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Rusted support under stonework above window causing movement.

Posted by Deborah Jones, on Fri 14 Feb 2014 12:03am

My house is a 100+ year old a stone built end of terrace. I have a narrow rusted metal supports beneath the slightly curved stone work above my windows which has expanded and caused the external render to crack horizontally. Around one of the front upper windows are bad cracks internally between the ceiling and walls and one externally (vertical reaching from corner of window to the roof) and cracks have also appeared between the ceiling and the wall in the rear bedroom which has a flat roof connected into the opposite pitch of the main slate roof. This cracking has got much worse following the high winds we experienced yesterday and I am concerned that this problem may have undermined the integrity of both the main and flat roof and also the front wall. Should I be worried and is this something I will need to contact the council building control officer about? Before this cracking got worse I was hoping to just get the rusted supports and stonework removed and replaced with concrete lintels. Do you think this would solve the issues?

David Halliday

Fri 14 Feb 2014 09:08pm

Deborah, If the cracks around the metal this is a common problem when ferrous metal that has been placed inside the stonework. As the metal rusts it expands and causes the stonework to crack. By the sounds off it you have structural movement taking place this is quite difficult to comment on without paying a site visit. I would suggest calling a local structural engineer and asking that they provide a survey ( rough cost basic £ 700). You say replace with concrete lintels it may not be feasible to replace natural stone with concrete ( listing building). Dave

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john cunningham

Fri 14 Feb 2014 06:19am

Hello Deborah Your problem sounds like it would need to be looked at carefully before determining what the actual problem is, and indeed how to solve it. It might be a good idea to post it as a job on Rated People. That way you could possibly get a local builder, or three to examine it first hand. Hope this helps JC

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