Crack around window again

[DIY67]

This crack line has been here for a few years. Nothing major but I tackled it earlier in May with a sand and cement (4 sand/1 cement) mix with a little plasticiser. As I didn't have the red dye, I improvised using brick dust before it set. However, I am disappointed to find it already cracking in the same place in such a short space of time.

Shall I just grind it out and fill it deeper (as well as get some proper dye) ?

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Is there a lintel over the plastic window? Often the house was built around the original wooden frame, and it was holding the wall up. But I don't see any vertical movement so it may be OK.

If there is then it may just be thermal expansion, in which case definitely don't fill it.

Some good info here, explaining why not to do what you did...

 

[^woody^]

You didn't deal with the cause, just the symptom. That will re-crack however many times you repoint it unless you rectify what is causing it to crack - which may well be lack of external lintel.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

It looks like a solid wall, not cavity.

Here's what may be needed...

Catnic External Solid Wall Lintel CN71A 1950mm

Catnic CN71A 1950mm

condell-ltd.com

It's possible that other windows in the house have been similarly botched.

The old wooden window frames were often load-bearing. Then along came a cowboy window fitter, replaced it with bendy plastic and fresh air, unsurprisingly the wall moves. But they've got their money and cleared off by the time this happens.

 

[^woody^]

It looks like a solid wall, not cavity.

Here's what may be needed...

Catnic External Solid Wall Lintel CN71A 1950mm

Catnic CN71A 1950mm

condell-ltd.com

It's possible that other windows in the house have been similarly botched.

The old wooden window frames were often load-bearing. Then along came a cowboy window fitter, replaced it with bendy plastic and fresh air, unsurprisingly the wall moves. But they've got their money and cleared off by the time this happens.

That lintel is for new build or where there is no internal lintel. There will be an internal lintel in the OPs case, and he'll need an L shape lintel for the external only.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

I wouldn't rely on there being anything there, or it may just be a rotten old bit of wood. There is a promising looking black line at the top of the window though, hopefully there's something there. Our last house had a metal strip there, basically like a ruler - a pretend lintel for appearances only. Perhaps the cowboy window fitters glue them in as standard.

 

[^woody^]

I wouldn't rely on there being anything there,

There will be an internal lintel, that's why the bricks are not in a pile on the ground.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

I'm sure you're right, but it might be an old bit of scrap wood that someone chucked in.

We had a UPVC window in a cavity wall in our old house that had nothing at all above it. It had been cut into the existing wall, just the friction between the bricks was holding them up. In fact there were no signs of cracking at all, it had been there for 20 years and probably would have stayed up for ever. But it needed moving higher anyway to be above the worktops, so it got done properly.

 

[DIY67]

Thanks, some helpful advice. When we moved in there was already crappy upvc windows installed, which we had replaced 5 years ago. About 9 years ago, while those older windows were in, the upstairs window had water pouring over the top of the window frame into the bedroom when we had torrential rain. A builder addressed that by installing a metal lintel and it has never happened again. He did say we would need the downstairs window doing at some point but when I asked installers who did the new windows about it they said it was ok as it had a metal lintel in place. Thw windows were originally oblong sash with a stone sill (if you look at out neighbours)

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

I've seen loads of houses where they did this tall to wide window conversion thing in the 1970s and 1980s. It was one of those illogical stupid fashion things, at that time your neighbour's windows were embarassingly old-fashioned. These days most would prefer the original, and I agree.

But I'd say yours have at least been done with a little care, some of them look utterly ridiculous, with different coloured bricks and all kinds of mess.

I wouldn't assume anything. If there are lintels then check how much support they have at the ends on the bricks below. Perhaps a neodynium magnet could give a pretty good indication, it should stick to the pointing if there's a lintel behind it.

 

[DIY67]

We inherited the windows when we moved in (the horrible ones with the plastic pseudo georgian criss cross) At least the new ones are more contemporary without clashing with the age of the house.