Crack in Concrete Lintels above front door and bay windows

[nicknoal]

Hi All,

Im wondering if anybody can recommend the necessary steps to repair a crack in the concrete lintel above the front door of a Victorian terraced property?

The crack seems to run the full width of the lintel and the brickwork above shows some small signs of distortion.

In the round bay window, there is also 2 further cracks in the lintel above the ground floor windows

If anybody can advise on the best way to go about repairing this, it would be much appreciated

Many thanks

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Do what someone else did... fill the cracks, paint over, sell it to someone else then run away!

It looks like a major job to my eyes. They probably need taking out and replacing, as they're holding the wall up.

 

[nicknoal]

Thanks for your thoughts

I spoke to a structural surveyor over the weekend who mentioned that the crack would be repairable by replacing the Lintel on the inside and then applying a Resin over the exterior improve the finish

A builder also mentioned to me that it would be possible to insert a 12mm plate drilled into the adjacent brickwork which would provide further support and prevent any further movement

Can anybody recommend if this would work rather than replacing the entire concrete Lintel?

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

If it's a cavity wall then the inner leaf will be carrying the roof, so that's the important one. But there's still a lot of weight above it. Several tons of brickwork and pillars. But it's possible that the crack is shrinkage rather than actual movement, and it looks like each chunk is still supported by the pillars (just).

What do the others on the street look like, and what's been done about them?

 

[nicknoal]

Thanks,

No its not a cavity wall


The other properties on the street are the exact same style of property but I cannot see any similar cracks in the Stone work

The property has been poorly maintained for years with lots of internal damp and the faulty gutters have been a problem in particular which appear to have been letting water in for years

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

The bay window's probably just showing its original joints, they're all central to the supporting pillars/mullions. But it's hard to tell with all the peeling paint.

The one over the door looks like more of a problem though.

Has the wall above it sunk? The jutting out bricks above the lintel look uneven, and the brickwork above may have been blathered with mortar before it was painted.

It looks like the dodgy old paint needs stripping anyway, so perhaps get that done then see what's what?

It will need repainting, I doubt you'll have anything worth keeping bare. But anything you put over that lot would just continue peeling with the rubbish that's underneath.

Put a nice breathable textured paint over it all after you've finished fixing and patching up.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

It also looks like there's movement above the upstairs window, over the door. It may not have a lintel at all, again best to look after getting all that awful paint off.

 

[nicknoal]

Thanks, yes Ive only just noticed that it looks as though there is some additional paint added to the exterior brickwork

I don’t have a picture available but I have hacked off the plaster under the window of the first floor bedroom and it all appears straight and doesn’t show any signs of sinking. But I agree that from the exterior it looks as though there has been some slight movement. I’ll get a photograph though and upload

Im meeting a “Stone Doctor” there next week so will see what they recommend

 

[Old Salt]

The upper window brickwork looks as if it originally formed an arch and could some of the grot above the bay be old lead flashing?