Cracks and movement since upvc installation

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Ok so July this year we replaced 2 original bay windows and the top floor arch window. (Arch window is fine)
The windows that we had replaced were original box sash windows.
The property is 3 floors high and each window is above and below each other. So arch been the top and the bays been the 2 lower levels.
September this year the painter came to paint the outside and upon doing so noticed the full brick work had come away from the window frame! Easy a 1.5/2" gap and enough to fit fingers through said gap to just below the knuckle of your hand! As the painter moved his ladder against the brickwork the full thing moved back.
My daughter's room ceiling now has a lip in the ceiling but the lip doesn't drop it goes up. Almost like the ceiling has been lifted!
They came back and fixed 2 wall tie brackets to stop the brick work moving anymore but haven't pulled the brick back in so from outside the proportion of the angles to window is wrong!
Where the brick came away from the wall a large gaping crack which you could fit fingers into has just been cemented in!
The bottom bay window internally had hairline cracks that have become opened cracks!
The top of the bottom bay window where the lead/flashing roof is, now touches onto the gas pipe and has moved from the main wall creating a gap!
I've used a local business and recommended by a few people also. They do not address my concerns of the movement and or the cracks they have caused. Im worried health and safety wise as something is not right! Its also my daughters room!! Ive been advised to move everything from out the bay just incase by a builder friend.
Also the plasterer that came refused to do the work until the structural is sorted.

Are bay windows such as these included in the structural building of the house (been told they are not) I'm not so sure!

I'm new to this group so will try upload pics to show what I mean.
Any help/advice welcomed.
 

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I wonder if the installation had the correct bay poles and lintels.

Upvc windows arent load bearing unlike original timber windows.

Floor joists may be providing strength as they are often used as a cantilever.

If the brickwork has dropped and moved away, it may need redoing.

There are some pro window guys on here that will give you the best advice on this.
 
It's worrying me if I'm honest. Something isn't right and it's only come about since installation and the whole brick of the bay moving as a whole. It now has metal wall brackets in so can't move but the balance has been upset and while I'm no expert in building/windows I know how moving pressure/weight/load can cause unseen issues because I'm not daft.

Obviously because I'm female and not qualified I'm a numpty or so many would think! It's frustrating as I'm not taken seriously :(

Just a small part of the gaping crack in my coving in the bottom room ceiling where the brick work had moved above it!
 

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The bays obviously are structural - they incorporate brickwork which has moved !
Your builder friend has given good advice. Was building regulations approval obtained for alterations to these bays? You need to know what the original structure was before the alterations and what was removed to install the new windows.
I don't understand your comments that there are metal wall brackets so it can't move
 
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Sorry the metal bracket are the brick ties. From brick of bay to internal wall. I'll try attach pic but possibly in new comment under this one. (Sorry unsure how to upload selection of pics rather than just one. Doesn't seem to allow me more than 1 pic per posting)

The copper piping is my main gas pipe! The right side nearest my front door now touches this gas pipe. (Pic attached)

I have raised this concern also with window company :(
 

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Pic attached is the metal (brick tie) brackets they've fit to stop the brick working moving anymore
 

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This is the gap that was spotted by painter.
So windows fit July.......gap found beginning of September.
 

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Pic attached is the metal (brick tie) brackets they've fit to stop the brick working moving anymore

That brickwork is in a poor state, those straps will only offer temporary restraint.

Is the brickwork a single wall or a cavity wall?

Im not sure from the pics whether the bays havent been installdd correctly or the brickwork was in poor condition and the disturbance whilst changing the windows has caused the movement.

I hate to say it, but it looks to me as though the brickwork needs taking out and redoing.

What you need to find out is whether the bays have been installed with the structural elements to support the brickwork.

Do the windows on the lower bay operate ok? Has that bay moved or dropped and caused the brickwork to drop?

A picture from further back externally showing both bays would be helpful.
 
Pic of external from further back....
 

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Brick work is single brick.

The window fitter built a wooden frame between brickwork and internal panelling and fitted window to that.

Surely if brick work had of been bad it should have been brought to attention upon installation?

No cracks internally or on any external wall was apparent/visible before installation.

Thanks so much for replies
 
Wow! Stunning property (y)

So the 1st floor bay is supported on the studwork, I wonder if thats sitting on the floor joists.

The brickwork isnt doing much, its not supporting anything. However the brickwork is supported by the ground floor bay, so that needs chacking.

Given the brickwork doesnt have the window above it holding it in place, maybe it wasnt fixed to the inner studwork so its started to lean away, possibly because the bottom bay doesnt have a proper lintel.

The remedial straps arent a suitable solution. I would say it needs a surveyor or experienced builder to check the construction.
 
Andrea4441, good evening.

we replaced 2 original bay windows

Was this replacement undertaken by a "National" or "Local" small installer/

2 wall tie brackets to stop the brick work moving

Really sorry to say but the straps as fitted are in effect less than useless [really sorry to say that]

Are bay windows such as these included in the structural building of the house (been told they are not)

The bays are indeed definitely included as a structural part of the property.

So much for background questions.

In general terms, when the installer removes an old original Sash and Case timber window to have them replaced with new the installed MUST install some sort of steel lintel and corner steel posts, these posts are generally circular with square plates at each end. Such an arrangement is needed because the original timber windows are inherently strong and can withstand a "load" from above, where as modern windows are visually pleasing but have nothing like the strength of the old timber windows.

Your builder has tendered some good information, I would suggest for the time being everyone stays away from the two bays?

Ken.
 
Thank you for a Kind comment.

It's been so stressful to try and get someone to listen or even understand what I mean (the company only address the moved brick work not the fact of all I've mentioned above)

The ground floor bay is solid and the window is actually fixed onto the solid brick. No gap between the inner wall and the brick of the bay.
The small roof above this window has moved away from the wall which has made the gas pipe running round it to have no gap between the roof and the actual gas pipe. The window above is where the brickwork had moved.

It's just a big mess of stress. The room my daughter is in makes me wonder if the wood frame was out and too tall? Then when window was fitted to it it's higher than what the brick would have been and pushed the window up causing the ceiling to have the lip with gaping cracks?

I think the best bet is probably structural engineer or builder :(

Can see this going well

The window fitters are due to come tomorrow to pull the brickwork in further to sort that problem but unsure how they will sort the rest of it.

They want the plasterer to come and fill in the cracks in the coving and to skim on the ceiling with the lip in it.

I'm concerned at what has moved under what we can see.

The window company advised none of this is structural and everything is safe and structurally safe.

Can't say I'm confident in what they've said :(

Thanks again for the insight/opinions
 
Good evening Ken

The windows were installed locally by a small independent family firm. Registered with certass. Over 20 years experience.

The windows I've been told have the correct metal frames within the windows to with hold the weight above?

With regard to the holding ties are they not effective because the brickwork is kaput or because the fact they wouldn't pass building regs? (Been told if they were fitted currently and checked that they wouldn't pass them as they aren't adequate?)

I'm not a builder or window fitter so all this information is very helpful

It's so stressful and it's taking it's toll but I'm a morals and principal person and this is my.house and my daughter's room. Her safety is my biggest concern :(
 

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