Anchoring system to be used for structural stabilization of historic church

When two towers of the historic First Lutheran Church of the Reformation of New Britain, Conn., were in need of repair, Baltimore-based CINTEC America had an anchoring solution that could tackle the job.

CINTEC says the Anchor System process begins with an inspection of the structure by a qualified CINTEC engineer. The CINTEC system is used extensively to secure and reinforce historic and historical buildings, masonry bridges, monuments, railway structures, retaining walls and harbor walls. It is considered versatile and a good fit for reinforcing stone, concrete, clay, terra cotta, adobe and even timber structures.

“The decision to use the CINTEC anchoring system was a straightforward one,” says Joe Porcaro, licensed structural engineer and owner of AJP Engineering LLC of Berlin, Conn., the company responsible for restoration of the church. “I have been using CINTEC systems since 1999, and once the engineering evaluation was completed, it was determined that the structural stabilization of stone masonry façades was an ideal project for CINTEC. Additionally, using the CINTEC stainless-steel anchors will allow for the completion of the work at half the cost of traditional masonry methods.”

“Even as it restores, stabilizes, strengthens and repairs, the system does not compromise the parent material,” says Robert Lloyd-Rees, FFB, COO for CINTEC America. “And because the anchoring system becomes part of the structure, it does not visibly alter a structure’s appearance.”

At the site, the CINTEC Reinforcing Anchor System, fashioned out of a steel bar enclosed in a mesh fabric sleeve, is inserted into the structure in need of reinforcement. A specially developed, non-polymer, cement-like grout is injected into the sleeve under low pressure. The grout fuses with the mesh, expands and shapes itself around the steel to fit the space. CINTEC uses dry or low-volume wet diamond drilling techniques to reduce or even eliminate water damage associated with conventional concrete wet drilling.

Extensive in-situ load testing on various sizes and types of CINTEC anchors has proven that large blast loads can be resisted successfully, and that the CINTEC Reinforcing Anchor System provides a reliable, bottom-line defense against explosions.
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