Dropped bricks above window

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

Reply to
Graham Jones
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Some further info. The uPVC window hasn't bowed in any way. Also the house is a cavity wall construction. All the windows in the house have solider bricks (I've just found out there are called this!) in the external walls above them as lintels.

But what about the internal walls, would these too have soldier bricks or would these have proper lintels. There are no internal signs of problems above the kitchen window.

Thanks,

Graham

Reply to
Graham Jones

piccy best so we see the extent of the issue

NT

Reply to
NT

The soldiers aren't acting as lintels, they are stood upright on a lintel, you just can't see it.

The internal walls, depending on the age, could be timber, concrete or metal lintels, probably metal as it sounds like the exterior ones are on metal.

This said, it was shoddy practice for a short while in the 60's to just build the external soldiers direclty on top of the frame, there was a housebuilder called calderbank & fairhurst who built several estates like this, needless to say they went out of buisness.

To check if there is a lintel, get a screwdriver and poke it between frame and brickwork and see what's there, my guess is metal.

Reply to
Phil L

The problem with this theory is that when cracks have appeared (as in this case) and the bricks have already dropped a few mm (as in this case) when the frame is removed, the brickwork above falls down

A lintel is required, and it's probably safe to say that there are none in the house at all, so really, they could al do with being installed, this requires cutting out brickwork to the sides of the openings, thus making the patch of dropped brickwork even bigger

Nah, he's got no lintels, his house is a lintel-free zone, he owns as many lintels as my dog, IE none :-p

Reply to
Phil L

First its not a theory. Second why do you think bricks mortared in place would fall down? The added support is only needed while mortar is cut out in the damaged area.

nonsense, there are masses of houses with no lintels. There's no reason to do work that doesnt need doing.

Probably so, so what.

NT

Reply to
NT

Bricks have a tendency not to float in mid-air, hence the requirement of lintels. It's fine as it is with a frame in place, and I suppose it could be strengthened up by some fairly strong patch pointing, with the frame still in place, but removing the frame now would cause the brickwork to land on the floor

I know, which is why I typed:

"then just leave it as it is, other than that it means removing each window frame, at least all the downstairs ones, installing lintels and then putting the frames back in, if they fit.

The bricks are supported, they're supported by the frame, and the frames will contain metal, I wouldn't ponder too long on this otherwise you may require another mortgage"

So nothing, you said you may be mistaken and I said you weren't, he has no lintels, and my advice is to do nothing unless problems start to arise like buckled window frames, cracked units etc

Reply to
Phil L

Firstly bricks interlock. Secondly mortar keeps them in place for as long as it doesnt fail. Thirdly soldier courses and arches are held by the fact that they are prevented from spreading sideways, which generally they would do if they dropped. These are the reasons that many houses have no lintels and _dont_ need them. There are also a small subset of lintel-less houses that have no arches and no soldier courses and even those hold up until the mortar disintegrates, such is the power of mortar and the tendency of bricks to try to rotate as they fall, which they are prevented from doing.

Why would anyone do that?

there's simply no need to do that. Things would have to be far worse for that to be indicated.

Its just basic brickwork. A bag of cement and a bag or 2 of sand, and in some cases a bit of wood... =A38 - =A330.

NT

Reply to
NT

How would you plan on inserting wooden supports as mentioned in your first post on this subject? - considering the brickwork is in direct contact with the frame, where does this wood go?

Except the whole soldier course has already dropped, causing the courses above to also drop

It was a scenario of installing a lintel now he would have to take the frame out first, or risk having it smashed to pieces by falling masonry whilst cutting out for a lintel.

Reply to
Phil L

The window frame isnt as deep as the brickwork, just put a horizontal timber across the window opening under the bricks, against the outside of the window, and prop it with verticals resting on the window cill if its concrete or stone, or fixed to something else if its plastic.

Usually not, but in sometimes it will. But this doesnt mean houses need lintels. This is popularly misunderstood, lnitels are backup devices more than prime supports.

I dont seen any necessity for a lintel. The only time a lintel is necessary is if a) the brickwork above has dropped far enough that it needs to be removed and rebuilt, at such a time it would not be good practice to omit a lintel b) the brickwork is in danger of destroying the window, ie when the bricks have dropped badly and the window is too weak to prevent fall.

And finally, if one does install a lintel under bricks so badly dropped that they might collapse, it makes sense to take the bricks out first.

NT

Reply to
NT

What sort of windows did the uPVC ones replace? Were they concrete, wooden, or steel?

Reply to
Fredxx

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