MichaelH
09-05-2013, 09:16 PM
Hi Everyone,
Sorry for this being so long, but wanted all info out there.
I recently had a home built in Houston which I closed on in October 2012. I started to notice cracks above the garage in February and have been trying to take photos of it once a month. The garage is a 16' with a large triangle roof above it. There is stone instead of brick, but with some brick right above the lintel. I suspect there is a large amount of weight on the lintel. When I spoke to my project manager in February he said, let's give it to about June to see if the cracks, etc keep spreading/moving. He said he wants to make sure it wasn't settling cracks vs a real problem. I was pretty sure it was a Lintel issue even in February and he probably knew that too, but didn't want to admit it.
The PM for the builder came by with his non-English speaking Mason on Tuesday (9/3/13). I really didn't like some of the stuff he had to say. Most was "possibilities and "options". When I asked about how the repair could be made, he mentioned possibly just removing some of the brick above the lintel and on the side and checking if it was bolted in and fixing that without using a new lintel. He said the old mortar where the cracks have formed can be removed and refilled. Because of the deflection and the movement of the stone/brick downward, I do not like any of these approaches. I said the fix/design is an engineering exercise and then he said he could get his engineer to come out. There was no mention of an engineer before this.
I asked about the sagging 2x12" and he said it could possibly be reused. I asked him about the rusting of the lintel and he said that was perfectly normal. He said using galvanized steel isn't used due to cost. That doesn't seem right? Does a steel lintel for a 16' garage really cost a lot? My preferred repair job is a complete removal of the stone and brick above the garage, replace the lintel with a new one, replace the 2x12 and the 2x? on the sides of the garage and recaulk along the side of the garage. Is this reasonable or are there ways to repair the lintel properly without a full removal of the stone?
The lintel is 3x3 x 1/4. After I went inside, the PM and the Mason busted out one of the bricks to measure the vertical side of the lintel (He didn't warn me that he was about to do this). There doesn't seem to be any flashing for water protection and the white that you see in the picture below is the House Wrap. Makes me wonder if there is any type of
I have asked a Inspector with a PE to come by and take a look and write his suggestions up so I have some ammo with the builder. I would really appreciate any assistance from you guys. This whole thing is making me nervous due to not trusting the builder.
Albums on Imgur. Images can be clicked for larger resolution. You can see the end of the lintel in the stone on the left side. No flashing... The July pictures are much worse.
First set of pictures are from March 2013
Lintel-03-2013 - Imgur (http://imgur.com/a/CCA3Y)
Next set is from July 2013
Lintel-07-2013 - Imgur (http://imgur.com/a/ywjaL)
Picture of the lintel behind the brick. Small vertical, no flashing?
http://imgur.com/a/rCI8l (http://imgur.com/a/ywjaL)
Thanks for looking.
Mike
Sorry for this being so long, but wanted all info out there.
I recently had a home built in Houston which I closed on in October 2012. I started to notice cracks above the garage in February and have been trying to take photos of it once a month. The garage is a 16' with a large triangle roof above it. There is stone instead of brick, but with some brick right above the lintel. I suspect there is a large amount of weight on the lintel. When I spoke to my project manager in February he said, let's give it to about June to see if the cracks, etc keep spreading/moving. He said he wants to make sure it wasn't settling cracks vs a real problem. I was pretty sure it was a Lintel issue even in February and he probably knew that too, but didn't want to admit it.
The PM for the builder came by with his non-English speaking Mason on Tuesday (9/3/13). I really didn't like some of the stuff he had to say. Most was "possibilities and "options". When I asked about how the repair could be made, he mentioned possibly just removing some of the brick above the lintel and on the side and checking if it was bolted in and fixing that without using a new lintel. He said the old mortar where the cracks have formed can be removed and refilled. Because of the deflection and the movement of the stone/brick downward, I do not like any of these approaches. I said the fix/design is an engineering exercise and then he said he could get his engineer to come out. There was no mention of an engineer before this.
I asked about the sagging 2x12" and he said it could possibly be reused. I asked him about the rusting of the lintel and he said that was perfectly normal. He said using galvanized steel isn't used due to cost. That doesn't seem right? Does a steel lintel for a 16' garage really cost a lot? My preferred repair job is a complete removal of the stone and brick above the garage, replace the lintel with a new one, replace the 2x12 and the 2x? on the sides of the garage and recaulk along the side of the garage. Is this reasonable or are there ways to repair the lintel properly without a full removal of the stone?
The lintel is 3x3 x 1/4. After I went inside, the PM and the Mason busted out one of the bricks to measure the vertical side of the lintel (He didn't warn me that he was about to do this). There doesn't seem to be any flashing for water protection and the white that you see in the picture below is the House Wrap. Makes me wonder if there is any type of
I have asked a Inspector with a PE to come by and take a look and write his suggestions up so I have some ammo with the builder. I would really appreciate any assistance from you guys. This whole thing is making me nervous due to not trusting the builder.
Albums on Imgur. Images can be clicked for larger resolution. You can see the end of the lintel in the stone on the left side. No flashing... The July pictures are much worse.
First set of pictures are from March 2013
Lintel-03-2013 - Imgur (http://imgur.com/a/CCA3Y)
Next set is from July 2013
Lintel-07-2013 - Imgur (http://imgur.com/a/ywjaL)
Picture of the lintel behind the brick. Small vertical, no flashing?
http://imgur.com/a/rCI8l (http://imgur.com/a/ywjaL)
Thanks for looking.
Mike