Windows and Lintels - Ventrolla
Comments
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We forwarded the homebuyers report to the structural engineer that we had done in February/March - with pictures - on which she noted cracks that were there, but this numpty of a structural engineer says we cannot use this to confirm that the other cracks were not there!?! I feel like we are getting nowhere with this
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Should your photos not cover this area of wall and your survey not contain images, you could try contacting the estate agent to see if they have retained any photos that may be of assistance to you.0
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Structural engineers are not generally numpties.
A structural engineer pays a significant amount of money for Professional Indemnity Insurance each year and the person paying the bill is not the person picking up the tab for negligence when there is a problem. Structural engineers need to work with absolute integrity.
Hairline cracks throughout the property will not be an indication of an internal skin left unsupported on particular walls for a couple of weeks. The movement would be above the lintels, possibly radiating in or out by around 45 degrees, possibly affecting joists above but that would usually only occur over the long term. I have seen the genuine effects of a long term lack of support on many occasions.
Small amounts of movement do not mean the house is falling down or that huge amounts of remedial works are required beyond filling.
I would say that the existing lintels were insufficient anyway. They don't have enough of a bearing and wouldn't never pass current regs - I doubt they'd be standing if run through a calc by the structural engineer. Now they are gone, the new ones definitely need to meet current regs - there is no choice. In theory, the same windows should be fine; the new lintels can go in above.
I appreciate that you are worried, but structural engineers do know what they are talking about. Even if these hairline cracks are a result of this, they are not particularly problematic. I would never expect hairline cracks to show in a survey as they are not cause for concern. We almost all have them in our houses if we go looking - in an older house, it's inevitable.Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
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I may have missed something here, but how can you tell the lintels don't have sufficient bearing?Doozergirl wrote: »Structural engineers are not generally numpties.
I would say that the existing lintels were insufficient anyway. They don't have enough of a bearing and wouldn't never pass current regs - I doubt they'd be standing if run through a calc by the structural engineer. Now they are gone, the new ones definitely need to meet current regs - there is no choice. In theory, the same windows should be fine; the new lintels can go in above.0 -
I may have missed something here, but how can you tell the lintels don't have sufficient bearing?
Because I can see where they were and that wouldn't ever be considered a suitable bearing these days. The minimum now is 150mm. The OPs look barely 40mm.Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
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But they have stood the test of time . Most boxframe sash windows that are fitted behind the outside skin of brickwork have 4x3 lintels unless its a Venetian sash window, very common to have 4x3 timber. I even find the heads of boxframes are framed up around the lintels so the inside linings are nailed directly onto the lintel . I've replaced sash windows that have wooden pulley wheels dating back to the 1740's with 4x3 timber lintels above them so what the current regs are today have little to do with this problem and It all depends on the span of the window.Doozergirl wrote: »Because I can see where they were and that wouldn't ever be considered a suitable bearing these days. The minimum now is 150mm. The OPs look barely 40mm.
Where can you see the end of the lintel Doozergirl?. In post #17 there are the OP's pix but none of them show the end of the lintel thats in the wall, just the cut end that the fitters cut off.
The company who did this work deserve to be named and shamed for putting lives at risk.0 -
The sizes of the lintels were all different, but approximately 110mm x 60mm.0
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Yes John, they have done their job superbly for the last 150 years with no issues, until now!?!0
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I make and fit timber sash windows and what they have done is pretty shocking and as already posted you have all the weight of the internal skin of brickwork resting on expanding foam and Upvc. A typical timber lintel would be 100 x 75mm or 4"x3" but not unusual to see 110mm x 60mm as they would have dimensioned (sawn up) a piece of timber to the size they needed ..Clairebare1 wrote: »The sizes of the lintels were all different, but approximately 110mm x 60mm.
I've never seen timber lintels with less than 100mm (4") of bearing on the brickwork at each side of the reveal.I recently replaced some on a Grade II Listed property that were 8 feet tall and nearly 5 feet wide and they only had 4x3 timber lintels.0 -
Hi John, can I just ask if you have come across or heard of this situation happening to anyone else before?0
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