Lentil Beam above Garage is Bending

I've been in a home for one year now, that was built 8 years ago. The garage has a brick gable, with a window in the middle, above it. It appear that the lentil that the building company put in is not strong enough to support all of that weight and is starting to sag in the middle which has caused the brick above it to start separating (one large verticle crack from the window and growing larger as it moves down to the lentil. My QUESTION is, what is the best and cheapest repair for this. I've had a range of recommended fixes from taking all of the bricks out and replacing the lentil, to putting in lagger(?) bolts and tuck points(?). Is the latter option just a short term fix? Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks, Daniel

Reply to
Daniel Fenner
Loading thread data ...

I love lentil beans

Reply to
longshot

It's lintel, not lentil. I worked for a general contractor way back when, we did a few jobs where we changed the overhead door on commercial buildings and had to take the brickwork out to modify the opening (generally to make it taller). Assuming this is brick veneer and not structural brick, I would remove the brick back far enough to put in a new lintel, then replace the brick. Make sure you save as much of the brick as possible so it will match when you put it back up. You probably want to get a civil engineer or architect to do the calculation for a replacement, especially if you're in a hurricane or earthquake area. There can be considerations other than the weight it supports, so don't let another contractor make a poor choice. You can probably tear everything out yourself and set the lintel if you're ambitious, but laying brick takes a fair bit of skill, probably not a DIY project. You should probably also think about shoring up the middle of the existing lintel until you can get this repaired. It could cause quite a bit more damage (and maybe injury) if it fails before you get it fixed. You could buy a basement support column and put it in the middle of the span, that should stabilize it for awhile and still allow you to use the garage.

On May 1, 7:39 am, Daniel Fenner wrote:

Reply to
MarkL

Can't tell w/o seeing but almost certainly you'll have to get to it to either add structure or replace it for a permanent fix. If it is steel and accessible from below and you have clearance over the garage door, I suppose it would be theoretically possible to add some additional strength there but you still need a structural guy to come look and determine what is the root cause and the needed fix.

As a note, "best" and "cheapest" are almost always dichotomous notions and I suspect that is the case here...

Reply to
dpb

Onions are not a good choice for structural materials. Is the structure double-wythe brick, or a brick facade over a wood frame? Are you sure the crack is because the lintel isn't adequate, and not because the whole foundation is moving, or because the roof is spreading the tops of the bearing walls? The fact that the crack started at the window makes me a little suspicious. If it was sagging, I'd expect the crack to start at the top of the door and work it's way up. Does a straightedgee show sagging?

How much headroom do you have in the doorway? Is the room above the garage finished space, or can you get at the structure from the inside? How much ugly are you willing to put up with?

If you can spare the headroom, the SIMPLEST fix would be to jack the middle of the door back into place, and weld a big chunk of angle iron to the underside of the existing lintel to reinforce it. I'd seriously consider running cable and a turnbuckle under the window across the whole width of the garage, while you're at it.

Reply to
Goedjn

Most brick veneers houses are poorly done. Visit

formatting link
to read the tech reports to learn how brick veneer should be installed. The lintel could be too thin or not long enuf. Also the masonry is supposed to be fastened to the wood house studs every couple feet. Since most builders put opaque paper on top of the sheathing before bricking it up, how could the masons possibly know where the studs are unless they are marked on the paper (never done). On top of that, many masons leave out flashing around doors and windows and leave weepholes plugged. I had all of these defects in my new home and had to hire a mason for big bucks to fix them all. That is why I will never again buy a brick veneer house.

Reply to
Art

Me too.

I wouldn't know what lintel meant if it weren't for my Block City. My best friend had Brick Town.

I guess they have both been replaced by Leggos.

Reply to
mm

Thanks for the info Mark. I put up a supporting post yesterday and am waiting for a couple more estimates before I have the work done.

Reply to
Daniel Fenner

Thanks for your reply. The crack actually started at the headers, I just wasn't clear in my explanation. And yes, the beam does show obvious sagging. You mentioned the roof possibly spreading the tops of the bearing walls. Can you explain to me in more detail? I've got a structural engineer coming out today to look at the problem and I'll be curious to see if he mentions that.

Reply to
Daniel Fenner

You made an interesting point that the masonry "is supposed" to be fastened every couple of feet. If I find out this is not the case, is the home builder somehow liable for this problem? The house is only 8 years old and it's my understanding that under Oklahoma state law, home builders are required to have a 10 year warranty on their homes (looking into the details of this). Any thoughts? I'm hoping for an inexpensive fixso that I don't have to go the legal route.

Reply to
Daniel Fenner

It was just an alternative explanation for the cracking if the problem wasn't a sagging lintel. Since you have an obviously sagging lintel, spreading is probably a non issue.

Reply to
Goedjn

The number of brick ties to sheathing will have very little to do with your problem. The lintel is just not right. The wood was probably undersized, wrong grade, or wrong species. The lintel iron was not strong enough to carry the load. You need to determine if the wood portion has bowed down to verify the diagnosis of wrong wood. The fact that the brick has bellied says the steel lintel was undersized. The two should not have been tied together in my opinion. One of many reasons I don't like brick gables.

Reply to
DanG

I missed out on the bean count.

I like Lima beans.

-- Oren

If your not getting it from the horses mouth, You're listening to the wrong end.

Reply to
Oren

replying to Daniel Fenner, Houstonbrick wrote: We see this problem often here in Houston,TX..We are a small masonry repair contractor in Spring, TX..There are very few options available. If there is a way to access your home warranty, you could ask them to repair. Second option is to call someone like us. We would demolition 2 to 3 feet of garage and replace lentil with stronger back. A stronger piece of iron the is 4 inches on one side and the other side 5 to 6 inches. If the masonry above garage is attached well with wall ties,there is a possibility that entire gable will have to come down. This is not a DIY project. It's best to call a pro. In our area it is considered an extensive repair. You can expect to pay 3200 to 7000. There really is no easy way to do it right. The guys at

formatting link
are wonderful and you can trust them to give you a free evaluation if you send pictures.

Reply to
Houstonbrick

That's what you get for building beams of lentils; you're supposed to use lumber.

And, yes, I know this is an old post to which I am responding.

Perce

Reply to
Percival P. Cassidy

MarkL wrote: "It's lintel, not lentil. "

Welcome to America, where everyone is either ADHD, dyslexic, or both!

Reply to
thekmanrocks

On 12 Jun 2016, "Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in alt.home.repair:

Instead of lentils, try I-beans.

Reply to
Nil

Sounds like you know your beans.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

It's easier to see eye-beans.

re: "The garage has a...lentil that...is not strong enough..."

Beams, beams, they're good for support The more you use, the stronger your car port The stronger your car port, the better you feel So use those beams that are made from steel

Reply to
DerbyDad03

That's a lot of sprouts.

Reply to
Neill Massello

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.