Brick Arch Repair

[Syd Rumpo]

Hi

I have some movement in the brickwork between the top of a ground floor window arch and the bottom of a first floor window. The property was built around 1900 but some work was done about 20 years ago which involved changing a window opening. No bricks have cracked yet, but the mortar line has opened up despite re-pointing twice, so it needs sorting. It's not subsidence, the wall below the affected part is fine.

It looks quite a bit like this link...

So, I guess it's not DIY, are these people any good, what other ways are there, how much will it cost, and so on?

Cheers

[harryagain]

It needs checking to see if any of the adjacent walls have moved. Very flat arches exert tremendous sideways presssure. If there is movement it needs serious attention attention. Especially if there are similar cracks inside the building. Nobody uses this construction nowadays. You can buy steel lintels that are arch shaped if the movement is not too great. (No sideways pressue with these.)

(Other shapes as well.) You might find one to fit. Any builder would do this if suitable ones can be got.

If there is serious movement in adjacent walls, it could be a big job. Can be checked with spirit level. Best tackled ASAP, it will only get worse & maybe cost more.

The repair on youtube looks good to me. Cost a couple of grand I expect. But likely cheaper than rebuilding the arch/fitting lintel I would have thought. Never seen it done though.

[meow2222]

Scrap stainless steel, cut into strip, twist and use. Cost: sod all.

NT

[GMM]

It's not hard to diy the reinforcement. Just use a kit like this:

(other variants on that site) I have done a few cracks with these and, although they seem expensive for what they are, it's really not difficult to do, especially outside where washing the slots can be more thorough. The mortar sets pretty quickly though, so you have to get organised before mixing.

[Syd Rumpo]

Thanks for all the advice. I think I'll see what a builder would charge to put in a curved lintel and rebuild as necessary - sounds the most satisfactory solution.

If that's outrageous, then the resin kit seems a reasonable DIY day.

Cheers

[Syd Rumpo]

£450 to make a temporary plywood support, rebuild the arch and wall above, then come back to remove the support at a later date. 18 month guarantee, a day's work plus a bit.

The builder convinced me that a lintel wasn't needed if the job's done properly, and he does have a point - none of the other windows have one.

Not bad I thought, and it's happening as I type.

Cheers

[tabbypurr]

If you get piccies along the way it could be used for a wiki how-to page

NT