Cracked joints over external door.

What seems to have happened here is that some kind soul has re-pointed your soft red bricks with Portland cement. Portland and soft-reds are entirely incompatible as they expand and contract at different rates in the heat and cold and the bricks will eventually crumble and crack. Portland is rigid and brittle and, although a fine building material for modern high-fired clay bricks, does not allow for the natural expansion and contraction of the low-fired bricks. Re-pointing with a compatible lime mortar will solve the issue, as it allows for this 'movement', even with such narrow joints. If some of the bricks have been laid with Portland, it might be a bigger job, but you can get a 4" mortar-rake (I use the ones from these folks http://www.diamondblades.co.uk/) which fits onto the spindle of your disk-cutter - don't use a disk if you are not very experienced as you are likely to cut more brick than you are mortar. It's a dirty, but comparatively easy job to do.

 

There might not be a lintel.

Does look like the opening could have possibly been altered in the past?

If it's a solid wall construction (i.e no cavity - very likely), what type of lintel is above the window openings for the rest of the house?

One solder brick is narrower than the rest. 65mm , is the rest of house built using 3" bricks?

 

The easiest stuff to use is NHL 3.5. For pointing, mix it 4:1 with sharp sand. Ordinarily, you would want the mixture fairly dry as it cures by absorbing water, but as it's under cover, add a little more than normal and you should be fine. Whatever you do, don't let a builders merchant fob you off with building lime as it's no use for this application. The best bet is to order online from a specialist provider. One bag will easily do the trick and you will have plenty left over for any other bits of rogue Portland you find. Don't recess the mortar joints as they work best if they are flush with the surface so any moisture runs off. Use gloves, as it's quite unkind to the skin, and do wear goggles as it stings like budgery if you get it in your eye.Once it's dry to the touch, pack it in with a stiff-bristle brush and clean off any residue as it will stick to anything - including glass!

 

I have a feeling that there is no lintel here.

So would require the removal ofcanopy to fit the door and frame

 

I would look at getting a single leaf catic lintel installed. This would require the removal of porch.

When the other frames were installed were any lintels put in?

You can get lime NHL3.5 from ebay available in different colors.

 

I'm with Jit on this one, re no lintel.

Also I'm not convinced they are soft red so, I'm saying they are a hard clay type brick.

As for using Portland on soft reds?????? Laid thousands of them with Portland cement.

 

Look at installing a window tray above lintel also. I ended up using DPC on the roll as was easier to shape.

I reckon with careful spacing the 65mm brick could be taken out and the rest of the perps opened up, fit weep vents @450mm spacing (2 would be fine for a door way).

My parents house 1950-60's was like this, had to install 9 lintels in total. Windows were crittal with steel sub frames. Door frame/combi was as yours, outer course was just supported by the wooden frame.

Have you had cavity insulation added?

Wen the brick are removed, make sure that it is clear, as there may be a lot of muck down there.

 

Very likely that the brickwork will sag when the frame is removed as joints already loose.

Would still recommend putting in a lintel, in either case.

 

I don't doubt it, and I am grateful for the business putting it right. Keep up the good work!

http://limeclad.com/onewebstatic/75894efebf-spalling.png

 

Nice pic, what it has to do with Portland cement is beyond me, but nice all the same.

 

Easy one to answer Phil. Spalling happens when you use Portland cement with low-fired clay bricks. The lime mortar with which the bricks should be used, is softer than the bricks and therefore acts as the 'sacrificial' element of the wall, i.e. it crumbles away in time (usually the same lifespan as Portland) and requires repointing. Because it is soft, it allows for a certain amount of movement in the wall caused by the expansion and contraction from heat and cold. Portland is a fine building material, but it does not share the same capability and remains static, and a lot harder than the bricks. When the two are used together, the brick becomes the sacrificial element and cracks and crumbles. Another reason the two are incompatible is that lime mortar is water-permeable. It acts as a conduit to moisture, allowing it to evaporate from the mortar joint. If that joint is replaced by Portland, which is essentially waterproof, the moisture has to make its way out through the next most permeable thing, which is usually the bricks. As the water is drawn into the bricks, it leaves behind the dissolved salts from the wall. These accumulate and crystalise on the surface, causing the white 'bloom' so often seen on walls. In addition, any moisture in the bricks will expand with heat, and freeze when it's cold enough, this further degrades the surface, Hope that answers your question. Kevin.

 

Great to see some good advice coming from this post. I would recommend going with a specialist coloured hydraulic lime mortar (nhl 3.5) as they will be able to help you with your requirements exactly and even do a colour match. Most of the lime companies will either sell you builders sand, which is not really up to the job and doesn't look great either and sell you bagged lime. Personally, with most projects I work on I usually go for easiest route, which is why I use ready mixed lime mortar. I normally buy from Limetec as its next day delivery and stupidly easy to use. (just add water)