Over 600
homes, 10 schools and a paved reception area in Hounslow are just a few
examples of the repointing
contracts awarded by local authorities to Gun-Point, claimed to be the
world's first mechanised repointing service. Faced with the problem of a huge backlog of repairs to walls often inadequately pointed in the past, more local authorities are making use of Gun-Point's national network to get the standard of workmanship they have long demanded. In more than half of these contracts Gun-Point were the named or nominated specialists.
The need for repointing usually starts when buildings reach the 40 year mark or so, almost 1 1/4 million ( that's 25% ) of council homes in England are more than 40 years old which potentially means that 625 million pounds worth of older properties in England alone will need extensive repairs to the external walls, according to The English House Condition Survey 1981, published by the Department of Environment.
Many of the Council homes are large traditionally built housing estates of the interwar period, such as the 200 houses currently being part repointed for Poole Borough Council. For the 50 houses on the Whitton Estate in Ipswich, Gun-Point were able to meet the client's specification of an 18mm depth in mortar that was impossible to rake by hand; the depth gauges on Gun-Point's special raking tools ensured this depth was achieved consistently. The patented mortar pump and gun then repointed with a gauged mortar based on local sands to match the original colour exactly.
For Luton Borough Council, at the Biscot Road Estate a black mortar was specified, and a coloured lime/sand mix was used to guarantee the same colour throughout. As with all the other estates, Gun- Point's dust extraction system was critical in minimising the inconvenience to residents from raking out the old mortar.