Lintel repair
A stair-step crack runs up from the corner of your window
Stand back and look at the brick above each window, door and garage door. A crack that climbs from the corner in steps, a rust stain, or a row of brick that no longer sits level can all point to the steel above the opening. Do not fill the crack. Send us a photo and where it is.
Tell us what you see on the wall
We help you get the repair priced by separate local masonry contractors, and tell you what to ask them first.
Three things to say before you hear a price
Say them on the phone or at the wall. The answers show how a mason works.
What is the lintel made of?
Rusting steel can lift the brick above it.
How is it flashed, and where are the weep holes?
Flashing sends water out before it reaches the steel.
Will you fill the crack, or treat the steel first?
Filling a crack alone does not stop the rust behind it.
$100 off your first job
Book your first repair through us and take $100 off.
The $100 comes out of our fee; the mason's price stays the same.
Each customer gets one credit per property.
Book the first repair by December 31, 2026, to use it.
Say you hold the credit as you book; we confirm it before work starts.
The Soft Joint promise
- Asking us is free, and asking never ties you to anything.
- We never charge you for the introduction.
- Your $100 credit is honored exactly as our Terms say.
- If an introduction goes wrong, we help you sort it out.
The masonry work is between you and the mason you hire.
Masonry Contractors Syracuse, (315) 640-3590
What you see when this is the next call
The crack climbs from the corner in steps
It follows the mortar joints up and away from the opening. That shape can point toward the lintel.
A row of brick over the opening is out of level
Hold a straightedge or sight along the course. A rise in the middle or at the ends is worth a photo. If a course sags or a brick slips, keep people and stored items clear of it.
Rust stains the brick or the mortar
A brown stain below or beside a joint over an opening can mean water is reaching the steel.
The crack opens and closes with the seasons
Mark its ends and measure it every few weeks. Moving cracks and still cracks are treated differently.
You were told to fill it
Sealing a crack that rust is pushing open traps the water. Get a second answer before you agree.
How rust lifts the brick over a window
- Steel
A steel angle holds the brick over the opening and is often hidden.
- Rust
Rust takes up far more room than the steel did, and the brick above gets pushed.
- Course
Sight along the row over the opening and look for a dip or a lift.
- Corner
A crack stepping up from the corner of the opening points to the steel.
- Flashing
Ask the mason whether flashing and weepholes sit over your lintel.
Basis: Brick Industry Association, Technical Notes on Brick Construction 31B The Construction Specifier, Failures
Straight answers about lintel repair
How do I know if a crack is from the lintel?
Look for a stair-step line climbing away from an opening's corner, a rust stain, or a row of brick out of level. A mason can confirm it, so send a photo.
Can I monitor the crack and wait?
You can mark the ends and measure it every few weeks. A crack that grows or shows rust is worth getting looked at soon. Share your photos with the mason.
What are lintels made of?
Steel angles, stone and wood are all used over openings. Ask the mason what yours is and how they found out.
Does my garage door have a lintel?
Every opening needs something carrying the brick above it, and a garage door spans a wide gap. Ask the mason what yours is. The same signs apply: a crack from the corner, a stain and a course out of level.
Is repointing enough for a crack by a window?
Only if nothing is lifted or rusted. If the lintel is the cause, new mortar in the crack will open again. Ask the mason what is behind the joint.
Who fixes the flashing?
It depends on the job. Ask whether the mason handles it or brings in a roofer, and have the answer written into the contract.
Is it really this sign?
The marked tile, Crack from a corner, is the sign this page covers.
What your house's age changes
Older city brick
Engineers name brick buildings from the early 1900s as a particular risk for hidden, unprotected steel. Ask whether the lintel can be seen, and what shape it is in.
Village cores
The Park Service names failing arches, sagging wood lintels in older walls and rusting steel lintels as sources of cracks around openings. Ask each mason how they would tell them apart.
Post-war houses
Newer houses can carry steel angles too. Ask whether yours is galvanized, painted or bare.
Basis: The Construction Specifier, Failures Brick Industry Association, Technical Notes on Brick Construction 31B
What the work includes
Finding out what the lintel is
The mason opens a small area, or reads the signs, to see whether it is steel, stone or wood.
