Lintel Repair in Naperville, IL

Emerald Masonry LLC provides lintel repair in Naperville, IL for brick and brick-front homes across the city, from the older houses near downtown to the subdivisions built in the 1970s through the 2000s. We replace rusted steel lintels over windows, doors and garage openings: support the brick above, remove the old steel, install new primed or galvanized steel with flashing and weep holes, and rebuild in matched brick. Family-owned, licensed, bonded and insured, with free on-site assessments: (708) 288-1696.

A crack above a window on a brick home is usually not the window. It is the steel lintel above it, rusting and lifting the brick.

Lintel repair in Naperville: why homeowners call the wrong trade first

When we searched for lintel repair in Naperville, most results were window and glass repair companies and directory pages. That matches what we hear from homeowners: they see a crack above a window, or a window that sticks, and call a window company. A window company can replace the window. It cannot fix the steel or the brick above it.

Here is how to tell which problem you have:

| What you see | Likely cause | Who to call | |---|---|---| | Fogged glass, failed seal, rotten sash | Window | Window company | | Stair-step crack running up from a window corner | Lintel or settlement | Mason | | Horizontal crack along the top of the opening | Rusting lintel lifting the brick | Mason | | Rust or flaking steel visible over the opening | Lintel corrosion | Mason | | Brick sagging or bowing over a garage door | Undersized or failing lintel | Mason, sometimes with an engineer | | Window that started sticking, plus a crack above | Lintel pushing on the frame | Mason first, then window if still needed |

If you plan to replace windows anyway, have the lintels checked first. Replacing a lintel removes the brick right above the opening, so it should happen before a new window goes in.

What a lintel is and why steel lintels fail

A lintel is the beam that carries the brick over an opening. On most Naperville brick homes it is an L-shaped steel angle with the brick sitting on its horizontal leg. Older homes may also have brick arches or stone lintels.

Steel rusts when water reaches it through worn mortar joints, missing or failed flashing, or blocked weep holes. Rust takes up several times the space of the steel it came from, so a rusting lintel swells and pushes the brick above it upward. This is called rust jacking, and it causes most of the cracking we see over windows and garage doors.

Signs you need lintel repair

• Rust staining or flaking steel along the top of a window, door or garage opening.
• Horizontal cracks along the lintel line or stair-step cracks from the corners.
• Brick lifting or a visible gap between the steel and the brick above.
• Sagging brick over a wide opening, especially garage doors.
• Windows or doors that stick after years of working fine.
• Caulk at the top of the window that keeps splitting.

Risks of waiting

Rust doesn't stop on its own. Each year the steel loses strength and the brick above it cracks further, and water gets in through those cracks to the window frame and the wall. Wide garage openings can eventually sag. Replacing one lintel early is a contained job; waiting can mean rebuilding more brick, replacing damaged window trim and repairing interior water damage.

How we repair lintels in Naperville

1. Inspect every opening and note which lintels are rusting, which are cracked and which are fine.
2. Support the brick above with temporary shoring.
3. Remove the brick directly above the opening and take out the old steel.
4. Install new steel sized to the opening, primed or galvanized, with proper bearing at each end.
5. Install flashing over the lintel, with end dams where needed, and open or add weep holes.
6. Rebuild with matched brick and mortar matched in color and joint profile.
7. Seal the joint between the masonry and the window or door frame, and walk you through the finished work.

Materials we use

New primed or hot-dip galvanized steel angle lintels sized to the opening; flexible flashing and drip edges; weep vents; matched face brick from current, salvaged or leftover stock; mortar matched to the existing joints; and suitable sealant at frame joints. Wide or heavily loaded openings may need an engineer to size the new steel, and we tell you when that is the case.

What drives the cost of lintel repair in Naperville

• Length of the opening and how much brick sits above it.
• Number of openings being done at once.
• Height and access, from first-floor windows to second-storey openings.
• Brick matching on the rebuilt section.
• Related work, such as window trim, sill repair or nearby tuckpointing.

We give a written, itemized estimate after a free on-site assessment.

Naperville local context

Naperville has a small core of older homes near downtown and the historic district, where brick arches and stone lintels are common, and large areas of brick and brick-front homes from the 1970s through the 2000s. On those newer homes, steel lintels over windows and two- and three-car garage doors are now 20 to 50 years old, and many were installed with little or no flashing. For other masonry on your home, see our Naperville tuckpointing, Naperville chimney repair and Naperville foundation masonry repair pages, or how we handle lintel repair in Downers Grove.

Why Naperville homeowners call Emerald

Emerald Masonry LLC is a family-owned masonry contractor serving Chicago and the Chicagoland suburbs, led by career masons with decades of hands-on Chicagoland experience, in lintel repair, tuckpointing and repointing, chimney repair, brick repair and replacement, limestone and sill repair, foundation masonry, caulking, sealing, and residential, commercial and historic masonry restoration. Free on-site assessments — call (708) 288-1696.

• Established 2024, led by career masons who do the work themselves.
• Licensed, bonded and insured; certificate of insurance on request.
• Right order of work. We tell you whether the lintel or the window comes first.
• Flashing on every replacement, so the new steel stays dry.

For more detail, read orange rust streaks from lintels and replacing windows in a brick house. Related services: lintel repair, brick repair and caulking and joint sealant.

Cracks above your windows in Naperville? Call (708) 288-1696 or book a free on-site assessment.