Lintel repair in Bowdon
Failing window and door heads on Bowdon's large period houses, renewed with care for the original stone, arches and brickwork. Free quotes from photos.
- 18 years in the trade
- Free quotes
- Stone heads kept where sound
- Arches rebuilt by hand
Get a free quote
Send us the details on WhatsApp, or by email if you prefer. We reply with a price or a time to visit.
Prefer to talk? Call 07487 625926
Repairing the heads of period openings
Big Victorian and Edwardian houses have big openings. Tall sash windows, wide bays and grand front doors all put a lot of brickwork onto whatever spans them. When that support starts to fail, the cracks can be dramatic, but the repair is often more contained than it looks.
We carry out lintel repair and replacement with the aim of keeping the visible face of the house as it was. Where a hidden timber or iron lintel has failed behind a sound stone head, we replace the hidden part and leave the stone alone.
The joints around an old head are often soft lime, and we repoint them in a matching mortar through our lime pointing service. For a wider look at the brickwork, see our page on repointing in Bowdon, or read the guide to replacing lintels.
Lintel prices in Bowdon
Priced by lintel length. Move the slider to match your opening and send it to us.
Each price covers the inside and outside lintel, propping, rebuilding the brickwork above and pointing to match. If only one side needs doing, it is half price. Openings under 1 metre or over 4 metres are priced from photos.
See every lintel price
| Lintel length | Inside and out | One side only |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 1.5 metres | £1,850 | £925 |
| 1.5 to 2 metres | £2,150 | £1,075 |
| 2 to 2.5 metres | £2,450 | £1,225 |
| 2.5 to 3 metres | £2,750 | £1,375 |
| 3 to 3.5 metres | £3,150 | £1,575 |
| 3.5 to 4 metres | £3,450 | £1,725 |
Large detached houses in a conservation area
Many of Bowdon's large detached houses sit in a conservation area, so the look of the front matters as much as the strength. Changes to the outside of a house in a conservation area may need agreement from the council, so it is worth asking your local planning office before any visible work. We keep stone heads, gauged arches and decorative brick wherever they can stay.
Behind the face, houses of this age often relied on timber lintels on the inner leaf, or wrought iron bars under brick arches. Timber rots when damp reaches it and iron rusts and swells. Both show up as cracks running from the corners of the opening, and both can usually be dealt with from outside without taking the window out.
Problems we see on period openings
- Crack through a carved stone head
- Gauged brick arch losing its shape
- Rust bursting the brick under an arch
- Sash window jamming in its frame
- Bricks over a bay starting to lean
- Cracks either side of a front door
Step by step on a period house
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Photos and a visit
On larger houses we normally come and look after seeing the photos.
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Agree the approach
We set out what is kept, what is replaced and how the face will be matched.
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Support and replace
The wall is needled and propped while the failed support behind the head is renewed.
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Rebuild with care
Arches and facing bricks are relaid and pointed in a mortar to suit the house.
A period window head, repaired
How we handle each opening
- Visit to the house before pricing
- Notes on what can stay in place
- Wall propped throughout
- Failed timber, iron or steel removed
- New lintel sized for the opening
- Stone heads and arches kept where sound
- Lime or cement to suit the wall
- Site left tidy each day
Nearby lintel repair pages
Pages for lintel work around Bowdon.
Our services
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Brick repointing
Failing joints raked out and refilled in mortar matched to your brick.
Find out more -
Lime and mortar pointing
Breathable lime or matched mortar for Victorian, Edwardian and older homes.
Find out more -
Lintel repair and replacement
Cracked or sagging window and door heads propped, replaced and rebuilt.
Find out more -
Brickwork repairs
Spalled, cracked and loose bricks cut out and replaced to match.
Find out more -
Bricklaying
Garden walls, boundary walls, piers and small brickwork builds.
Find out more -
Not sure what you need?
Send a photo of the wall and we will tell you what it needs.
Get a free quote
Guides
Bowdon lintel questions
Our house is in a conservation area. Can you still replace the lintel?
Yes. Work that leaves the outside looking the same is usually straightforward, but check with your council if anything visible will change. Building regulations approval may also be needed for the lintel, so speak to building control too.
Can the carved stone over our window be saved?
If the stone itself is sound, it can usually stay in place while we renew the support behind it. A stone that has cracked right through may need repairing or replacing, and we tell you which after seeing it.
What does lintel replacement cost on a large house in Bowdon?
We price by length, from £1,850 for 1 to 1.5 metres up to £3,450 for over 3.5 up to 4 metres, and longer openings are priced from photos. Tall upper windows, scaffold, rebuilding a gauged arch or matching special bricks will put the job above the band.
Do you have to remove the sash window?
In most cases the sash stays in while the head is replaced from outside. Some internal plaster or architrave near the top of the window may need making good afterwards.
Why has the arch above our front door cracked?
It may be the arch joints washing out, or an iron bar or timber behind it rusting or rotting. We check which before advising, because relaying the arch alone will not help if the support behind it has failed.
Talk to us about your Bowdon window heads
Send photos on WhatsApp or call for a free quote.