Thread: Lintel and mortar type

Problem solved

Not normally a DIY type job.
I would call a mason.
The lentil may (or may not) need to be replaced.

Is this lintel on the south exposure? Expansion/contraction of brick?
And possible water issues. Wind driven rain, no gutters, clogged gutters ... spilling water against the area in question.

Also, I believe the lintel should extend 6" either side of the opening for proper bearing. If it's less; such as only 2-3" the lintel may have shifted. Also freeze thaw action on lintel..

The lentil may (or may not) need to be replaced.

I don't think she's talking about beans, eh?

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Originally Posted by BridgeMan

I don't think she's talking about beans, eh?

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I blame it on the Spellchecker

Originally Posted by Susan l

I have a lintel that extends over an eight foot bank of windows. The exposed portion of the lintel is in good shape since it has been painted with a high quality paint over the years although there is a slight sagging on the right side. Regarding the portion that extends past the window opening into the brick mortar it has caused a piece to come out. The portion that is embedded behind the mising mortar is rusted and there is mild staining on the one brick directly below. The missing piece is approximately 2 inches. There is no other brick or mortar cracking. There is a row of soldier brick directly above the lintel.

I was going to use a custom mortar mix that I purchased previously from U.S. Heritage to fill the missing void. I was considering this based on the fact the mortar has a high lime content along with Portland cement and silica sand and I know lime has healing properties but I was not sure if this would not react well with the lintel. I was first going to scrap off any rust.

Any help would be vey much apreciated.

Pictures are always helpful. Painting the exposed lintel will not help much with rusting. The stuff you cannot see is causing the problems with the cracking mortar. Assuming the lintel does not need replacement you need to re-point using the same type of mortar that was originally used or something with a lower compression strength. Using the wrong mortar can damage the brick.

You might want to get a guy who really knows tuckpointing to tell you what type of mortar to use or somebody told me you can send a sample somewhere to give you an analysis but I do not know where.

Just about everything you might want to know about brick can be found at the Brick Institute which has free technical notes.

Links to Technical Notes

Originally Posted by Raymond Wand

Also, I believe the lintel should extend 6" either side of the opening for proper bearing. If it's less; such as only 2-3" the lintel may have shifted. Also freeze thaw action on lintel..

According to the BIA the bearing length depends upon the load with a 3" minimum.