Advice needed as I'm getting 2 different stories for cracks on my wall

hilda1

Two years ago, I got a French door put in one of my bedrooms. The old window was removed and the brick work beneath the window was taken out in order to fit the door. The work was carried out by a local double glazing & UPVC company, which was FENSA registered.

A few weeks ago, a crack appeared in the external wall rendering. It starts at the top edge of the French door and goes vertically up to the roof in a zig-zag shape. There are also other cracks above the door. The rendering has also unbonded from the wall. Paint on the rendering has also started to peel.

I contacted my home insurance company, who arranged for an independent structural engineer to visit my bungalow to investigate the problem. He produced a report, which advised that the root cause of the problem was the installation of the french door, which he advised had caused the lintel above the door to move, which then created the cracks and in turn caused rain water to enter the rendering and for the paint to peel. He also advised that the installation work did not appear to have provided enough support packing between the door and the lintel.

I have today shown the report to a service engineer of the company that did the work. He had told me that the report is factually incorrect because :

1. The door frame provides the support to the lintel and no additional support packaging was needed between the door and the lintel.
2. He believes that the cracks and the paint peeling are the result of rain water getting behind into the rendering. If the lintel has moved, he had advised me that this was nothing to do with the installation and the lentil was weak before the installation.

He also mentioned that it may need for another independent structural engineer to look at the problem in order to settle the dispute and he suggested that I may have to pay for it. He reckons that it would cost approx £300.

I have asked him to contact the structural engineer that visited my property to discuss his suggestions with him and let me know.

However, I'm not confident that I will get a successful outcome from their discussion.

I would really be grateful if anyone could advise me on the above, because at the moment I am getting 2 different stories and I'm not too sure what to do next.

Steve_xx

It may well be the case the the lintel that supported the window may not be sufficient to support the load above it now that the window and the wall below it has been removed.

It could be that the lintel, if it is made of concrete, has in fact cracked and that this has caused some movement of the wall above it.

You probably need to hack off the rendering where the lintel is and have a look at the state of it, checking it for cracks. You need also to ascertain that the correct lintel is actually fitted there in respect of the load on it.

The report that you obtained from the insurer sounds dubious to me. I cannot easily see how the insertion of the french doors would cause movement of the lintel. The doors would normally be offered into the cavity and then fixed. The load above the lintel would remain as is.

I'm wondering if the new doors are wider than the old window and if the door company have removed bricks at either side of the window and that this has in fact left the lintel unsupported at the ends. If that's the case then the whole load would be bearing down on the top of the door unit and you would certainly get what you've got now as a result.

tony6403

I agree with the above post .
The lintel has to be capable of supporting the structure above it.
You cannot rely upon a door frame for structural support to a lintel.
Removal of a window beneath a lintel should not affect the stability of the structure and it is hard to imagine how doing this could have disturbed your lintel ( the head of the window will not have been nailed or screwed to the lintel).

iamcornholio

If there is a lintel above the opening (both internal and external) and it supported the load from above when the window was in, then it will support the load now that a door in in its place.

You need to confirm if there is a lintel internally and externally, as it is very common for there just to be an internal one and the external brickwork built off the frame

It is possible that this cracking is either unrelated to the work (normal movement), or the work in fitting the new doors (and subsequent use) may have caused a bit of vibration to the wall with has assisted the cracking.

It's a difficult thing to assess the cause without actually looking at the installation and taking into account other factors.

But on balance, it would have to be a very badly done installation to have disturbed any lintel above.

Out of interest, you should be aware that FENSA installations only applies to the frame and door, and does not in any way cover the structural work to the opening, or lintels

sashman

Fensa is there for building reg compliance of the windows. A good company wouldnt touch the windows if there wasn't a lintel.

As they still trading, were they a member of a trade association GGF, or DGCOS, did they offer you insurance? All these are well worth following up because they may have an obligation to assist

sashman

capeverde

Lintels usually need to be lipped onto their supporting brickwork by at least 4 inches (100mm) and what is underneath them, ie window or door is of no relevance as they are not meant to support anything. Firstly establish if there is a lintel there as many properties dont have one above windows and often, bricks were laid on top of frames. Then obviously establish if its a concrete or timber lintel, the age of the house might help?? Certainly in normal circumstances this job shouldnt have posed a problem. If it is a concrete lintel, the only things I can summise are that given the french doors were an exact width replacement for the old window, ie no brickwork was removed from the side, the lintel itself may have cracked. This isnt usual as they are reinforced and pre stressed. If no lintel or timber, obviously its more of a job as the brickwork above may need to be removed and a new lintel installed.