Cost to replace vertical wall ties

[HopeNotFear]

I live in a 2 story terraced house built in 1904. Our decorator advised us the front & rear external walls were moving away from the building due to the wall ties corroding so the ties will need replaced.

Am I correct in thinking the floor boards will need lifted in all first floor rooms so new ties can be fixed to the floor joists. The length of the house is approx 8 metres. Could the tradesman get away with using a scaffold tower instead of scaffolding front & rear of the property?

I assume a structural engineer will need to work out the number of ties required and where they go. Should I get the engineers report myself or is this something the tradesman will organise? And talking of tradesmen, would it be a builder, stonemason etc who will carry out the repair?

Any idea how much this is likely to cost, I live in Edinburgh? I know my next door neighbour has the same problem so it makes sense for him to get the repairs done at the same time. However, if he refuses, will this have an impact on any repairs I carry out? House on the other side seems ok.

Many thanks for any advice.

[wowfudge]

Wall ties are usually the metal pins that hold the two layers or bricks forming the external walls parallel and keep things square. They can be replaced by drilling through from outside. The holes are then filled - not always with filler the same colour as the brick so be sure to ask for this. If you have any painted walls or render they may need painting afterwards.

What makes the decorator a wall tie expert? Does he have a brother/cousin/friend who does them?

[HopeNotFear]

Thanks for the reply Wowfudge.

We have sandstone coloured big bricks , sorry don't know the correct terminology. I'm not sure we have 2 layers of brick as there is no cavity in our walls, hence why I think the ties need to be secured to the floor joists. Would this be correct?

Any idea of costs?

The decorator was in a few years ago, he was repairing cracked cornice which he said was caused by external walls coming away from building. There are really cold drafts at wood paneling below Windows, small bits of rouble falls down on the inside of our window cill, so I'm 99% he is correct. And he was being helpful, not trying to get work for friend or the like.

[wowfudge]

Sorry I can't answer your questions - good to hear the decorator was basing what he said on experience.