Does this lintel need replacing?

[rwm24]

Home buyers report said "The concrete lintel over the rear patio door is too short. Further investigation is needed. Condition rating 2."

Here are some pictures:

Small gap at the left, close up here:

There's also a crack above it:

My uncle is a civil engineer and said "If the window still opens and closes without binding then nothing has moved and is unlikely to move in the next few years."

Regarding the cracking the home buyers report says "As far as can be seen from this single inspection the movement seems to be non progressive."

Is this safe? Does it need fixing immediately?

The surveyor said it was "Condition rating 2.", which he describes as "Defects that need repairing or replacing but are not considered to be either serious or urgent. The property must be maintained in the normal way."

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

[xr4x4]

What's above it?

No the house wont fall down, but it's not right, all the weight of the above bricks is resting on the lintel and the lintel is resting on the upvc window frame.

Eventually the bricks will continue to move and press down on the window frame and buckle it, the windows will crack and the windows jam.

This should of been pointed out and corrected when the window was replaced, and the solid wooden frame would of helped support it.

 

[Alastairreid]

Google boot lintel.

 

[rwm24]

What's above it?

No the house wont fall down, but it's not right, all the weight of the above bricks is resting on the lintel and the lintel is resting on the upvc window frame.

Eventually the bricks will continue to move and press down on the window frame and buckle it, the windows will crack and the windows jam.

This should of been pointed out and corrected when the window was replaced, and the solid wooden frame would of helped support it.

Bedroom and bathroom above it, as you can see in this picture:

 

[xr4x4]

Google boot lintel.

Ah, so I'm wrong?

I'm guessing they are bigger on the inside, so are supported but it's hidden?

Even so, the crackings not good tho.

 

[Alastairreid]

The cracking probably happened when the upvc units were installed.

There's nothing there i would be concerned about.

 

[xr4x4]

The cracking probably happened when the upvc units were installed.

There's nothing there i would be concerned about.

Looks like you maybe right, learn something everyday.

Found this....//www.diynot.com/forums/building/vertical-crack-above-window-lintel.349749/#2624716

 

[rwm24]

Getting mixed advice from everywhere: You guys seem to think it's fine, but the majority are saying it's major, don't buy the house, or at least get it checked out and repair it.

 

[xr4x4]

Getting mixed advice from everywhere: You guys seem to think it's fine, but the majority are saying it's major, don't buy the house, or at least get it checked out and repair it.

That's prob because like me, they don't know what it is.

I would still say that it needs to be checked and you could prob knock the price of the house down a bit.

 

[cotswoldbuilders]

The guys are correct, regarding concrete boot lintel.

In the 60s/70s a lot of concrete boot lintels were incorrectly fitted on suitable bearings, causing the lintel to rotate, the supported outer wall then dropped slightly and cracked.

There is a company in Kent the stabilise the problem by fitted 16mm stainless steel shear pins.

Google Action wall ties, Kent

 

[RonnyRaygun]

The homebuyer's report is wrong - the lintel isn't too short - and the person who wrote it has - worryingly - obviously never heard of a boot lintel.

It is a boot lintel that has failed. It was probably fine prior to the UPVC frame going in as the outer leaf of brickwork was probably getting some support from the timber frame that was there previously.

The main issue is that if the lintel continues to rotate then the door might start to bind in the frame.

It isn't a huge structural issue, but changing the lintel would be quite a major job, as it would mean removing the door and frame, propping above, removing existing lintel, replacing with a new lintel (or two) and making good.

Therefore the suggestion by Cotswold Builders looks like a good one.

 

[rwm24]

I believe the house was built ~1945-1950, is it still likely to be a boot lintel?

Everything I can find about them says popular in the 60s/70s, nothing about when they were first used.

 

[TonyW2]

I would ask your so called surveyor and also ask him how much he will refund from his fee in view of the training opportunity you are offering him. Although if he did not actually say that the lintel was too short, that report was sufficiently vague to cover a rotated boot lintel. What a load of back covering half help you get from these money making reports.
Logically, the house could not have been built with such a "short" lintel as until a frame was fitted nothing would have supported it and even the best cowboys can't manage levitation of a concrete lintel.

 

[matjos26]

the cracks look like movement from when the cavity trays or lead flashing and pvc roof rafters where put in.these type of bricks will cack if you blow on them anyway, the boot lintel is about 15mm short but looks to be ok and not the problem as these usually had a 6" bearing, these are quite big lintels. are there any cracks on the inside? i would chase out the joints and just fill them in

 

[Architexeter]

All the above boot lintel posts seems relevant.

I would not not buy the house because of it, its a relatively small defect.

I would just keep an eye on it to see if there is any further movement, I suspect its only when things were bashed around eg conservatory addition and window installation that it moved.

If you can wangle some money off the purchase of the house you can use that to pay for the pinning of the lintel to stop any possible further rotation.

Your uncle seems a sensible chap!