Client
The Highland Council / Pario Ltd.
Value
£418,100
Sectors & Services
Buildings Repairs & Refurbishment Anchors/Remedial Ties Projects
Located across the rugged and diverse Highlands of Scotland, Ardnamurchan High School, Spean Bridge Primary School, Glenurquhart High School and Tomatin Primary School serve widely dispersed rural communities where schools play a vital role beyond education alone. Set within landscapes defined by coastal exposure, mountainous terrain and variable weather conditions, these buildings must perform reliably in demanding environmental conditions.
Constructed in 2004 as part of a Private Finance Initiative and managed by SPV Specialist Pario Ltd, the schools are critical community assets. In 2018, investigations identified wall tie defects, an issue of heightened concern following a well-publicised school wall collapse in Edinburgh. Given the safety implications and regulatory scrutiny, immediate action was required to assess the risk, design a compliant solution and implement remedial works within a tightly constrained programme.
Services undertaken
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Review of existing wall tie investigation reports
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Site verification inspections to all four schools
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Cavity wall inspections
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Design of full remedial wall tie solutions
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Remedial wall tie installation to cavity walls
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Remedial wall tie installation to timber frame walls
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Skew tie augmentation at roof truss to wall head interfaces
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Phased delivery of works during school holiday periods
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Liaison with Building Standards to obtain warrants and completion certificates
CRL was engaged in summer 2018 to review the wall tie issues identified across the four schools and to provide technical advice on an appropriate remedial strategy. Following receipt of existing investigation reports, CRL undertook site visits to each school to verify the findings and confirm the extent of the defects. Based on this verification, CRL was invited to develop and deliver a robust and comprehensive remedial solution, with the critical requirement that the majority of works be completed during the forthcoming school summer holidays.
To meet this demanding programme, CRL engaged its in-house design engineers, Buxton Associates, to produce a full remedial wall tie design covering all external walls to all four schools. This whole-building approach was deliberately adopted and agreed with the client to remove uncertainty, ensure no suspect areas were omitted and allow the buildings to be confidently declared compliant on completion. The design addressed cavity wall construction, timber frame interfaces and critical roof to wall connections.
The design for the first school was completed within one week and promptly submitted to The Highland Council Building Standards department. The speed and quality of the submission enabled a warrant to be issued within a further week, allowing works to commence immediately at the start of the 2018 summer holiday period. The remedial works were then delivered in carefully planned phases across all four sites, minimising disruption and maintaining a high standard of workmanship.
CRL’s ability to combine investigation review, rapid design development and efficient site delivery demonstrated its strength in managing time-critical structural repairs UK. By coordinating closely with the client, designers and statutory authorities, CRL ensured compliance, safety and programme certainty on a highly sensitive project involving occupied school buildings.
"CRL was able to design and install 11,300 remedial wall ties to four schools in record time and with little, or no disruption to the daily operation of the schools."
Murray Soutar |Regional Director (Scotland & Ireland) | CRL
The remedial strategy implemented by CRL focused on delivering long-term structural resilience and confidence in the wall systems across all four schools. Comprehensive cavity wall inspections ensured that the condition and configuration of the existing construction were fully understood prior to intervention. The installation of new remedial wall ties to both cavity walls and timber frame walls restored effective load transfer and lateral restraint, addressing the root cause of the defects.
In addition, skew tie augmentation at the roof truss and wall head interface enhanced overall structural robustness, particularly under wind loading conditions common in the Highlands. By treating all wall areas rather than isolated locations, the solution reduced future inspection and maintenance requirements and supported effective asset management for the client. CRL’s systematic and compliant approach has ensured the schools can continue to operate safely, with an extended service life and significantly reduced structural risk.
