Subject: Window without lintel = trouble?
From: Peter Boulton
Date: 14/08/04 21:37 GMT Daylight Time
Message-id:

Hi,

My garage has a rather rotten window, which will need replacement in the
near future.

By the looks of it, there is no lintel above the window. The window is
wood. The wall is single thickness brick.

In case of any doubt, I have put pictures from inside and outside the
garage on my website at the following urls:

Inside: http://tinyurl.com/5syv7
Outside: http://tinyurl.com/3sdfd

The question is obvious. Am I going to have problems having the window
replaced, or is it straightforward?

All advice gratefully received!

Pete

Well clearly the window frame is supporting the bricks so if you just remove it
without using acrow props in a couple of places then the wall will probably
fall down. Maybe that's not what you meant. If it's survived happily without a
lintel until now then a new window of similar strength will no doubt survive
just as well. There's certainly no visible cracking anywhere so it's all sturdy
enough apparently.

Personally I'd just remove a couple of bricks above the frame, prop the wall,
take out the old window and put a new one in then replace the two bricks. If
you wanted to add a lintel you could prop the wall one layer higher, remove a
course of bricks and do it while the old window is out but it looks like an
unnecessary expense.

I have a thought which others might be able to comment on. Given the limited
weight above the window there might be an easier way to support the wall than
removing bricks and using acrows. Drill through the mortar between the bricks
above the frame in say 4 places, every foot or so, and clamp the wall using two
lengths of 4x4, one inside and one outside and some nuts and 1/2" studding. I'm
betting that would hold everything quite firmly until the new frame was in.
--
Dave Baker - Puma Race Engines (www.pumaracing.co.uk)