Lintel Repair in Berwyn, IL — Rusting Steel Lintel Repair for Bungalows & Two-Flats

If you've got a horizontal crack creeping along the brick above a window in Berwyn, or rust stains bleeding down the wall, the steel lintel over that opening is almost certainly failing — and Emerald Masonry LLC repairs and replaces rusted lintels and rebuilds the brick around them throughout Berwyn and the near-west suburbs. It's one of the most common masonry problems on the city's bungalows and two-flats, and one that quietly gets worse every winter. For a free on-site assessment, call (708) 288-1696.

A lintel is the structural element that bridges an opening — a window or a door — and carries the weight of the wall above it. On Berwyn's brick housing stock, that lintel is nearly always a steel angle iron. And steel, when water reaches it, rusts. That single fact drives a huge share of the masonry repairs we do in this area.

How Steel Lintels Fail

Here's the chain of events that plays out on thousands of Berwyn homes. The lintel is set into the wall over a window. Decades of rain and the failure of the caulk and mortar around the opening let water reach the steel. The steel begins to corrode. As it rusts, it swells — expanding to many times the volume of the original metal. That expansion has nowhere to go but up and out, so it lifts the brick sitting on the lintel.

That process is called rust jacking, and it's the reason you see horizontal cracks above so many Berwyn windows. The expanding rust pries the mortar joint open, displaces brick, and — left long enough — leaves the masonry over the opening loose and unsupported as the steel underneath wastes away.

Signs of a Failing Lintel

• A horizontal crack in the mortar joint directly above a window or door
• Rust staining running down the brick from the corners of the opening
• A sagging or bowed steel angle visible at the top of the window
• Brick above the window pushing outward, cracking, or stepping out of plane
• Gaps or daylight where the lintel meets the masonry
• Caulk failure at the window head that's been letting water reach the steel

Why Waiting Costs More

Lintel problems are progressive and they don't reverse. Every winter that water keeps reaching the steel, more of the lintel corrodes and more brick gets jacked apart. What begins as a single hairline crack and a rust-protectable lintel can turn into a fully corroded steel angle, a course of displaced brick, and eventually masonry over the window that has to be fully rebuilt. On a two-flat with multiple identical openings, ignoring one lintel often means watching the same failure march across the whole elevation. Addressing it early — sealing water out and treating or replacing the steel before it consumes the brick — is dramatically cheaper than the rebuild that follows neglect.

Our Lintel Repair Process

Every opening is a little different, but the work generally follows this path:

1. Inspection — we evaluate the lintel, the cracking pattern, and how far the rust and displacement have progressed.
2. Shoring — where the lintel is being replaced, the brick above the opening is temporarily supported so the wall stays safe during the work.
3. Lintel treatment or replacement — surface rust caught early can be cleaned, treated, and protected; a corroded or sagging lintel is removed and replaced with new, properly primed steel.
4. Brick rebuild — displaced and cracked brick above the opening is removed and relaid on the new lintel.
5. Repointing and sealing — joints are repointed and the window head is re-caulked so water stays out and the new steel lasts.

When the surrounding wall has also taken damage, we bring in brick replacement for spalled units and tuckpointing to restore the joints across the elevation. Re-sealing the openings with proper caulking is what keeps the new lintel from rusting all over again.

Materials We Use

The right repair starts with protecting the new steel. We use properly primed and protected steel angle for replacements, set with a path for water to drain rather than pool. Brick is matched as closely as possible to the original — important on Berwyn's distinctive bungalow facades — and laid in mortar matched to the existing wall's hardness and color. Quality sealant at the window head closes the route that let water to the steel in the first place.

Berwyn Bungalows: Local Context

Berwyn is famous for its density of brick bungalows and two-flats, most built in the 1910s through the 1930s during the city's rapid growth. That era's construction relied heavily on steel angle-iron lintels over the generous front windows, dormers, and door openings that define the Berwyn bungalow look. A century of Chicago freeze-thaw weather — water in, freeze, expand, thaw, repeat — is exactly the environment in which embedded steel rusts and jacks the masonry apart.

Because so many Berwyn homes were built to similar plans on tight lots, the same lintels fail in the same places across whole blocks. We see identical patterns next door in Cicero, Stickney, and into the bungalow belt of Chicago's West Side. Catching a failing lintel on one window is also a good prompt to have the matching openings checked before they follow suit.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if my Berwyn lintel is failing?

The classic signs are a horizontal crack in the mortar joint just above a window or door, rust stains bleeding down the brick, a sagging or visibly bowed steel angle over the opening, and brick directly above the window pushing out or cracking. On Berwyn bungalows these usually appear on the most weather-exposed elevations first.

What is rust jacking and why does it crack my brick?

Steel lintels rust when water gets to them, and rust takes up far more volume than the original steel. As the lintel expands, it lifts and pushes the masonry above it — that's rust jacking. The pressure opens horizontal cracks, displaces brick, and over time can let the wall above the window become unstable if it isn't addressed.

Can a rusted lintel be repaired, or does it have to be replaced?

It depends on how far the rust has gone. Surface rust caught early can sometimes be cleaned, treated, and protected. A lintel that has lost section to corrosion, is sagging, or has already cracked the brick generally needs replacement, with the brick above carefully supported and rebuilt. We assess each opening and recommend the durable fix.

Do you rebuild the brick above the lintel too?

Yes. Replacing a lintel almost always means temporarily supporting and removing the courses of brick above it, swapping the steel, then relaying the brick and repointing. We match the brick and mortar so the rebuilt section blends with the rest of your Berwyn home's facade.

Get a Free Lintel Repair Estimate in Berwyn

If you're seeing a horizontal crack, rust stains, or sagging steel above your windows, the time to act is before the rust takes the brick with it. Contact Emerald Masonry for a free on-site estimate in Berwyn, or call (708) 288-1696. We're family-owned with over 40 years of Chicagoland experience, licensed, bonded, and insured — and we'll tell you straight whether your lintels need treating, replacing, or just a careful eye.