Possibly unsuported soildier course

[Gazman16]

Hello

I will be fitting a window soon where I suspect that the soldier course is unsupported.

I suspect this due to some cracking above a window that has previously been replaced by someone else.

I have purchased a single skin lintel in case and will have a builder on site with me but obviously there is no way to know for sure untill I start removing the old frame.

There is a chance that the internal lintel is butted tight to the soldier course with wall ties through the masonry that would make it impossible to fit the lintel I have, In that case would an angle iron be acceptable?

Im assuming that if I find no lintel I should call my local building control before continuing or should I call them before I go to the job?

What do you think?

 

[maltaron]

I would say that it is likely to be a Catnic cavity lintel or a concrete boot lintel.

 

[tony1851]

Hmmm; wouldn't a Boot lintel show on the front?

My money is on the soldier course being built directly off that frame, with a separate (concrete or timber?) lintel internally. The bricklayers might have projected bricks across from the inner skin to the outer to close the cavity, which would then make it dificult to put a tall-leg angle lintel in.

Maybe a smaller, hot-rolled steel angle if necessary?

 

[Gazman16]

I just had a quick google of concrete boot lintel.

Do you mean like the 4th pic down here
https://environment7.uwe.ac.uk/resources/constructionsample/Conweb/walls/cavity/section3.htm

Surely that would be easily visible?
I can just about see in the gap between the head of the window and the bricks in some places and there is no metal that I can see, I can see the back edge of the bricks

 

[Gazman16]

Hmmm; wouldn't a Boot lintel show on the front?

My money is on the soldier course being built directly off that frame, with a separate (concrete or timber?) lintel internally. The bricklayers might have projected bricks across from the inner skin to the outer to close the cavity, which would then make it dificult to put a tall-leg angle lintel in.

Maybe a smaller, hot-rolled steel angle if necessary?

Thats what I was thinking.

My plan is to remove one of the Crittal windows and cut out a small section of the head to see whats going on up there and then try to decide what to do so any suggestions are appreciated

 

[stuart45]

If the house was built in the 30's there is a fair chance there is an insitu concrete lintel behind the bricks with ties into the brickwork.

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...tied+to+brickwork&source=bl&ots=HwKIWSosGq&si

 

[Gazman16]

If the house was built in the 30's there is a fair chance there is an insitu concrete lintel behind the bricks with ties into the brickwork.

Ah a fellow Somerset'er. That is what I'm expecting to find.

A window half the width of this one has been changed before by another company and there are now diagonal cracks above it so Im assuming that this is not enough support.
That window is downstairs though so possibly more load above it also there is a trim along the top of the window so they may have left a gap between the window and soldier course.

 

[tony1851]

As a matter of interest, is the house late '30s or perhaps up to early '50s?. - could be either?

Nice bonnet-hip tiles there, and a very neatly-done verge detail with tiles; far more attractive than the clunky timber barge boards you see everywhere now.

 

[Gazman16]

It is just at the end of my road and I know my house is a 30's house so I expect this one is too

 

[Gazman16]

Here is a pic of the window with the crack above it (top 2 done by me) this one done over 10 years ago by someone else.
I suppose its possible that if they had fitted the window up tight to the bricks or shimmed the head it would never have cracked.

Im assuming that an insitu concrete lintel behind the bricks with ties into the brickwork would not meet modern building regs though?

 

[tony1851]

Traditional timber windows usually had a number of substantial mullions which would be more than adequate to support the triangle of brickwork above.
But modern plastic frames........?

Whether or not ties between an insitu concrete lintel and the soldier course were used, that method would not be acceptable today.
As well as the difficulty in forming a cavity tray, there is also the fire resistance problem.
The timber window would still be a structural element supporting the brickwork and as such would be required to have a defined period of fire resistance (usually 30 mins for a house).

 

[Blagard]

I'm not sure if there is one suitable but would not a C section single skin lintel do the job if needed? Cut the backs of the soldiers to refit into the "C" to retain original appearance. Imperial brick size might present a problem unless the lintel is a "special"

I have seen the result of a PVC window being fitted where the old wooden one was supporting the brickwork - not nice as the bricks settle and push the window head down in the middle. The fix was a rather unsightly new concrete lintel.

 

[Gazman16]

I have managed to do a cut of the diagram provided by Stuart45's link

This is what I am expecting to find, I pan to remove a brick to try and confirm before proceeding.

I have spoken to Fensa's technical department and they are happy for me to go ahead without informing building control. They have just advised talking it all through with the customer first and attempting to fit a lintel or angle iron if possible.

I have sent en email with pics to building control too to get their opinion but I tend to take any thing they invent with a pinch of salt

 

[Gazman16]

My personal opinion is that if they had fitted the other window (the one with the cracks above) tight up to the brickwork and well packed underneath then there would never had been a problem there. But they left a gap above of about 15mm from what I can see and this has allowed the soldier course to sag.

I know PVC windows are not meant to take a load as such but I know I can sit on one happily with my 100k odd weight with no problem and with an eves beam to distribute the load you can put a few tons of glass roof on them.

My estimation is that there are approx 100 bricks in a triangle above this window with mortar thats about 350k max load I estimate but from the way its constructed and wall ties through to the concrete lintel there is no where near that actually put on the window.
If this was to be a door with no fixed center mullion I would say no way but the window will have 2 fixed mullions in the same style of the original window to evenly distribute any load.

What do you think?

 

[tony1851]

What do you think?

In practice, you could well be right. But that's now irrelevant.

As you've already emailed Building Control (rarely a wise thing to do before considering all options!) then they could well say they want a lintel inserting.

Technically they would be correct because otherwise you would have a plastic frame acting as a structural element.