100+ year old house, some external cracking

[ikearns]

Hi all

Have recently taken over the ownership of my fathers house and am looking at getting a few things tided up. I noticed a few cracks in brickwork along cement lines so that is where I am starting.

Had a drain survey in case any cracked pipes were running water away as the property is on a heavy clay based ground and the good news is that came through okay. One minor crack but that is superficial and will be patched.

I have attached two photos of the cracks in question. I have spoken to a couple of builders and they appear to think the top one is due to the UPVC window not supporting the weight and the bottom one is due to the old wooden window losing some integrity but these are just assessments over the phone.

Would appreciate your opinions. Am trying to make arrangements for someone to actually come to the property but this is appearing to be harder than I imagined. If anyone in the Kidderminster area and wants to provide a quote then please contact me.

Apologies for the photos. Will get ladders out to take elevated shots if needed

The tatty sunshade in the one photo is due to be removed

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[kazuya]

well the bottom one looks like it might have something to do with the concrete lintel, maybe they didn't pack it properly when they did it

the top one its an arch supporting the bricks, no bricks should be resting on the upvc window at all.

its an old house and you do get cracks, usually above doors and windows but to me they don't look serious, id just chop them out and repoint them.

 

[ikearns]

Thanks for the pointers and reply.

The lintel has been in for some 30 years and is on the list of things to do and have the window replaced.

I will cut out any mortar and replace. That a good weekend job for me.