Lintel Replacement in Worth, IL

Paul Lally's Masonry provides lintel replacement in Worth, IL. We take out rusted steel lintels over windows, garage doors and storefronts, shore the brick above, install new galvanized or primed steel with flashing and weep holes, and rebuild with matched brick. We're family-owned, insured and have served Chicagoland since 1988, from our home base next door in Palos Heights. Call (708) 448-8866 for a free on-site estimate.

Worth's housing is mostly post-war brick ranches, raised ranches and bungalows, with a commercial strip along 111th Street and Harlem Avenue. Almost every one of those buildings has the same thing above its windows, doors and storefront glass: a plain steel angle lintel set in the 1950s, '60s or '70s. Most of them have never been touched. Many are now at the age where they rust through.

A steel lintel doesn't fail quietly. As it rusts, it swells and lifts the brick above it. The crack over your window is the steel telling you it's time.

What a lintel is and why steel lintels fail

A lintel is the beam that carries the brick over an opening. On most Worth homes and storefronts it's an L-shaped steel angle with the brick sitting on its horizontal leg.

Steel and water don't mix. When water gets to the lintel through worn mortar joints, a missing flashing or a blocked weep, the steel rusts. Rust takes up several times the space of the steel it came from, so the lintel swells and pushes the brick above it upward and outward. This is called rust jacking, and it's the cause of most cracking over openings on homes of Worth's age.

| What you see | What it usually means | |---|---| | Orange staining or flaking steel above an opening | Lintel is corroding; check how far | | Stair-step crack running up from the corners | Lintel swelling or deflecting, lifting the brick | | Horizontal crack along the top of the lintel | Rust jacking pushing the bearing course up | | Brick sagging or bulging over the opening | Lintel has lost section or bearing; act soon | | Window or door starting to stick | Load shifting onto the frame |

Signs you need lintel replacement in Worth

• Rust you can see or flake off the steel above windows and doors.
• Cracks fanning up from the top corners of an opening.
• A gap or open joint between the lintel and the brick above.
• Brick out of line over the opening when you sight along the wall.
• Garage door brick that's cracked, sagging or missing mortar.
• Storefront brick cracked over the glass along 111th Street or Harlem.
• Caulk or patching over a crack that keeps coming back.

Why lintel repair shouldn't wait

Rust doesn't slow down. Every winter, water in the cracked joints freezes, the opening gets wider and more brick loosens. A lintel that only needs replacing this year can mean rebuilding a larger section of wall in a few years, along with a damaged window frame. Over a storefront or a front door, loose brick is also a falling hazard.

Our lintel replacement process in Worth

1. Inspect the opening and the brick above, and check the lintels on the other openings too, since they're usually the same age.
2. Shore the wall above the opening so nothing moves while the steel is out.
3. Remove the brick directly above the lintel and take out the old steel.
4. Install new steel: galvanized, or primed and painted, sized to the span, with proper bearing on each side.
5. Install through-wall flashing with end dams and a drip edge, and set weep holes so the lintel stays dry.
6. Rebuild with brick and mortar matched to your home or building.
7. Clean up and walk it with you. We stand behind our work, because our name is on every job.

Materials we use

Galvanized or primed and painted steel angle sized to the opening; through-wall flashing with end dams; weep vents; salvaged or matched face brick; and Type N or Type S mortar color-matched to the existing joints. Long garage and storefront spans may need heavier steel, and we'll recommend an engineer where the span or the sag calls for one.

What drives the cost of lintel replacement

We don't publish prices, because every opening is different. What changes the number:

• Length of the opening: a window, a garage door or a full storefront.
• How much brick is above it and how far the damage has spread.
• Access: ground level, second storey or over a busy walkway.
• Brick and mortar matching, especially on older or discontinued brick.
• How many openings are done at the same visit.

Call (708) 448-8866 for a free on-site estimate and a written scope.

Lintel replacement in Worth and next door

Worth sits between Palos Heights, Chicago Ridge and Alsip, and its homes match those neighborhoods: the same post-war brick, the same steel lintels, the same age. Garage lintels on raised ranches and the long storefront lintels on 111th Street are the ones we see failing most. We also replace lintels in Oak Lawn, Oak Forest and Palos Park, and handle tuckpointing in Worth and brick repair in Worth. For a deeper look, read who does masonry repair in Worth.

Why Worth homeowners and owners call Paul Lally's Masonry

Paul Lally's Masonry Inc. is a family-owned, insured masonry contractor serving Chicago and the Chicagoland suburbs since 1988. We handle tuckpointing, brick repair and replacement, chimney repair and rebuilds, lintel replacement, masonry restoration and waterproofing for residential and commercial properties. Built on Craftsmanship. Backed by Experience. Free on-site estimates. Call (708) 448-8866.

• Since 1988, replacing lintels across the southwest suburbs.
• Right next door: based in Palos Heights.
• Insured, with a certificate of insurance on request.
• Family-owned: we stand behind our work.

Related services: lintel repair and replacement, brick replacement, brick repair, tuckpointing and commercial masonry restoration.

Get your lintels checked

Request a free on-site estimate or call (708) 448-8866. Built on Craftsmanship. Backed by Experience.