Tuckpointing Caulking Restoration
JND Enterprises
Serving Chicago, Chicagoland
Northwest Indiana
Residental | Commercial | Institutional
815-573-4551
The best preventive measure for a lintel is painting.
Lintel replacement can be one of the more expensive masonry repairs.
Cleaning newly installed masonry use to be one of the old secrets of masonry. Cleaning with acids has been used since the time of the Egyptians.
The best preventive measure for a lintel is painting.
As steel rust it expands, this expansion of the steel lifts the masonry causing cracks and movement in the masonry.
A common masonry repair is lintel replacement. As a building ages the steel lintels-the support for the masonry above an opening-sometimes begin to rust and fail.
The signs are obvious, and you will know it when you see it. When inspecting for lintel replacement or repair, you will look for cracks and separations in the mortar and bricks where the masonry meets the lintel. Lintels that are rusty and have delaminated need replacing. A lintel that goes too long without being replaced will start to shift and move the masonry in such a way (such as buckling) as to cause unneeded and costly additional repairs.
As the steel rust, it expands, this expansion of the steel lifts the masonry causing cracks and movement in the masonry. If you catch the deterioration quick enough you can mitigate and halt the damage by properly painting the lintels and an application of water repellent to the masonry, but one needs to be vigilant, as lintels are weak componets in masonry walls.