Dealing with the rust
Rusted steel is cleaned, coated or replaced, as the mason decides.
Resetting the brick
The lifted courses are taken down and rebuilt level on the repaired lintel.
Flashing and weep holes
Flashing over the steel and open weep holes let water escape instead of sitting on it.
What looks alike but is another job
Cracks at the foundation or a basement wall
Those belong to the foundation wall job. See foundation and retaining walls.
Cracks only in the mortar joints
If nothing is lifted or rusted, repointing may be the job.
- Window
Look at the corners of the window, where a crack can start.
- Door
Look at the corners above the door frame.
- Garage door
Look at both ends of the wide opening above the garage door.
- The course
Sight along the row of brick over the opening for a dip or a rise.
First call to finished wall
Photograph the opening
Send a wide shot of the window and a close one of the corner and any stain.
Hear what each mason thinks it is
Ask what the lintel is made of and how they know.
Compare how far the repair goes
A quote should say how many courses come down and how wide the repair is.
Book and keep the flashing detail
Book your mason and ask that the new flashing and weep holes be described in writing.
The paper trail for this repair
The lintel material
The contract should name what the lintel is, new or old, and how it is protected.
The flashing and weep holes
Ask for a line on flashing over the steel and weep holes at its level.
The brick to be rebuilt
Ask how many courses come down and how the new work ties into the old.
How steel lifts brick
Engineers call it rust jacking. Steel exposed to water forms rust scale, and the scale can fill up to 10 times the room the steel did. The brick sitting on it is pushed upward.
That push opens the joints near the opening and sends a crack up from the corner. Ask the mason whether they see rust, and where the water is coming from.
- The steel
The steel angle, seen from the side.
- The rust
Rust scale growing on the steel.
- The lift
The brick course above has been pushed up off the steel.
- The corner crack
The stair-step crack at the end of the steel.
- The flashing and weep holes
The sheet and the gaps that let water out.
Basis: The Construction Specifier, Failures NPS, Common Problems with Brick Masonry
Why filling the crack makes it worse
A crack that rust is pushing open will open again. Filling it hides the sign and seals water in, so the steel goes on corroding behind the patch.
The Brick Industry Association says steel lintels need periodic maintenance in a harsh climate unless they are galvanized. Ask the mason what yours has, and what the plan is for keeping it dry.
Steel can hide inside the wall
Engineers note that corroding steel in older masonry may be hidden inside the wall. You may see only the crack and the stain, never the steel itself.
They also say that keeping the exterior wall in serviceable condition, which usually means repointing joints and repairing cracks, limits how fast steel corrodes. Ask each mason how they will find out what is behind the brick, and how they will keep water off it afterward.
Flashing and weep holes keep it dry
The Brick Industry Association calls for flashing over the steel angle, draining out through weep holes at the level of the lintel. Both send water out of the wall before it sits on the steel.
Ask whether your opening has them, and whether the repair puts them in. If the mason says there is no need, ask them to explain why.
What you can do while you wait
Mark each end of the crack in pencil and write the date beside each mark. Measure the gap at its widest every few weeks, and photograph it from the same spot each time. You will have a record to hand to every mason you speak with.
Keep the gutters above the opening clear, and look at the sill below it for damp. If you see rust or lift, do not fill, caulk or paint the crack. If you see a brick sliding or a gap opening fast, keep people and stored items clear of it, tell the mason when you call, and tell us in your request.
Why two quotes can differ
- Handwork drives the cost, because the brick above the opening is taken down and rebuilt by hand.
- The width of the opening matters: a garage door spans far more brick than a small window.
- Work at height needs scaffolding or a lift, so ask the mason whether that appears as its own line.
- A mason may clean and coat the steel or replace it, so ask which one they expect and why.
- If you have more than one cracked opening, ask whether doing them together lowers the setup cost.
Find this repair in your town
Guides that go with it
Crack from a corner
The crack above your window
How rusting steel lifts brick, and what to ask.
Any sign
What your masonry contract has to say
What a New York home improvement contract must say.
Know the steel before anyone fills the crack.