HeliFix crack stitching repairs cracked brickwork by tying the wall back together, rather than filling the crack and hoping it holds. Helical stainless steel bars are bonded into the mortar beds across the crack, spreading the load and letting the wall behave as one structure again. Done correctly, the repair is permanent, and once repointed it is invisible.

Melbourne Building Repairs is a licensed HeliFix applicator and installer. Our director Assef is one of only three certified HeliFix brick and concrete specialists in Melbourne, with more than 26 years in the construction industry.

What is crack stitching?

Rather than being injected or filled, the crack is stitched. Slots are cut into the horizontal mortar beds either side of the crack, a grout is injected into the slot, and a helical stainless steel bar is pushed into the grout so it is fully bonded along its length. The bars are installed at regular vertical intervals up the crack and extend well past it on both sides.

The result is that loads which were being concentrated at the crack are redistributed across a much wider area of masonry. Because the bars are stainless steel and fully embedded in the mortar bed, the repair does not corrode and does not show once the joints are repointed to match.

Why it beats filling a crack

Filling a crack with mortar or sealant restores the appearance but adds no strength. The wall is still two pieces, the movement that caused the crack is still happening, and the filler simply cracks again — usually along exactly the same line, often within a year. Crack stitching addresses the structural weakness rather than the symptom.

The HeliFix systems we install

• Crack stitching — helical bars bonded into mortar beds to reinstate structural continuity across cracked masonry.
• Remedial wall ties — replacing corroded or failed cavity wall ties, which are a common cause of horizontal cracking and bulging in older Melbourne brick homes.
• Lateral restraint — tying bulging or bowed walls back to the floor and roof structure behind them.
• Masonry beam repair — forming a reinforced beam within the brickwork over a window or door where the lintel has failed, often avoiding the need to take the opening apart.
• Bed joint reinforcement — strengthening masonry over openings and at points of stress concentration.

Cracks that suit crack stitching

Crack stitching is well suited to stepped cracking following the mortar joints, diagonal cracking above or below window and door openings, vertical cracking at wall junctions and corners, cracking caused by footing movement on reactive clay soils, and horizontal cracking associated with corroded wall ties.

What matters is that the cause is stabilised first. If a wall is still moving because of an active drainage problem or ongoing subsidence, that needs to be addressed as part of the repair — we will tell you if that is what we find rather than stitching over an unresolved cause.

Is the repair visible?

No. The bars sit inside the mortar beds, and the joints are repointed with mortar matched to the existing in colour, texture and strength. On a finished job you cannot tell where the stitching went in. Where a wall is rendered, the render is made good over the repair.

What it involves on site

1. Inspection and diagnosis of the crack pattern and its cause.
2. A written scope setting out bar spacing, lengths and the extent of the repair.
3. Addressing the underlying cause where required.
4. Installing the helical bars into the prepared bed joints with HeliFix grout.
5. Repointing and making good so the repair is not visible.

Most domestic crack stitching jobs are completed in one to three days, without needing to move out, and without the demolition and rebuilding that the alternative repairs involve.

Documentation for insurers and owners corporations

As a licensed applicator we can issue installation certification for completed HeliFix work, along with photographic documentation of the installation. This is regularly required for insurance claims, owners corporation records and property sales.

Warranty

HeliFix crack stitching and structural repairs we install can be warranted by HeliFix. Read how our warranties work.

Related repairs

We also carry out brick repointing, lintel replacement and repair, render crack repairs and concrete crack repairs.

HeliFix crack stitching across Melbourne

Based in Prahran, we carry out HeliFix crack stitching and masonry repair on homes, period properties, apartment buildings and commercial buildings across metropolitan Melbourne.

If you have cracked brickwork you are worried about, call 0468 800 300 or request an assessment.