured and delivered to the client’s full requirements. On both the 2nd and 5th floors, IG provided Welded Masonry Support (WMS) and B.O.S.S. A1 units featuring two levels of soffit, with one being recessed to create the impressive, corbelled detail.
“One of the primary goals for this scheme was to deliver a brick façade which exuded quality and reflected the industrial heritage of the site. To achieve this for a building of this scale we wanted to make ‘simple’ moves that would allow the quality of the brick, and the skill of the bricklayers to speak for themselves – which included creating variations in the depths of reveals on all elevations, and corbelling details at level 5 and 13,” said Maurice Rafferty, Architect at Todd Architecture. “Achieving the subtlety that we wanted meant that the details themselves became very complicated, and IG Masonry Support’s input and advice on this was fundamental to achieve this.”
To preserve structural integrity, the team avoided fixing around the pre-tensioned pockets and instead maintained masonry support at every other level to accommodate higher loads. The team coordinated the levels of the masonry support shelf with the joins in the brickwork, which was a challenge due to the project’s magnitude. For the perforated bricks, the B.O.S.S. units were designed using a specific brick face and required IG’s brick-cutting facility’s expertise to ensure an aesthetically pleasing finish.
“The systems proposed allowed us to seamlessly vary between half and full brick reveals from level five upwards, with even deeper reveals in the lower levels running seamlessly into brick soffits, and the B.O.S.S. system allowed us to achieve very successful corbel details. IG staff were available throughout the extensive co-ordination process to ensure that every detail was exactly as required. IG were able to advise on numerous areas where details could be simplified to save money without compromising quality,” added Maurice Rafferty.
IG Masonry Support ensured that value-engineered systems were created to keep the costs as low as possible for the client. In addition, deliveries were coordinated to ensure products were onsite, on time but also did not exceed more deliveries than required.
“We faced tight, non-negotiable timescales on a project that demanded expert masonry support,” said Paddy Connolly, Contracts Manager at McAleer & Rushe. “IG Masonry Support offered their expertise and a fast-track programme that met our requirements. Through early engagement and a contractor-friendly approach, IG Masonry Support provided a buildable and commercially viable solution. We’re already collaborating with IG Masonry Support on future projects and will continue to do so.”
IG Masonry Support’s Welded Masonry Support systems are designed and manufactured to engineers’ specifications on a project basis. This means that each product is bespoke to the specific project and simple to install onsite, avoiding clashes with any other surrounding products on the build. Each system comes as a complete package with thermal shims, bolts, lock washers, nuts and fixings, ready to be installed onsite. All IG Masonry Support’s WMS systems offer two planes of adjustability onsite for ease of installation.
Through close collaboration with the contractor McAleer & Rushe and the design team, IG Masonry Support provided technical and design assistance, and a range of bespoke brickwork solutions that were integral to the building’s high quality brickwork finish.
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