Thread: Eugenia Costello

I am the President of a Homeowner's Association. We have an issue that needs to be dealt with. I've looked on line but need further help. Issue - the mortar/brick over the garage door is cracking. We may have this problem on several doors. The mason that viewed the work indicated that 3 course of bricks would have to be removed, the lentil jacked up and then bolted to the header and brick replaced
.
The other way would be to remove bricks in 3 areas only rather than an entire course. Middle, to the left and then to the right. Same process, jacked up and bolted to the header.

Our resident engineer indicated that he never heard of the Lentil being bolted to the header. The lentil is sagging a bit and starting to rust.

So being this female who they think does not know much, needs your assistance. What would be the best repair. We just happen to live in a community where the construction may be good but there were a lot of corners cut and I do not want to pay the price for not doing the proper job in this case and have to redo further down the road. Thank you.

Hi Eugenia Costello and welcome to InspectionNews!

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First off you may want to start a thread about bolting steel lintel to beam over garage door. Many do not look at the new introduction postings so they will not see your question/issue.

You say "Our resident engineer indicated that he never heard of the Lentil being bolted to the header." Maybe he is hard of hearing and needs to get it checked...

Here is some links for you to review.
Diagram http://www.claybrick.ca/site/clay_br...rickveneer.pdf

Post # 6 http://www.inspectionnews.net/home_i...age-doors.html

Lintel Must Be Bolted To Header Or It Will Sag & Cause Brickwork To Crack Craftsman Masonry Inc.

Supporting Brick Veneer On Wood Framing - JLC Online

Ram Jack of Alabama » Repair Sagging Brick Over Garage Doors

Page # 3 http://www.structuremag.org/wp-conte...zer-Jan081.pdf Brick Lintel – Brick lintels are typically supported by steel angles which in turn are bolted into wood beams. Brick arching may remove some of the load transferred to the beam, but the remaining brick load is carried by the composite beam. The brick load is introduced torsionally on the beam and, again, will compound buckling due to vertical loads

You have a problem with terms. A brick "lintel" is used to support brick above openings in a structural masonry wall.
Most modern brick homes in many areas are actually wood frame construction with brick veneer. This means the brick is not structurally supporting the home but is a facade. Almost always on this type of construction the metal supporting the brick over the door is not a true lintel but a "brick angle" which must be bolted to the heavy wood "header" over the garage door opening. The load is carried by the header and the steel the brick rest upon simply transfers the load of then brick a few inches to the wood header.
If the interior side of the wall has not moved then the brick mason may be correct and additional bolts may cure the problem. If the header itself has sagged then the entire header may have to be replaced.
Although the term lintel is used loosely to describe both types of construction, there is a difference and this may be where an engineer may be confused if the correct terms are not used.

The brick angle must be adequately supported by the wood header for it to work properly.