lintels advise

[Supernatural323]

I have an old stone house. I decided I wanted to plaster and pebble dash the house. Above each window is a large wooden lintels and on outside of lentil are faceing bricks. The house was ready for pebble dashing, but builder said that there is movement and above each window the cement is cracking. He says I need to put in lintel above each window.

Should he have known this was going to happen before hand?

Also front of house most of the reviels have a hollow sound to them and there are a few cracks appearing. Obiously they will have to be re-done, but should they builder do it for free?

He has done £1000s of pounds of work for me and has done alot of good work, but I am annoyed by this.

 

[RedHerring2]

You seem to have your finger on the pulse!
Or are you just keeping your eye on the pulse(s)

I assume you mean lintels, which go above openings in brick/stone work.

Not enough information yet to even hazard a guess about what you're talking about.

 

[Nige F]

I have an old stone house. I decided I wanted to plaster and pebble dash the house. Above each window is a large wooden lintel and on outside of lintel are facing bricks. The house was ready for pebble dashing, but builder said that there is movement and above each window the cement is cracking. He says I need to put in lintel above each window.

Should he have known this was going to happen beforehand?

Also front of house most of the reveals have a hollow sound to them and there are a few cracks appearing. Obviously they will have to be re-done, but should they builder do it for free?

.

 

[Nige F]

You seem to have your finger on the pulse!
Or are you just keeping your eye on the pulse(s)

I assume you mean lintels, which go above openings in brick/stone work.

Not enough information yet to even hazard a guess about what you're talking about.

Maybe the hollow sound of you laughing

 

[Supernatural323]

Yes lintels. I used spell check and did not read.

What you need to know?

As I understand faceing bricks are upright along the top of the window and are wedged together at a slite angle, so if presure is put ontop of them the just get tighter. So why would they move?

 

[RedHerring2]

I have an old stone house. I decided I wanted to plaster and pebble dash the house. Above each window is a large wooden lentil and on outside of lentil are faceing bricks. He says I need to put in lentil above each window.

How many lintels does your builder think that you need?
How long have these wooden lintels been there?

 

[Supernatural323]

It's not the wooden lintels that need replacing they are fine, it's just the facing bricks. He wants 6 x 4 lintels insted. The wooden lintels are probebly 12" x 12" or bigger.

8 Windows

 

[RedHerring2]

Get a second opinion, on the lintels and the spell checker.

 

[Supernatural323]

That's why I'm here. LOL

 

[RedHerring2]

You don't plaster the external face of the wall, you render it, then there are a variety of finishes, one of which is pebbledash.
Any of these would not cause cracking of brickwork, and if it did, inserting a lintel above an opening, which already has a lintel, which has been there for donkey's year, is hardly lilkely to make any difference.In fact, it'll cause a lot more damage, than is necessary.

To be precise, sack your builder, or, get another builder's advise or two, or three. he's stringing you along.

 

[Supernatural323]

Verry sorry and thank you fo being patient with me. I forget the names, the builder rendered the wall and it was ready for pebbledash. The brickwork was also rendered and it is above this that the rendering is cracking. The cracks are between the top of the brickwork up to the loft windows, which is only around two foot.

I am not a builder and don't prestend to understand, all I am after is a little advise.


Regards

 

[Alastairreid]

It may help if you post some pics.