Visited an old job site downtown and saw a brick arch that looked like it was falling apart

I was checking out that old warehouse being renovated on Oak Street and noticed the brick archway over the back door was bowing out at the top - they used a soldier course but no metal lintel. Some guys say a true arch holds itself, others swear by a hidden steel bar to stop it from sagging. What do you all do when you're doing a decorative arch?

2 comments

2 Comments

paul_webb457d ago

Man, that's a tough spot to be in. I feel for you because I've seen this exact thing go wrong before and it's a real headache to fix later. In my experience, a true brick arch will hold itself if the bricks are cut right and the mortar is good, but I've also watched old ones fail after decades of weather and settlement. Your mileage may vary, but I always go with a hidden stainless steel bar now - it's cheap insurance against a sagging arch that could crack the whole wall. Some purists say it's cheating, but I'd rather have a stable arch than argue with a building inspector later. Take this with a grain of salt, though, because every job is different and what works on a dry day in July might not fly in a wet winter.

julia_fisher287d ago

Hold on, are you saying the stainless steel bar is purely hidden in the mortar joint or do you cut a channel into the bricks? I've seen guys try to slip a flat bar in after the fact and it always seems to crack the brick face if you're not careful. Plus, doesn't that mess with the way the arch sheds water over time? I worry about trapping moisture behind a steel bar even if it's stainless, especially in freeze-thaw climates.