Hi,
I'm a very handy guy, but I could see where this job might be a bit much.
I have several steel lintels that have been corroded to the point that replacement is necessary. The expansion has caused the typical cracks that will need to be repointed as well. Is this something I can do myself? Common sense warns me that the wall will have to be supported over the window and door that require lintel replacement during the operation. Is that true? Can I do this myself? It seems like this sort of repair is outrageously expensive to hire out.
never seen a lintle that was bad enough with corrosion/rust to replace. here in Tn. older houses have 1/4 in. lintles. newer ones are thinner, but should last a lifetime. as far as replacing them, it can be a booger. if the bricks/rock/whatever is cracked/loose above the lintle, it could get interesting. if you are real handy, you may want to try one that is not so visible and see how it goes. caution and patience seem to be in order!!
How odd. I was staring up at a steel lintel supporting brick veneer, above the condo's picture window, just hours ago! A manifestation of thoughts.
If yours also is brick veneer, then there should be standard framing cosntruction with a header system also, that is really carrying the load (the roof) from above. The lintel is just carrying the few bricks above.
You must either live next to the ocean or have some serious water flashing problem there, or have some nearby factory fumigating the area with acid-air, or something to be - like completely rusting away? I've never seen that either. I'd sure want to try to figure out what is going on.
It be neat if you could post some photos here. Both close up and some perspective shots, to see what maybe is going on in the area.
How old si the place/how long these lintels been in place?
It does not have to rust away to structural deficiency to cause problems. As he notes, the expansion of the steel by rusting will cause cracking above the wall opening, which allows water penetration which causes more rust, etc.
I would not advise anyone who was not familiar with masonry design to DIY the repair. It can cause catastrophic failure of the wall at worst, and it is not even a job for a normal run of the mill Masonry Contractor.
I live in SW Louisiana. One lintel in particular, over the kitchen window, is extremely corroded. I think it's because we get these periods of the year when the rain is very heavy, and the yard is very shaded. The front of the house, where the yard is better drained and less shaded doesn't show the corrosion.
In any case, the kitchen window lintel has expanded from about 1/4 inch to about 1/2 inch in thickness, and has caused cracks in the mortar parallel to the lintel. The other lintel is above a French door, and the corrosion has only occurred on one side of the lintel, which means I've got a little rotation, and a stepwise crack running from the lintel to the sill of the triple window above.
I will get a photo of the bad one above the kitchen window. I should note that a sunroom was added probably about 20 years ago about 3 feet away from the window in question. It's possible that the corrosion occurred because of the runoff from the sunroom window. There is a coating of algae on the brick veneer under the window and over the sunroom roof. I should also note that I just replaced a leaky faucet under that window (outside) that looks like it may have been dripping for years.
The house was build in 1964.
Is there an alternative to replacement? Can I clean these things up somehow and just repoint? I'm comfortable doing that if it's all it needs.
You seem somewhat familiar with the terms and what is involved. Take some pics, and I may be able to help you with a plan of action.
Tags: replacing, steel, lintels, brick veneer, kitchen window, about inch, familiar with, have been, have some, never seen, note that
