Lintel Replacement in Liverpool

What does a failing lintel look like?

A lintel spreads the weight of the brickwork above an opening out to the walls on either side. When it starts to fail, the wall above tells you. The signs below are common, but several of them can also be caused by foundation movement, wall tie failure or roof spread, so they are a reason to get the wall looked at rather than a diagnosis.

• Cracks from the corners of openingsStepped cracks running up and away from the top corners of a window or door, inside or out, are one of the most common things people notice first.
• Sagging or dropped brickworkThe courses directly above the opening dip in the middle, or bricks have slipped down out of line.
• Horizontal cracks along the lintelA crack running along the bed joint just above or below a steel lintel can point to the steel rusting and swelling.
• Windows or doors that start to bindA frame that is being squeezed from above may stick, rattle or crack its glazing.
• Rust staining or soft timberOrange staining on render or brick, or a timber lintel that feels soft when touched from inside, suggests decay.
• Cracking over a bayCracks above or beside a bay window, or a bay that looks as if it is pulling away from the house.

Why do lintels fail in older Liverpool houses?

A lot of the housing stock across Liverpool and Merseyside was built long before modern galvanised or stainless steel lintels. Victorian and Edwardian terraces often have timber lintels behind the outer brick arch, and the timber can rot where damp gets in from a leaking sill, gutter or failed pointing. Some inter-war and post-war houses used early steel or concrete lintels that, over many decades of wet weather, have rusted or cracked.

When mild steel rusts it expands, and that swelling can lift the brickwork above it and open a crack along the bed joint. Timber that has softened simply compresses or crumbles, so the wall above it drops. Occasionally a lintel was removed or never fitted when an opening was widened, for example when a back kitchen window became patio doors, and the brickwork has been hanging on its own bond ever since.

Bay windows are a special case

Bay windows on many Victorian, Edwardian and inter-war houses carry the wall above on a beam across the front of the bay, and that beam can be timber. Bays also often sit on shallower footings than the main walls, so cracking around a bay can come from the beam, from the foundations, or from both. That is exactly why the engineer needs to see it. If the bay itself is moving, our bay window subsidence repair page explains how that is investigated.

Is it the lintel or the foundations?

This question matters more than any other, because replacing a lintel will not stop a wall that is moving at foundation level. A crack that is wider at the top than the bottom, or one that runs right down through the damp-proof course, is often linked to foundation movement. Cracks confined to the area just above an opening, with sagging brickwork and visible rust or rot, point more towards the lintel. In practice the two can happen together.

A chartered structural engineer looks at the pattern of cracking across the whole elevation, not just one window, and may want the crack widths measured over time before deciding. If there is any sign of ongoing movement, the cause is dealt with first. You can read how cracks are graded in our subsidence and cracks guide, and if the engineer wants to watch the cracks before deciding, that is covered on our crack and movement monitoring page.

How is a lintel replaced?

Every job is different, but the work generally follows the same order. The engineer sets the specification and the temporary support arrangement; we carry out the work to that design.

1. Assessment. The engineer confirms the cause of the cracking, checks whether the outer leaf, inner leaf or both need a new lintel, and specifies the lintel type, size and bearing length at each end.
2. Building Control. Replacing a structural lintel is normally notifiable, so a Building Control application is made before work starts and inspections are arranged.
3. Temporary support. The wall above the opening is supported with props and, where needed, needles through the brickwork, as set out by the engineer.
4. Removal and replacement. The old lintel and any damaged brickwork are carefully taken out, the bearings are prepared and the new lintel is bedded in on the specified bearings.
5. Rebuilding. Brickwork above is rebuilt or re-bonded, a cavity tray and weep vents are fitted where the detail calls for them, and any cracks nearby are repaired.
6. Sign-off and making good. Supports are removed once the work has cured, Building Control inspects, and the inside and outside are made good.

Where cracking has spread beyond the opening, the engineer may add crack stitching with helical bars to tie the masonry back together once the new lintel is in.

What affects the cost of lintel replacement?

We do not publish prices, because two openings that look alike can need very different work. The main factors are:

• the width of the opening and how much wall sits above it;
• whether one or both leaves of a cavity wall need a new lintel;
• bay windows, arched heads or decorative brick and stone that must be matched;
• access, scaffolding and whether the window or door frame has to come out;
• the amount of brickwork to rebuild and internal plaster to make good;
• engineer's fees and Building Control charges;
• any foundation or wall tie problems found alongside.

Our underpinning cost guide explains how structural repair quotes are put together more generally.

Where do we replace lintels?

We work across Liverpool and Merseyside. Calls about lintels often come from streets of Victorian terraces with bays, such as those around Walton and Wavertree, and from older villas and terraces in Birkenhead, though any age of property can be affected. Lintel work sits alongside our wider underpinning and structural repair across Merseyside, so if the engineer finds something more than a failed beam, the same contractor can carry out the agreed scheme.

If you are not sure whether your cracking is a lintel issue or something deeper, a structural engineer survey is the sensible first step, and problems with bulging brickwork are covered on our wall tie replacement page.