Lintel Replacement in Rockford, IL
The steel angle over a window, a door, or a garage opening is a lintel, and it carries the brick above the gap. When water reaches the steel and it rusts, the rust swells and lifts the brick, cracking the joints above the opening. We replace rust-jacked lintels across Rockford, cutting the failed steel out and rebuilding the brick course over it.
How Rust-Jacking Works
Steel rusts when water gets to it, and rust takes up several times the space of the steel it came from. A lintel buried in a wall cannot swell sideways, so it swells up, and it takes the brick course resting on it along for the ride. That upward push cracks the mortar joints over the opening, most often in a stair-step pattern climbing away from the corner of the window. The crack is the symptom. The rusting steel is the cause.
Where It Shows Up
Look over the windows, the front door, and the garage door. The garage header is a frequent one, because it spans the widest opening and carries the most brick. A stair-step crack, brick that looks pushed up at the ends of the lintel, or rust weeping down the wall from the steel are the signs. On an older house every opening has a lintel, and they tend to fail around the same age.
Cutting Out the Old Steel
We shore the brick above the opening, then take down the course or two sitting on the lintel. The rusted angle iron is cut free and pulled. The bearing pockets at each end, where the lintel rests on the brick, are cleaned back to sound masonry. Support first, then remove, so the wall above never loses its footing during the swap.
Setting a New Angle Iron
The new lintel is a galvanized steel angle iron, sized to the opening, set with solid bearing on each end so the load transfers into the wall. Galvanizing is the difference that buys the years, since it keeps the water off the steel that started the whole problem. We set it level, rebuild the brick course on the horizontal leg, and repoint so the repair matches the wall.
What It Costs
Lintel replacement runs about $800 to $2,500 per opening, including rebuilding the brick course above. A garage door header, wider and carrying more brick, sits at the top of that range. Access and how much cracked brick has to be replaced move the number. Every opening gets a free look and a written estimate.
See a stair-step crack over a window or garage door? (815) 555-0142 gets you a free estimate. Cracked brick over the opening gets handled as part of the brick repair at the same time.
What is a lintel?
A lintel is the beam over an opening, a window, a door, a garage door, that carries the brick above it. In most Rockford houses it is a steel angle iron. The brick sits on the horizontal leg of the angle, and the angle spans the gap so the wall above the opening stays put.
What is rust-jacking?
When water reaches an unpainted or worn steel lintel, it rusts. Rust occupies several times the volume of the steel it forms from, so as the lintel corrodes it swells and lifts the brick course resting on it. That lifting cracks the joints above the opening, usually in a stair-step line. The steel is jacking the brick up as it rusts.
Can you replace a lintel without taking down the whole wall?
Yes. We support the brick above, remove only the course or two sitting on the lintel, cut the rusted steel out, set a new galvanized angle iron with proper bearing on each end, and rebuild the brick. The rest of the wall stays in place. It is a localized repair around the opening.
What happens if I leave a rusted lintel alone?
It keeps rusting and keeps lifting. The crack over the opening widens, the brick above works loose, and eventually a brick over a window or a garage door can come free. A rust-jacked lintel does not stabilize; the steel keeps expanding as long as water reaches it.