Helical Beaming: Your Top 6 Questions on Installation, Cost, and LimitationsWords: Jeff Scarpelli, Products Engineer for PROSOCO’s Masonry Anchoring GroupPhotos: PROSOCO, John MontecalvoAlthough helical masonry beaming is still an underutilized and relatively unknown method in masonry repair and restoration, the number of questions and requests I get on this topic increases every week, which I view as promising. Helical masonry beaming is an effective and economical way to repair flashing for shelf angles and lintels, to remove and replace lintels, and to strengthen sagging lintels in cases where the owner does not have the budget to take it out and replace it. In these cases, beaming strengthens the masonry above it, transferring some of the load to the masonry itself. Each week, I receive inquiries asking whether helical beaming will work on a specific building, and how to do it properly. Here are my answers to the most common questions I receive from customers each week.Question 1: Does Helical Beaming Work For Restoration And New Construction?A1: Helical beaming does not have much use at this time for new construction. Because of this, if a contractor is not involved with the restoration side of masonry, they may not have run into a case where this method would be needed.Restoration is really where helical beaming is happening. I’m glad to see that it’s growing as a recognized method in brick restoration and repair applications, but it’s still not very well known. I frequently get the question of why helical beaming isn’t more common if it’s so effective and economical. The answer is the stubborn power of doing things the way they’ve always been done before. Restoration crews tend to default to what they were trained on, which typically involves methods for removing and replacing brick using shoring posts or corbelled arches. A big part of my job is to work with restoration contractors and training facilities to shine light on what can be done using supplemental horizontal joint reinforcements and the benefits the beaming application brings.On this 6.5-foot-wide opening, a contractor using steel jacks would have to work around 4 jacks in only a 6.5-foot opening. With helical beaming, this would be a free span. Question 2: Does Helical Beaming Work On All Types Of Brick?A2: People should feel confident that if they’re working with brick, helical beaming works. That’s because our test data on brick and helical beaming is based on very conservative estimates. The testing we have on brick was performed on very weak brick and mortar to create a baseline performance for the system, allowing the data to be applied to any situation.Question 3: Are There Limitations Or Conditions Under Which Helical Beaming Will Not Work On Brick?A3: Helical beaming’s usefulness is limited to a span of 11 feet, 10 inches. There are cases where we can work around a longer span by using shoring posts, adding in supplementary gravity anchors, or phasing the work to limit the span. That’s a lot of what I do, working with contractors and engineers to determine if this system will work for them.For example, if the span is longer than 11 feet, 10 inches, say 14 feet, I might suggest a shoring post in the center to cut the span in half to 7 feet. The system would then be able to span the 7-foot opening with the support post in the center. It’s still economical, but it just depends on what they’re trying to do. If they need to remove and replace the lintel (the steel above the window) without shoring, it may not work in that case. But if they’re doing a flashing repair or something where having a larger span allows their work to be performed more easily, it will still be an economical solution. The recommendations are always customized on a case-by-case basis.Helical beaming supports the weight above the window for an easier solution to lintel repair.Question 4: Can Helical Beaming Work On A Wall With Multiple Wythes?A4: Yes. Every wall is slightly different, and helical beaming applies to many of these cases. The data within our load tables is based on a single wythe of brick, which applies directly to a brick veneer over a structural backup wall. But let’s say you have an older structure with three wythes butted up against one another. In that case, instead of installing the beaming from the outside, we may have to come back from the inside and do two layers of beaming, one on the outside and one on the inside, essentially doubling its capacity. The Engineer of Record (EOR) would need to provide information regarding any other loading present other than the self-weight of the brick, such as roof or floor loads, but the beaming system could still be applied.Question 5: What Equipment And Materials Do I Need For A Successful Helical Beaming Installation?A5: Here’s what I tell people to bring to the site for a helical beaming installation:Helical stitch-tie bars and their companion grout.A bolt cutter or other metal cutter to cut the helical bars to size from their coils.An angle grinder with a mortar-cutting blade.A drill with a paddle mixer for mixing the pre-measured grout dry and wet components.Water, for pre-wetting the masonry to achieve a Saturated Surface Dry (SSD) state, for cleaning the brick after the grout is installed, and for mixing the color-matched pointing mortar.A hose or pump-up sprayer for applying the water.A sponge to clean the masonry after installing the grout.A bulk grout gun and installation nozzles, or a grout bag, to install beads of grout within the mortar joints.A tuck-pointing trowel to assist with inserting the bars and to compact the grout after installation of the bars.Color-matched pointing mortar.A brick jointer to compact the color-matched pointing mortar to finish the repair.A big part of Jeff Scarpelli’s job is to work with restoration contractors and training facilities to shine light on what can be done using supplemental horizontal joint reinforcements and the benefits of the beaming application.Question 6: How Much Can Helical Beaming Save, Really?A6: It depends. My colleague John Montecalvo did some comparative calculations that showed helical beaming is less than half the cost of replacing a steel lintel and three courses of brick. What I tell people is that helical beaming provides labor savings compared to standard methods. For example, in some cases, people do what’s called corbelling, which creates a triangular section above the opening where all the masonry is taken out. That’s a lot of bricks to remove and replace. If they use our beaming system, fewer bricks can be removed, leading to potential time savings. Another benefit is the increased distance that masonry can span. It allows easier access for masons when replacing lintels or performing flashing repairs. One common method I see when it comes to flashing repair is using a membrane flashing, a sheet product that gets glued down and then secured in with fasteners. In a normal method, if they’re not using corbelling above the archway, they’re using shoring posts every couple of feet. In order for that to work, they have to take the post and move it around. This limits the size of the sheet they can put down. When the sheet products get glued together, it creates a lap, which may be vulnerable to water intrusion. Fewer laps means less potential for water leakage failure in the future.About: MAP Partner
