Hello,
Continuing my inspection of the brickwork I have noticed that the bricks above the kitchen window have dropped slightly and there are zig-zag cracks in the mortar going up and in from the corners.
The lintel above the window is a row of bricks placed on end (verticalically),
It is these vertical bricks that have dropped causing the brickwork above to drop.
9 years ago we had all the windows replaced with uPVC frames. This may be the cause as uPVC frames aren't structual. But this would mean the old wooden frames were taking some of the weight. Could this be right? Would it have been designed this way?So how do I fix it and also could someone explain how bricks placed on end work as a lintel? I don't really see it myself.
Thanks,
Graham