Welcome to Longhorn Masonry Repair.
We fix ugly masonry repairs with properly matching mortar. Get brick repair done right, the first time....or
Call Longhorn Masonry Repair to fix it.
We provide masonry repair services in: Dallas, Fort Worth, Granbury
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call:
(817) 458-1872
*Be Sure to mention Promo Code: Masonry Repair *
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Cracks in Brick Mortar
Do you have cracks in the brick and mortar
above garage doors?
This common brick repair project is a result of just a few things. The two most common causes of cracks above the garage door are foundation settling or sagging of the lintel.
While major settling will require foundation repair to correct the problem before repairing the brick, most cases are minor settlement and can be easily repaired by removing the damaged mortar and bricks and replacing them.
The other possible cause is far more detailed. While it may appear to be sagging in the middle of your steel lintel, it is not sagging. This is virtually a physical impossibility due to the design of the lintel. There may be a small amount of sag over a long distance, but more often the lintel is twisting. As the center twists from each end, it allows the middle to bow downward, and the back of the lintel is twisted against the back of the brick. When this happens, it cracks the brick outward and allows the brick to fall down onto the lintel. As it falls in, it cracks the brick and mortar near the ends of the lintel.
The original cause of this masonry problem is generally poor design. There must be an allowance at each end of the lintel for the expansion of the metal as it gets warmer. When the metal expands and is pressing against the brick and mortar at each end, it relieves the pressure in the easiest or weakest point. This is in the middle of the lintel where there is pressure from above and nothing holding the bottom.
Because most engineers have a very low understanding of masonry, and do not understand the true cause of this issue, they will call for thicker steel. Steel is their answer for everything. Which is understandable because their field is a spawn from the steel revolution.
Masonry is over 10,000 years old and in cases like this, is being regulated in its structure and repair method by an industry that is only a few hundred years old and a limited branch off from masonry. To get proper details on how to repair this issue, read the article "Sagging metal lintel and cracks above garage".
As you can see, masonry repairs look much better when the mortar is tested and properly
matched with our mortar matching services.
