Lintel above doorframe wedged with a piece of slate?

[MattB83]

As I prepare to do some overdue repointing I'm just looking around the brickwork and hadn't noticed this before despite living here for more than 2 years. This is above our French windows. So from the zoomed-out pics it looks ok but looking closer you can see there's a piece of slate wedged in. This is absolutely not moving and I'm assuming that the lintel should be resting on the brickwork which for whatever reason was a few mm lower on the right so they sat it on a piece of slate. Would I just repoint around the slate?

My second query is the condition of the lintel - it's flaking off in some places and I can see the steel reinforcement bar in one location - this looks fairly superficial to me and actually looks like it's had some cement put on it before? I'm suspecting it was maybe chipped when they installed the french window (I think about 10 years ago if I remember when the previous owners said they had it done). But I don't want to ignore something if my house is going to come crashing down either! I think this door replaced a previous window i.e. the lintel was left in place and they just removed the brickwork underneath. Can I smooth this over with cement?

Any thoughts much appreciated!

 

[MattB83]

Actually - in my panicked state I looked at the lintel again with my torch and there is more cracking than I thought. I'm fairly certain at the moment it's just some of the underneath concrete that has flaked off but the rod underneath is definitely rusting so I'm contacting a couple of local builders to get an opinion.
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[Alastairreid]

Standard practice to pack out lintels with slate.

 

[noseall]

Actually - in my panicked state I looked at the lintel again with my torch and there is more cracking than I thought.
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There looks to be zero movement from the bricks above - stop panicking. Replacement (with steel angle) is a straightforward job.

 

[MattB83]

There looks to be zero movement from the bricks above - stop panicking. Replacement (with steel angle) is a straightforward job.

Thanks - you're right, I don't think it's failed yet - can I ask what you mean about the steel angle? The videos I've watched show removal and replacement of the whole concrete joist, supporting the wall temporarily and removing quite a lot of brickwork - a quick Google suggested that this would be up to £1000.

 

[noseall]

can I ask what you mean about the steel angle?

A modern replacement concrete lintel will look even uglier than what is there now. A steel angle iron would be less visible and better suited.

 

[stuart45]

I have come across cast insitu boot lintels from houses of this era, so check this out first.

 

[MattB83]

A modern replacement concrete lintel will look even uglier than what is there now. A steel angle iron would be less visible and better suited.

Ahhh thanks - I've just looked at some diagrams, I understand now. So would the plan be to remove the concrete one, but the steel angle in and then have another row of bricks? I'm thinking of continuity with the other windows and doors.

My other query was if the lintel supports the outer brick wall - or the whole of the internal wall too - I'm assuming everything.

 

[stuart45]

My other query was if the lintel supports the outer brick wall - or the whole of the internal wall too - I'm assuming everything.

As I said before, it can be a cast insitu boot lintel.

 

[MattB83]

As I said before, it can be a cast insitu boot lintel.

Sorry - posted before I saw your response - thank you just looking up boot lintels - so that looks like it would amount to a much bigger job if that's the case.

 

[noseall]

Sorry - posted before I saw your response - thank you just looking up boot lintels - so that looks like it would amount to a much bigger job if that's the case.

Correct but still no dramas. It may be possible (but unlikey) to remove the outer supporting part of the cast lintel and just replace the outer masonry support. Complete removal - whilst tricky is more about planning the job and having the correct support ready and in place, allowing access and a good understanding of what is required propping wise - i.e. joist runs, needles etc.

 

[MattB83]

Correct but still no dramas. It may be possible (but unlikey) to remove the outer supporting part of the cast lintel and just replace the outer masonry support. Complete removal - whilst tricky is more about planning the job and having the correct support ready and in place, allowing access and a good understanding of what is required propping wise - i.e. joist runs, needles etc.

Thanks - I've contacted a local builder who thinks it is a straight one - he obv doesn't know for sure but I imagine if you've done a lot of work in the area you can make an educated judgement (just like the roofer who recently told me my soffits were asbestos without looking ).

Obviously you can't say for sure without seeing but walking around the estate I reckon a good proportion of people have similar issues. Appreciate it's often false economy to delay but how quickly do I need this done?

 

[stuart45]

There looks to be zero movement from the bricks above - stop panicking.

Agree with this. It could go on for years. You might want to replace the sand/cement fillet on top of the lintel to stop any water running back into the wall.

 

[Alastairreid]

how quickly do I need this done?

Its probably been like that for years and will quite happily sit like that for yrs to come.
As suggested renew the cement fillet and forget it.

 

[MattB83]

Thanks so much everyone. It's really helpful to have some balance to my first instinct to panic. I have called off the evacuation of the street.