The lintel is the beam over a window or door that carries the brickwork above it. In most Melbourne homes built from the mid twentieth century onwards it is a galvanised steel angle sitting in the wall. Galvanising does not last forever, and once moisture reaches the steel it corrodes — and corroding steel expands, lifting the brickwork above the opening and cracking it apart.
Melbourne Building Repairs replaces and repairs failed lintels across Melbourne, including HeliFix masonry beam repairs that avoid dismantling the opening.
How to tell a lintel is failing
Lintel failure has a recognisable signature. The classic signs are:
- Horizontal cracking directly above a window or door, often running along the mortar bed just above the opening.
- Stepped diagonal cracking rising from the corners of the opening.
- Rust staining bleeding out of the mortar joint above the opening.
- Brickwork lifting or bulging above the window, sometimes with the course visibly pushed out of line.
- Visible rusted or flaking steel where the lintel is exposed at the head of the opening.
- Windows and doors sticking or going out of square as load transfers onto the frame.
The expansion of rusting steel is powerful enough to lift masonry, which is why this problem gets worse rather than stabilising. It is worth acting on when you first see rust staining, not when the brickwork starts moving.
Why lintels corrode
Water is always the cause. It reaches the lintel through failed or missing flashing over the opening, perished mortar joints in the brickwork above, blocked weep holes that stop the cavity draining, defective sills or window head detailing, or simply a lintel that had inadequate protection or cover from the start.
Replacing a lintel without correcting the water path means the new one will go the same way, so the flashing and drainage are part of the repair, not an optional extra.
Two ways to repair a failed lintel
Traditional lintel replacement
The brickwork above the opening is temporarily supported, the corroded lintel is removed, a new appropriately protected lintel is installed with correct bearing and flashing, and the brickwork is rebuilt and repointed. This is the right approach where the lintel has failed badly, where the opening needs to be reworked, or where the brickwork above is already substantially damaged.
HeliFix masonry beam repair
As a licensed HeliFix applicator, we can often form a reinforced masonry beam within the brickwork itself. Helical stainless steel bars are bonded into the mortar beds above the opening so the brickwork spans the opening as a beam in its own right, taking the load off the corroded lintel.
Where it is suitable, this approach is significantly less invasive: no dismantling of the brickwork above the window, far less disruption, a shorter programme, and no visible evidence once the joints are repointed. It is particularly valuable on period and heritage brickwork where taking an opening apart risks damaging bricks that cannot be matched.
Which approach is appropriate depends on the extent of the corrosion, the condition of the surrounding masonry and the loads involved. We assess and tell you which one your opening needs.
Our process
- Inspection of the opening, the crack pattern and the water path causing the corrosion.
- A written scope and quote setting out the recommended repair method and why.
- Temporary support where required, and correction of flashing, weep holes and drainage.
- Lintel replacement or HeliFix masonry beam installation.
- Rebuilding, repointing and making good so the finished opening matches the surrounding wall.
Related repairs
Lintel failure usually appears with other masonry problems. We also carry out HeliFix crack stitching, brick repointing and render crack repairs.
Lintel repairs across Melbourne
Based in Prahran, we repair and replace lintels on homes, period properties, apartment buildings and commercial buildings across metropolitan Melbourne.
If you have cracking above a window or rust staining in the brickwork, call 0468 800 300 or request an assessment.