Hi all
I wasn't sure where to post this under doors/windows or in this section but here goes.......
We bought our property in 2005, it's a 1969 3 bed semi. Timber framed internal walls, brick skin external wall with cavity then block on the inside of the external wall.
In 2003, with the previous owners, a sliding upvc patio door was installed in the rear kitchen of 1890mm length and approx 2000mm height affixed to the outer brick skin wall below the bedroom. No lintel was installed at that time as we found out in 2008. From 2005-2008 we found the sliding door getting increasingly difficult to slide and bending/bowing to the sliding part plastics so much so that the sticky film on the double glazed units starting to become loose and peel on the outside and a clear gap appearing to the top and bottom of the sliding door where it closes. We wanted to redo some other windows so we called out the company who did the install for the previous owners as they seemed to have a good reputation and are a local family run business, when the chap came out we asked him to take a look at the rear patio door and he advised a lintel should be installed above this opening as the weight of the brickwork could be causing the door frame to bend under pressure therefore making it difficult to slide so in that contract of 2008 he quoted for an 'angle iron' to be fitted above that patio door of a certain length (which was noted as 2100mm on the contract) and we paid for this to be done, thereafter it was installed. Since 2008 the problem got increasingly worse to the stage this year we noticed a visible gap to the top and bottom of the sliding door where it closes causing draughts so we decided to have the door replaced like for like. We instructed a different company this time, still a local firm, as we lost faith in the previous company due to various issues and this new company also pointed out various cracks in the upvc frame indicating it was under too much stress. When the old frame was removed the lintel that came out was too short, it was sitting directly on the upvc frame and was exactly the same size of the frame rather than being longer and projected into the brick wall either side. This I believe was the cause of the premature failure of our door and subsequent dropped bricks above. So this new company re-installed a longer lintel above the new door in the proper manner.
Questions are:
Does BC need to be informed of the new lintel?
Should they have been informed of the lintel install of 2008 and who's responsible for that?
Should a lintel have been installed in 2003?
Would the previous company be liable for consequential damage caused by poor workmanship and premature failure of the door due to inadequate lintel installation?
Sorry for the long write up
Any input greatly appreciated.
I wasn't sure where to post this under doors/windows or in this section but here goes.......
We bought our property in 2005, it's a 1969 3 bed semi. Timber framed internal walls, brick skin external wall with cavity then block on the inside of the external wall.
In 2003, with the previous owners, a sliding upvc patio door was installed in the rear kitchen of 1890mm length and approx 2000mm height affixed to the outer brick skin wall below the bedroom. No lintel was installed at that time as we found out in 2008. From 2005-2008 we found the sliding door getting increasingly difficult to slide and bending/bowing to the sliding part plastics so much so that the sticky film on the double glazed units starting to become loose and peel on the outside and a clear gap appearing to the top and bottom of the sliding door where it closes. We wanted to redo some other windows so we called out the company who did the install for the previous owners as they seemed to have a good reputation and are a local family run business, when the chap came out we asked him to take a look at the rear patio door and he advised a lintel should be installed above this opening as the weight of the brickwork could be causing the door frame to bend under pressure therefore making it difficult to slide so in that contract of 2008 he quoted for an 'angle iron' to be fitted above that patio door of a certain length (which was noted as 2100mm on the contract) and we paid for this to be done, thereafter it was installed. Since 2008 the problem got increasingly worse to the stage this year we noticed a visible gap to the top and bottom of the sliding door where it closes causing draughts so we decided to have the door replaced like for like. We instructed a different company this time, still a local firm, as we lost faith in the previous company due to various issues and this new company also pointed out various cracks in the upvc frame indicating it was under too much stress. When the old frame was removed the lintel that came out was too short, it was sitting directly on the upvc frame and was exactly the same size of the frame rather than being longer and projected into the brick wall either side. This I believe was the cause of the premature failure of our door and subsequent dropped bricks above. So this new company re-installed a longer lintel above the new door in the proper manner.
Questions are:
Does BC need to be informed of the new lintel?
Should they have been informed of the lintel install of 2008 and who's responsible for that?
Should a lintel have been installed in 2003?
Would the previous company be liable for consequential damage caused by poor workmanship and premature failure of the door due to inadequate lintel installation?
Sorry for the long write up
Any input greatly appreciated.
